Location: Nida

One of the biggest lighthouses of the Lithuanian sea coast, the original Nida’s lighthouse featured a hexagonal shape and was built from red bricks to the height of 27 metres. Officially opened in the latter part of the 19th century, the lighthouse construction coincided with the reforestation of Urbas Hill to curb the perpetual struggle of Neringa’s residents against sand that constantly threatened to bury local settlements. Standing proudly on the 51,4 metre-high hill, the lighthouse signified a victory of the builders, who still had to fight the untamed wind and sand during its original construction: the foundations were drilled into the depth of 3 metres in order to withstand the constant shifts of the landscape.

The lighthouse was opened on October 24, 1874. The original stone paved steps that led to the lighthouse are intact to this day and offer a vintage alternative to the modern asphalt road. The stones were laid in 1870–1871 by French prisoners of war, who were captured and stationed in Neringa by the German army.

A fresnel lens, powered by mineral oil, was installed at the top of the tower to guide ships and boats of the neighbouring waters. Every ten seconds the lens would emit a four-second light beam that reached 21 nautical miles into the sea.

The structure also served as a warning post for the locals, alerting about imminent storms. The telegraph messages would be received by the lighthouse keeper, who then would hang storm flags at the top of the lighthouse.

After suffering a bomb attack of World War II, the current lighthouse was rebuilt in 1953. A cylinder shaped, red and white striped tower is made of fortified concrete and reaches 29.3 metres. Its white light signals can be seen 41 kilometres (22 nautical miles). The Nida’s lighthouse sits 79 metres above sea level, 900 metres from the sea shore. Together with the neighbouring lighthouse of Klaipėda, the structure is documented in the World List of Lights database and other maritime datasets.

Until November of 2016, the original light installation was operating in Nida’s lighthouse. It ran on six lamp bulbs, one at a time: the remaining ones would turn on only after the operating one would burn out. When the light system, which was counting over 60 years in operation, started to wear off and the parts for repairs were no longer available, it was replaced with three large diodes. Two of them emit the blinking light towards the Baltic sea and the remaining smaller one informs the Curonian Lagoon.

Nida’s lighthouse has a one-of-a-kind blinking frequency of  two 0.2 s light blinks with an interval of 1.2 s, followed by 4.2 s of darkness (the total length of one signal is 5.8 s).

A true, postcard-worthy symbol of Neringa, Nida’s lighthouse is open to visitors during high season, with an exciting winding stairs leading up to an open air terrace at the top, with awe-inspiring views of Nida and the surrounding nature.

Opening times:

June 1 – September 15

I-VII: 12 am – 6 pm

September 16 – October 20

V-VII: 12 am – 5 pm

October 21 - May 1

Closed

Tickets are sold at the lighthouse.

Ticket prices:
Adults – 5 Eur
Students and seniors – 3 Eur
Family ticket – 8 Eur

More information: +370 469 52260
info@neringosmuziejai.lt

www.neringosmuziejai.lt