Kõpu lighthouse, located on the island of Hiiumaa, is the oldest lighthouse in the world. The construction of the lighthouse began in 1505 and lasted intermittently for 26 years. The fire on top of the tower was lit for the first time in August 1531. The lighthouse tower was already at that time a tetrahedral prism with powerful buttresses in the direction of the main compass divisions.
Up to 24 metres in height, the tower is built of solid cobblestone bound with cement. At 24 metres high was the first lower room where the servants were housed. This room had 2 windows facing east and west. Above this room there was another room with a winch for lifting firewood. Above the upper room there was a platform where a fire of wood was built on a grate. In calm, clear weather, the fire could be seen from 15 miles away, but in storms the fire was often drenched or scattered by the wind.
The lighthouse was formerly called Dagerort. Swedish dager "day, daylight, light" and ort "place, edge, point" as well as "cape".
The height of the lighthouse increased to 36.5 m in 1659 under the Swedes, when it was leased to Timen Cornelis.
In 1660, Count Axel Julius de la Gardie bought the island together with the lighthouse from the Swedish government with the obligation to light the tower for a fee.
In the time of Peter the Great, a toll was collected from all ships passing Dago to Vyborg , Revel, Vyborg and Nienschanz. Thus, the Daguerort lighthouse was the first lighthouse in Russian waters of the Baltic Sea, which also served commercial purposes. At that time the lighthouse was regularly lit from 15 March to 30 April and from 15 August to 30 December.
In 1776, the lighthouse and the estate of Horenholm were transferred to the graphite of Horenholm was given to Countess Ebbe Marguerite Steenbock. In 1792 Baron Roman Ungern-Sternbert bought the estate. Every year the baron asked the state for 5,000 roubles in silver to light the lighthouse. The reason is that over the years the forest around the lighthouse had long been cut down and wood had to be brought from far away which wasn't cheap. Initially the treasury allocated about half of the required amount. And in 1796 it stopped paying altogether. However, the baron, up until 1805, maintained the lighting of the lighthouse. He distributed the supply of firewood among the inhabitants of the nearest peasants' yards and relieved them of other work.
From 1805, the Russian state took over the lighting of the lighthouse. was taken over by the Russian state. Repair and restoration work was immediately carried out. A lantern was put in the upper part, which was lit by 23 oil lamps. In 1845 the tower was repaired again, at that time the lighthouse was illuminated 10 months a year - from 1 July to 1 May. The lamps were lit at sunset and extinguished at dawn.
In 1860, an improved lighting system was installed, with the lights visible up to 50 kilometres away. The lighthouse was maintained by a team of seven men, one of whom was constantly in the wind.
In 1883, a telegraph station was installed at the Kypu lighthouse. A lifeguard station was located near the lighthouse, the duties of which were to which was responsible for warning ships approaching too quickly and providing assistance to those in distress.
In 1898 the telegraph equipment was replaced by a telephone station.
In 1901 the tower was overhauled again. In the same year, the lighthouse was equipped with the latest light-optical system, acquired
In 1940, the Kõpu lighthouse was equipped with a power line from the state network. Kõpu lighthouse was connected to the state grid in 1940.
The lighthouse was badly damaged during World War II. However, the damage was not fatal and, thanks to the powerful and strong stone walls, the tower was quickly rebuilt.
In the following years, the tower was modernised. The lighthouse lighting was modernised in the following years.
In 1957, a complete overhaul of the Kõpu lighthouse was carried out. However, it was not possible to completely stop the destruction of the of the tower could not be stopped completely and in 1982 the repair was carried out again, the area around the lighthouse was landscaped. A light-optical device EMV-930M with visibility range of 26...30 miles.
In August 2011 Kõpu lighthouse celebrates its 480th anniversary. According to its tenant Jaan Puusepp the lighthouse is visited by about 30,000 tourists a year. thousand tourists visit the lighthouse every year. And in recent years, more and more people have been coming to see it from all over the world.
