Latvia's oldest light station is the landfall light for R?«ga, the nation's capital and principal seaport. Lights were shown here from at least 1536, and a masonry tower was in regular service by 1721. A 30 m (98 ft) octagonal wood tower was built in 1819 and discontinued in 1854. A conical cast iron tower, installed in 1863, was destroyed in 1915 in World War I, and the concrete replacement built in 1921 was destroyed in 1944 in World War II. The 1863 Frenel lens was saved and is on display at the Ov?«??i lighthouse museum.
Located on the west side of the entrance to the Daugava River and R?«ga harbor. Site open.
No information on when it might be open to the public.
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The lighthouse at Daugavgriva is one of the best known Latvia??™s lighthouses. Its location is a common point of various historical events. The fast-changing stream of the Daugava River runs nearby. Owing to these circumstances, several towers of the Daugavgr?«va lighthouse have been built, destroyed, and rebuilt again over the course of history. The first lighthouse was constructed by Swedes at the turn of the 18th century, right where the present-day mouth of the Daugava River is. Back then it was a stone layer with watch-fires at the top. The next lighthouse was a wooden tower on the masonry foundation. But it was demolished during the Crimean War in 1854, and instead, cannons were put on the masonry foundation for firing at the ships of the British Royal Navy. Then, a fundamental cast-iron lighthouse was erected in 1863. It stood till World War I, when it was blown up by the Russian military troops as they retreated eastward from Riga. The same fate befell the lighthouse made of the reinforced concrete, which was built in 1921 during Latvia??™s period of independence. This time it was exploded by the German troops as they retreated from Riga in the opposite direction ??“ westward. After the war, a temporary 20 m tall wooden tower of the lighthouse was constructed, but was devastated again by a powerful storm in autumn 1956. But soon enough, a new reinforced-concrete Daugavgr?«va lighthouse, painted with black-and-white horizontal stripes, began to send its light on February 2, 1957, and broadcasts its signals up to the present day. Enjoy the view from the lighthouse, after climbing a spiral staircase of one hundred and fifty steps inside the tower, overlooking the Daugava River, its mouth, the Port of Riga, and Riga skyline.
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1956 (station established at least by 1721). Round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and white horizontal bands; lantern painted black with a red roof.
Height of the tower, m:
35
Focal plane elevation above sea level, m:
37
Light Description (light sectors, colour of the light, number of flashes etc):
Flashing, period 2.5 s, flash 0.1s, eclipse 2.4s, sector: 35-245 white, 245-35 no light; Reserved light. Emergency light. Leading light