001 - Narva-Jõesuu tuletorn

Narva-Jõesuu lighthouse in a 1871 navigation book.

The harbour of Narva-Jõesuu at the beginning of the 20-th century. Jaan Vali ́s collections. 

Narva river ́s delta with a lighthouse.
Jaan Vali ́s collections.

Narva river ́s delta with a lighthouse.
Jaan Vali ́s collections.

Narva-Jõesuu lighthouse ca 1910,
E. v. B. Kegel.

Narva lighthouse ca 1900.
Estonian Maritime Museum ́s collections.

The signal mast on the top of the Narva lighthouse was used to communicate with ships in the 1930s. Jaan Vali’s collections 

Narva-Jõesuu lighthouse is known to have been functioning already during the Swedish rule in the 17th century, when the town of Narva had gained a high status in trading due to its strategic location close to the Russian border. On the initiative of Leonti Spafarjev, who was in charge of the Baltic light- houses in the Russian Admiralty, a new 16m high limestone lighthouse was erected on the west shore of Narva river in 1808. This was in the interest of timber merchants, whose ships had to find the accurate place for anchoring during loading time at night.

Repair works on the lighthouse were carried out in the 1870s due to the unstable subsoil causing cracks in the construction, which was then stabilised by metal braces. The lighthouse was also built 8m higher. A new lantern with a catoptric device was installed in 1886 and later modernised with a category III dioptric device in 1903. The outbuildings were severely damaged during the Crimean War (1853–1856), but completely destroyed together with the lighthouse in 1941. A new beacon was constructed on the same site from cylinder-shaped prefabricated reinforced concrete details in 1957. 

Narva-Jõesuu lighthouse. Kaido Haagen, 2010