Sandhammaren Lighthouse. Photo Magnus Rietz

Reviews A homage to the beauty of two hundred Baltic Sea lighthouses. A coffee table book rich with photos

Fyrar runt Östersjön. [Lighthouses around the Baltic Sea] Magnus Rietz, (Stockholm: Lind & Co, 2019), 415 pages

Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW 2021:3, pp 81-83
Published on balticworlds.com on October 25, 2021

Swedish veteran photographer Magnus Rietz has produced an exquisite coffee-table album featuring lighthouses in all nine countries around the Baltic Sea with superb color photographs and itemized annotations in Swedish for each and every Baltic Sea lighthouse.
The pricey volume, displaying almost 300 photos from more than 200 Baltic Sea lighthouse sites, is introduced as a ”magnificent homage to the beauty of lighthouses, both the interiorand the exterior, and to the scenery where they have been built”. Magnus Rietz analyzes and compares not only the exterior design of Baltic Sea lighthouses, but in many cases also examines details of the interior. Strikingly, he makes the point that sometimes the interior may even be more interesting than the exterior.
Magnus Rietz, whose previous experience includes publishing comprehensive documentation of Swedish lighthouses, spent roughly four years completing this impressive task. According to the author, nowhere in the world are there as many big lighthouses in a limited geographic space as the network around the Baltic Sea. In addition, nowhere else in the world do so many countries surround a limited sea area as in the Baltic. All nine countries on the Baltic Sea — Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden — have their own lighthouses.
All told, Magnus Rietz has recorded and photographed 181 Baltic Sea lighthouses. Sweden, with the longest Baltic Sea coastline, has by far the most, 52 in total, Denmark and Finland have 22 each, Estonia has 21, Russia 18 (of which 6 lighthouses are in the ”Kronstadt cluster” by Saint Petersburg, each one jokingly nicknamed by the author), Germany and Poland 17 each, Latvia 10 and Lithuania 2 lighthouses by the Baltic Sea.

Having evolved gradually during several centuries, Baltic Sea lighthouse construction accelerated in the 19th century. After just a couple of decades of intensive lighthouse building, the network was largely complete. Since then, these lighthouses make up an invisible web of vital Baltic Sea regional cooperation.
On the basis of his long familiarity with lighthouse matters, Magnus Rietz explains the overall historical context, provides a regional economic perspective, compares evolving building practices, clarifies key lighthouse technologies and highlights the current environmental crisis in the Baltic Sea.
Historically, lighthouses have often enjoyed an aura of poetry. Curiously, at least in Sweden, many lighthouses benefit from exotic-sounding or fairy tale-like geographic names that have become household terms known to the general public thanks to the daily maritime weather report on public radio.

Some, but far from all, lighthouses are open to the public; a few even provide hostels to offer overnight accommodation. In Poland, all but a couple are open to visitors five months a year. A few Baltic Sea lighthouse sites include a minor museum. In Germany, most lighthouses provide the setting for weddings. Some lighthouses are incorporated in tall buildings with other purposes, such as castles or churches. The Travemünde Maritim is possibly the world’s second highest lighthouse, mounted at the top of a 117 meter high hotel complex by the Travemünde beach. Top of the list is the legendary fortress island of Sveaborg by the Finnish capital Helsinki, where the cupola of the Suomenlinna church has a bright rotating crystal ball lighthouse lens.
All in all, it is sheer enjoyment to look at Magnus Rietz’ selection of amazing photographs of Baltic Sea lighthouses, accompanied by his perceptive and informative remarks. ≈

 

Manne Wängborg