Lighthouse height: 33,3 m
Beacon height: 50,2 m above sea level
Range: 23 Mm
Beacon characteristic: 0,45+2,05+0,45+6,05=9 s
Geographical location: 54o 32' 20'' N, 16o 32' 36''
E
Jarosławiec Lighthouse is situated about 400 m from the sea, on a hill around 20?metres above sea level, in the southern part of a village of the same name, south of the road from Jezierzyny to Rusinowo, near a track through the fields to Nadmierz.
The history of Jarosławiec Lighthouse dates back to the early 19th century, when, as maritime traffic on the Baltic increased, it was observed that there were more and more disasters, especially by night, occurring off the coastal stretch between Darłowo and Łeba. To put a stop to this, a decision was taken to build a lighthouse here which would help ships to avoid the shallows in this area. The location chosen was a high cliff in the village of Jarosławiec, an excellent spot for the construction of a lighthouse which would be visible to navigation from a long distance away.
In 1820 the first lighthouse project was drafted, but it was never implemented. The construction was to be a wooden tower 16,3 m high, with an Argand oil lamp mounted at the top by means of an elevator device. Since 1784 the Swiss French chemist Argand was regarded as the inventor of a burner with a bright flame and a very small amount of smoke, used in lamps.
The next project, in 1827, envisaged the building of a brickwork construction about 3,4 m high 11 m away from the edge of the cliff. On top of this house there was to be a small rotating optical device in a hemispherical lantern, driven by a linear pulley and weight, which would give a light shining for a 75-second period, with darkness intervals of 45 seconds. However the design was criticised as too close to the cliff edge; there was a danger of erosion. A recommendation was made that a new location be selected which would be well visible from sea and not liable to be obscured by any kind of object.
In 1830, after a year’s work, the building of the lighthouse according to this project was completed. It was situated around 400 m away from the coastline, on a hill 30 m high. The wall was built by Widekowski, a bricklayer from Sławno; while the steel construction for the lamp was made by Winneg, a blacksmith from Koszalin. Both of these men were local master craftsmen. The reflecting plates for the dome of the lantern were purchased from Schickler & Splittgerber’s manufacture, which also made the mirrors ordered for the lighthouses at Hel and Nowy Port. However, the lighthouse turned out to be too low, and its light was obstructed by the woods around the village. To make it visible it was necessary either to cut the trees down or to elevate the lamp. But the villagers refused to consent to the felling of the wood, while the architects did not permit the lamp to be raised because the construction of the walls was not strong enough for this.
Thus in 1835 a decision was made to erect a new lighthouse to fulfil the required purpose. The old building was extended and set aside for the lighthouse keepers’ accommodation. On its south-western side a lighthouse tower was built, but the two installations were not linked together until 1902, with more facilities in the connecting passage. The lantern with the optical device from the old lighthouse was set up on a round redbrick tower of four storeys, with distinct moulding on its elevation. The optical arrangement comprised 15 rape-oil lamps with a set of parabolic mirrors arranged on a rotating mechanism. The light, which was visible up to a distance of 16 nautical miles, was first lit on 1st July 1838. The full height of the lighthouse and lantern was 33,3 m, and this is the size and shape in which the installation has come down to the present times.
The only thing that changed was the light source. First an acetylene flame was substituted for the rape-seed oil. To ensure safe storage conditions, a spherical subterranean storage cistern for the acetylene was built 7,5 m. away from the tower. In 1908 the lighthouse was fitted out with an electrical power supply and a new piece of equipment, a foghorn.
During the Second World War the lighthouse building sustained severe damage. When combat was over in the area, the devastated lighthouse was easy prey for thieves and looters. In January 1946 the lighthouse keepers and a local vigilante group twice staved off a band of attackers, saving the lighthouse from complete destruction. It was not until a year after the War finished, once all the damage had been repaired, that the lighthouse could resume normal operations, illuminating the spit of land furthest out to sea in the neighbourhood of Jarosławiec.
In late 1974 the optical system on Jarosławiec Lighthouse was modernised. An AGA PRB-21 rotating device consisting of four panels was installed in the dish-shaped optical apparatus of diameter 1,000 mm. Each of the panels is fitted out with six 600 W reflecting light bulbs (four in operation and two on stand-by). The modernisation of the rotation system was completed in February 1975 and has been guiding Baltic shipping safely through local waters ever since. Jarosławiec Lighthouse is also equipped with a radio beacon and sends out the Morse code recognition signal „JA“.
In 1996 a restoration project was carried out for the walls of the lighthouse. The walls were cleaned, holes in the brickwork on the walls and mouldings were filled in, and an external protective layer applied to weather-proof the lighthouse. Thanks to all these measures Jarosławiec Lighthouse is now a landmark the local villagers are proud of, and a tourist attraction open to the numerous visitors who come here. On 30th August 1993, on the grounds of a decision taken by the national authority for the protection of historic monuments (Państwowa Służba Ochrony Zabytków), Jarosławiec Lighthouse was entered in the register of historic monuments for the Voivodeship of Słupsk (Reg. No. A-320/1-3).
Even in these days of satellite communication, it turns out, lighthouses are still needed and have a role to fulfil at sea. In October 1997 the crew of an old German schooner, the Bartele Rensing, learned the truth of this for themselves when their yacht was damaged during a storm in the neighbourhood of Jarosławiec, and the treacherous current nearly drove them onto a shoal. The Polish rescue team managed to prevent the wreckage of the boat, and save the lives of the Polish and German children on board.