Eggegrund lighthouse, Sector light and lighthouse in Gävle Municipality, Sweden
Eggegrund lighthouse is a cylindrical tower on the highest point of Eggegrund island in Gävle Bay, about 18 km east of Gävle harbour. The 26-metre tower is painted white on its lower half and black above, with a double gallery and a lantern. It shows four white and red flashes every 12 seconds from a focal height of 29 metres.
Queen Christina donated Eggegrund to Gävle for its fishermen, and 12 to 15 fishers lived here in the 19th century. A stone cairn was raised as a landing beacon in 1695. The first lighthouse, a lantern on the keeper's house, dates from 1838 and was maintained by the Handelssocieteten until 1872, when the state took over. A separate tower was added in 1862, and a new light station with an attached keeper's house was built in 1890. The present 26-metre tower was erected in 1932 and fully automated in 1970.
The island was donated by Queen Kristina to the city of Gävle for use by its fishermen, and in the 19th century between twelve and fifteen fishermen lived here. Since 1881 the island has supplied regular sea and weather reports, and since 1986 Eggegrunds fågelstation has been part of the Swedish Museum of Natural History's network of bird stations.
The light flashes four times every twelve seconds and can be seen from up to 14 nautical miles away in clear conditions. Visitors approaching by boat can observe the structure and surrounding waters from various angles depending on the weather.
The 1932 tower stands on the island's highest point, and the Swedish Maritime Administration later added a radar and a 32-metre radio antenna there. The keeper's two-storey house and other station buildings remain, and the keeper's house can be rented for holidays.
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