A lighthouse is a tower, building, or another type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, rocks, and safe entries to harbors.A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. They are navigational experts possessing knowledge of the particular waterway such as its depth, currents, and hazards.The image on the top of the page shows the Pater Noster Lighthouse at Hamneskär, southern Bohuslän, Sweden, built 1868. Wikipedia.
Lighthouse Occupations
A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used.To keep a lighthouse operational around the clock, lighthouse tenders were needed to lighten and douse the light, replenish fuel, and perform maintenance tasks. Because most lighthouses are in remote, isolated, or inaccessible areas on islands and coastlines, it was typical for the work of lighthouse keeper to remain within a family, passing from parents to sons. In Sweden, the stations often constituted miniature communities with all the people on the staff and spouses. From 1845, at larger lighthouse stations it was common with schools (Swe: lotsbarnskolor) for the staff’s children. The lighthouse stations were usually located in remote areas, far away from any towns. Under a Lighthouse Regulation of 1827, the Swedish lighthouse keepers were divided into three categories; Master Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrmästare), Lightkeeper (Fyrvaktare), and Assistant Lightkeeper (Fyrbiträde). The Master Lightkeeper is the person in charge of a lighthouse station. All lighthouses had a Master Lightkeeper on the staff. However, depending on the size of the station, need of tending and other prioritized services there were other people among the staff. At major stations, so-called class-1 stations, the crew consisted of a Master Lightkeeper, a Lightkeeper, and one or two Assistant Lightkeepers. Minor stations, class-2 stations, usually were manned with a Master Lightkeeper and a Lightkeeper. The smaller, easy-tended class-3 stations only had a single Master Lightkeeper on the staff. The light staff, with or without families, usually lived at the station, either in quarters connected to the lighthouse or in the lighthouse tower. In Sweden, the lighthouse staff was organized under the Royal Board of Pilot Services (Swe: Lotsverket) and it was the Board that provided the accommodations for the staff and their families. In 1838, the keepers on duty kept four-hour watches in turn. From 1838, the lighthouses were also operational all year round, even during the snowy winters, from 30 minutes before sunset and to 30 minutes before sunrise every day. From then on, the staff lived at the stations all year round too. The communities of staff and their families at the stations consisted of dwellings, storage spaces, baking cabins, wash houses, etc. At all stations, the Master Lightkeepers house was always facing the lighthouse so that he could keep an eye at the lantern to make sure it was lit. A lighthouse station also needs a safe harbor and access to fresh water. In 1845, the Swedish Royal Board of Pilot Services (Lotsverket) began school services for the children of the lighthouse staff at the stations. The school terms were shorter than in regular schools and the teachers either lived at the stations or attended several lighthouse stations schools during the terms. The names in English of the different lightkeeper occupations above are translations of the Swedish names and therefore not necessarily the correct names of the occupations used in English-speaking countries.
Master Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrmästare)
The Master Lightkeeper (Head Lightkeeper) is the person in charge of a lighthouse station. He was the supervisor of the station and the other staff was subordinated him. Usually, the Master Lightkeepers were former non-commissioned officers in the Navy.
Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrvaktare)
The Lightkeeper was subordinated the Master Lightkeeper and second in command at the station, assisting the Master Lightkeeper. However, a Lightkeeper could be in charge of a minor lighthouse station.
Assistant Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrbiträde)
There were both regular Assistant Lightkeepers as well as temporally employed assistants. The assistant lightkeepers were subordinated the lightkeeper.
Women at the Lighthouses
In 1835, the first women were employed on a trial basis at lighthouse stations. The trial employments went very well and women were accepted as employees at the stations. It became common that wives of keepers were employed too and worked with their husbands at the stations.
Uniforms of Lighthouse Staff
The early lighthouse keepers wore no specific uniform but were dressed like other people in coastal areas. The issue about uniforms for the staff had been on the agenda for a long time when the question was brought up in the 1870s and model uniforms were suggested. In 1881, the first regulations for lighthouse keepers and maritime pilots were issued. The staff then received a standardized uniform. In Sweden, the lighthouse services and the pilot services were organized under the same responsible authority, the Royal Board of Pilot Services (Lotsverket). Therefore, the lighthouse keepers and pilots adopted a more or less identical uniform. Only cap badges and service insignias separated the two groups. However, the two had the same type of rank insignias. The lighthouse staff wore a star as their service insignia on their lapels and the pilots an anchor. The color and cut of the 1881 uniform were similar to the Navy uniforms, i.e. dark blue. The peaked cap was equipped with a cap badge with a yellow anchor and the jacket was double-breasted. Rank insignias were worn on the sleeves in the form of chevrons, pointing downwards. Master Lightkeepers wore three chevrons, Lightkeepers two, and Assistant Lightkeepers one. In the 1920s, the chevrons were replaced with the same number of stripes. Suggested model uniforms 1874:
