Långe Jan, Maritime lighthouse in Ottenby, Sweden
Långe Jan is a white-painted cylindrical lighthouse tower at Öland's southern cape, 41.6 meters tall, with a wide black band around its middle. Two small square recessed windows sit above the band and one below, with a round porthole near the base. The tower was built of stone from a medieval chapel.
Långe Jan was first lit on 1 November 1785 after almost two years of construction, probably by Russian prisoners of war. Its stone came from the medieval chapel Capella Beati Johannis at Kyrkhamn, demolished after the Reformation; a stone cross west of the road to Ottenby kungsgård marks the chapel site. The tower was whitewashed in 1845, received its band later in the 19th century (first red, then black), and was electrified in 1948.
The name Långe Jan comes from the medieval chapel Capella Beati Johannis, which stood at the old fishing hamlet of Kyrkhamn; its stone was reused to build the tower, and a stone cross west of the road between the lighthouse and Ottenby kungsgård marks the chapel site. The tower is open to visitors in summer for a fee.
The tower is open to visitors in summer for a fee, with 197 steps to the top. The site lies at the southern tip of Öland by Ottenby, where a naturum, the Ottenby Bird Observatory and a restaurant stand next to the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is unmanned and fully automatic.
The tower's black band was originally red; it was repainted black only later in the 19th century. The stone for the tower came from the medieval chapel Capella Beati Johannis at the old fishing hamlet of Kyrkhamn, demolished after the Reformation; a stone cross west of the road between Långe Jan and Ottenby kungsgård marks the chapel site.
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