Sokhum Lighthouse, Lighthouse in Sukhumi, Georgia

Sokhum Lighthouse is a 37-metre steel tower made in France by Ernest Goüin et Cie and installed in Sukhumi in 1861 on screw piles. Inside, a cast-iron spiral staircase of 137 steps leads up the tower. Its light reaches 24 km, and from the top the cities of Sukhumi and New Athos are visible.

The lighthouse was built in 1861 by the French firm Ernest Goüin et Cie to improve navigation along the eastern Black Sea coast. It was erected during a period when trade in the region was growing and safer shipping routes were needed.

The lighthouse is a reference point that fishermen and residents of Sukhumi have relied on for generations to read the coastline. Its outline against the Black Sea sky has become so familiar that it feels like a natural part of the harbor rather than a built structure.

The tower stands on screw piles on a sandy promontory washed up by the Gumista River. Inside, a cast-iron spiral staircase of 137 steps leads up; from the top, both Sukhumi and New Athos are visible. The light has a range of 24 km and operates around the clock again after funding stopped in 2000.

The tower was made in France by Ernest Goüin et Cie and shipped to Sukhumi in 1861, where it was mounted on screw piles; assembly took 150 working days. Its 137-step cast-iron spiral staircase leads to a platform from which both Sukhumi and New Athos can be seen.