Location Penmarch, France Construction granite Height 65 m Automated 17 October 2007 Original len Fresnel lens | Year first lit 1897 Focal height 197 feet (60 m) Opened 1831 Phone +33 6 07 21 37 34 Year first constructed 1831 | |
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Tower shape square prism tower, octagonal watch room, gallery, lantern Markings / pattern unpainted gray tower, white lantern Address Rue du Phare, 29760 Penmarch, France Similar Saint‑Mathieu lighthouse, Pointe du Raz, Calvaire et chapelle de Tronoën, Phare du Creach, La Vieille | ||
Le phare d eckm hl vu de drone penmarc h en finist re
The Phare d'Eckmühl, also known as Point Penmarc'h Light or Saint-Pierre Light, is an active lighthouse in Penmarc'h, Finistère department, Brittany, France. At a height of 213 feet (65 m) it is one of the tallest lighthouses in the world. It is located at the port of Saint-Pierre, on Point Penmarc'h, on the southwestern corner of Finistère and the northwestern entrance to the Bay of Biscay.
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The tower was built following a decision on April 3, 1882 to modernize the coastal lighthouses and raise the focal height of the Penmarc'h lighthouse, built in 1835, to 60m. However, engineers reported that the old tower could not support such an extension, so in 1890 it was decided to build a new lighthouse, the plans of which were completed on April 3, 1882. Funding came unexpectedly on 9 December 1892 when Adélaïde-Louise Davout, Marquise de Blocqueville, left substantial funds for the new tower in her will, provided the lighthouse was dedicated to the memory of her father, the general Louis Nicolas Davout, who was "Prince d'Eckmühl", a title he won after the Battle of Eckmühl. The tower was inaugurated on October 23, 1897.
The centennial of the lighthouse was celebrated in 1997.
The tower is open to the public. Reaching the top takes climbing 307 steps, 227 stone steps followed by an iron staircase.