Kikut Lighthouse

Kikut Lighthouse stands in Wolin National Park, on the Strażnica hill, not far from Wisełka. It was created from a converted viewing tower, has no permanent staff and cannot be entered, but a forest trail leads to it.

From viewing tower to lighthouse

The name comes from the German name of the 19th-century viewing tower, Kiekturm, whose root derives from a word meaning looking out. In the 1960s the development of the Szczecin-Świnoujście port complex meant that ships entering Świnoujście needed more precise position fixing on the approach fairway. It was therefore proposed to convert the viewing tower on the Strażnica hill (73.9 m above sea level) into a lighthouse.

The design was prepared by the Marine Construction Design Office in Gdańsk. The round field-stone tower, 10.2 m high, was raised by 2.6 m with bricks, and a white lantern was placed on top. The lighthouse was put into operation on 10 February 1962, with optical equipment brought from Sweden.

How it works today

Since 1994 a cylindrical lens 500 mm in diameter with a six-position halogen bulb changer has worked in the lantern. When one bulb burns out, the changer brings in the next one by itself, and in case of a power failure a battery bank takes over. For this reason the lighthouse needs no staff on site. According to Wikipedia it is the only unmanned lighthouse in Poland.

The tower, together with the lantern, is 18.2 m high, the light is at a height of 91.5 m above sea level, and its range is 16 nautical miles. The lighthouse is also one of eleven shore stations of the AIS system on the Polish coast.

Getting there and the view from outside

The lighthouse is not open to visitors, so it is viewed from the outside. The website latarnie.pl recommends a three-kilometre walk to it along the red trail through the forests of Wolin National Park. The hill on which it stands is also described under Kikut.

Practical information

• Location: the Strażnica hill in Wolin National Park, Międzyzdroje municipality, near the village of Wisełka.
• It is not possible to enter the interior; the lighthouse is unsupervised and not open to visitors.
• The rules of the national park apply, as given by the park authority.