Falsterbo Lighthouse

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Falsterbo Lighthouse sits at Falsterbo Udde in Skåne, Sweden, near the towns of Skanör-Falsterbo, the sandy beaches, and the Falsterbo Golf Club. The 25-meter tall brick cylindrical tower stands on a two‑storey building with a balcony and a lantern. The tower is unpainted with a black band and a red lantern roof. Today it is a protected historic site.

History and lights
Ships have long found this sea route dangerous because of moving sandbanks. In the 13th century there were requests to build a warning mark, and by the 1600s a lever light using a coal fire was used nearby at Kolabacken (Coal Hill). In the late 1700s the lever light was moved to the present site closer to the shoreline, and the lighthouse was built between 1793 and 1796 with a coal fire at the top.

In 1842–43 the tower’s upper parts gained the current lantern. Coal was replaced with rapeseed oil, and a heavy-weight screen created a periodic light. A keeper’s house was added around 1850, followed by another for assistants at the end of the 1800s. Later, paraffin and gas replaced oil, and electric lighting was introduced in 1935; the mechanical screen was removed and fewer staff were needed.

The lighthouse was automated in 1972, and the last keeper retired. The light today is not a major navigation aid; it is relatively weak (about 4,000 candelas) and the light was completely turned off from 1990 to 1993. Its light pattern was historically an interval of 4 seconds on, 1 second off.

Present day
Falsterbo is still an important weather observation site, with data reported every three hours to Sweden’s meteorological agency. The surrounding area hosts the Falsterbo Bird Observatory, a premier place to watch autumn bird migration, with millions of birds passing through. The lighthouse grounds are open for events, and on the last Sunday of August there is “Lighthouse Day,” when visitors can tour the lighthouse and learn about bird ringing and the weather station.