Vertical Structures

2007: Lighthouses

On the southern headland of the island of Sylt in North Frisia on the North Sea coast where it is said witches dance on the dunes, the souls of shipwrecked sailors wander and the goblin Dikjendälmann may be seen sits the Hörnum lighthouse.  Active since 1907 the keeper's house is now used as a registrar's office, it is both a popular tourist destination and a place for weddings.  This beautiful area's lighthouse sits on top of a dune, by federal law protection is given to all historic lighthouses.

You can climb the 248 iron spiral stairs both day and night of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in North Carolina.  It is next to the visitors centre and Museum of the Sea so it sounds like a great day out.  Here is where the warm Gulf Streams collide with the cold Labrador current producing ocean storms gaining it the name "Graveyard of the Atlantic".  Built in 1868 the lighthouse came under National Park ownership in 1936 when it had been abandoned.  Coastal erosion meant that the lighthouse was in danger of falling into the sea so in the 1999  "Move of the Millennium" the whole things was relocated further inland. It is the tallest brick lighthouse in the USA coming in at 210 feet.  The stamp is 1 of 5 issued in 1990 as part of several topical booklets on Americana and this one was released to commemorate the US Coast Guard and US Lighthouse Service, portraying  lighthouses of the five major coastal regions. The stamps were designed by the artist Howard Koslow who has now produced all of the subsequent lighthouse stamps. I love his use of the geese flying past this one.

1998: Lighthouses

These are the only  lighthouse stamps I have but interestingly they manage to take in three continents and this one is no longer in the country that issued the stamp. Pelican Point lighthouse was built by the South African government in 1932 when it administrated the Walvis Bay Territory. The bay was called Walfischbucht in German meaning "Whale Bay" which in Dutch is Walvis Bay.  After Namibian independence in 1990 this lighthouse became part of the country.  It stands on the naturally protected harbour of the SW African coast (which is the only deep water port of the country) and continues to be active not only with light but also with a fog horn. Unlike the previous US lighthouse's position being eroded by the sea the spit that the Namibian lighthouse sits on is extending itself.

2007: Water Towers

Lastly something a similar shape to Lighthouses but actually a water tower. This stone water tower dates from 1530 and was part of the city of Pilsen's (Plzen̆ in Czech) first water system. One of the attractions of the city is a tour of the labyrinth of historical underground corridors, cellars and wells and it is possible to see  the water tower underground.  Nearby if something stronger than water is required is the Pilsner Urquell Brewery.

An entry to Viridian Postcard's Sunday Stamps theme of -  Lighthouses or other public structures