Initially it was built as a viewing tower and to detract from and obscure the unsightly chimney of the boiler room of the Balneological Institute,but is now also a beacon used by Polish merchant shipping and a vantage point to admire the pier and part of the town of Sopot.

It was built in the centre of a square and is surrounded by low buildings. At the top, the main lantern room has four small canopied porches at each of its corners which link at the top and conceal the boiler room chimney. Several dozen windows adorn the sides of the tower. The lighthouse is open to the public – the entrance can be found next to the southern entrance to the pier in Sopot.

Lights were only installed in the lighthouse after the end of World War II at the time when the destroyed city was partially rebuilt. It is not known exactly when the first lights came on at the top of the tower but it definitely figured in the list of lighthouses compiled in 1957. Because of its short range (5 nautical miles) it was difficult to consider it as a lighthouse in the true sense. It only achieved this status in 1977 when a light was mounted which gave it a range of 17 nautical miles.

Sopot City Hall (woj. Pomorskie)

www.sopot.pl