On 19 June 1845, the Admiralty issued a decree regarding the establishment of a school service for the children of lightkeepers and pilots in remote coastal areas. The children were to be taught how reading, writing, and arithmetic. The initiative came from the Swedish Royal Board of Pilot Services (Swe: Lotsverket) supported by the keepers and pilots. Under the 1842 Elementary School Statute, every local government (Swe: socken) was obliged to provide at least one permanent school for the children. However, in the countryside, the schools were usually located in local towns. It was difficult for the children of keepers in remote coastal areas to attend schools in towns. There simply was no regular transport service between the towns and villages and the locations of lighthouse and pilot stations in those days. Therefore, school service was arranged where the children of the keepers and pilots lived, i.e. on remote coastal areas and small islands. These schools had shorter terms than regular schools and the teachers either lived at the school or traveled between schools teaching children in several schools per term. The keeper children’s schools existed between 1845 and 1925. In other words, there were two types of schools for the keepers’ children; ambulatory and stationary schools. Ambulatory schools were schools where the teachers taught children in more than one school, i.e. they moved between schools. Stationary schools were more like regular schools and they were in major stations with many children. In 1845, keeper children schools were established at five lighthouse stations/pilot stations in the Stockholm coastal region. Gradually, 70 such schools were established in various coastal regions in Sweden. The schools were not only open for the children of keepers and pilots but also for children of other coastal people and islanders, for example, fishermen’s children. A prerequisite, there had to be at least 3 to 4 children at a lighthouse or pilot station to have a school established. Since the children often were of different ages, they all had to attend the same class. Teaching was carried out for about 4 months of the year and usually held a high standard. It was solely female teachers at these schools. The classrooms could be anything available, from a room in the Master Lightkeepers dwelling to a simple outhouse or an attic put in order, where also the teacher lived. Some lighthouse stations built a school building for the teaching of the children, for example, at Gotska Sandön, Hanö, Vinga, and Understen. At other stations, there simply weren’t enough children for a school, or not possible to arrange a school. Children at these stations had to be boarded in coastal towns during the terms where they could be taught. The image to the right shows schoolmistress Vendla Thorslund (1883-1955) who in 1919 was the schoolmistress at the lighthouse stations; Holmögadd, Bergudden, and Fjärdgrund. Image: fyr.org/wiki. PDM. The image to the left shows children attending class at Vinga lighthouse station in the 1930s. The schoolmistress is Berta Svensson. Image: fyr.org/wiki. PDM. The keeper and pilot schools lasted until 1925. The responsibility for the teaching of these children was then transferred to the public school authorities subordinated to the Swedish National Board of Education (Swe: Skolöverstyrelsen). Most ambulatory and stationary schools at the stations were now closed down. The children of keepers and pilots thereby got a very long way to school. Most children had to be boarded on the mainland and be away from home for months at a time.
False Lights – Plundering of Wrecks
Ever since Medieval times, the coastal population has considered wrecks and wrecked goods their property and have tried to seize whatever they could get their hands on. However, legally, wrecks were the property of the Crown, and only the Crown was entitled to salvage wrecked goods. In the 1600s, the Crown began using mounted officials within the Coastguards, then subordinated the Swedish Customs. These mounted coastguard officials were called “strandridare” in Swedish. Their responsibility was to prevent smuggling and the plundering of wrecks by patrolling the seashores. The term “strandridare” literally means “shore rider”. The first “strandridare” was hired in 1638 in the Kalmar region on the Swedish east coast. They were keeping watch over a 250 km (155 mi) long coastal strip. In 1832, the “strandridare” (Shore Riders) were being replaced by “Kustuppsyningsmän” (Coast Inspectors). Under a regulation issued by the Royal Board of Pilot Services, the pilots must cooperate with the Customs and Coastguards to prevent smuggling. Plunderers and bandits often lit false lights to lure merchant ships onto shoals to plunder the wrecked goods of anything of value. The Swedish penal code of 1734 stated: "The who lightens false lights or make false navigational marks with the intent to mislead mariners onto shoals to be wrecked will pay the penalty of 32 pairs of the rod, independent if any damage was done or not.” However if a false light caused a ship to be wrecked, the guilty “shall suffer death”. The image to the right shows bandits misleading a ship onto a shoal with false light. Copperplate engraving. Public Domain. DigitaltMuseum.A coastal region in southern Sweden where there were many reports in former days about false lights causing merchant ships to be wrecked is Sandhammaren in southeastern Skåne. The waters in this region are full of sand reefs which were a nightmare for mariners on the sailing ships. It is reportedly said that the ships were misled onto the reefs by the bandits’ false lights and the wrecked ships were plundered. Surviving castaways were usually attacked and killed by the plunderers, not to leave any witnesses. The plunderers were often people from nearby coastal communities who thought that everything that the sea brought was their legitimate property. To give destiny a bit of help in their favor (disfavoring of the mariners) was of no concern. The wrecked ships were a blessing to the locals. In stormy weather conditions, the bandits lit false lights far onshore to make the mariners believe they were further out than they were. The shipmasters then usually changed their course and steered the ship closer to shore which resulted that them run aground and was wrecked. The plunderers grabbed anything of value from the wrecks and surviving members of the crew were killed and buried on the seashore.Sandhammaren which means “The Sand Hammer” was for a very long time considered “a slaughterhouse for seamen”. Seamen on the sailing ships passing the Bornholm Narrows used to say a special prayer “Save us from Sandhammaren Thou Mighty Lord” (Swe: "För Sandhammaren bevare oss du milde herre Gud".Sandhammaren is Scandinavia’s biggest ship graveyard of lost ships and seamen graves. The many shipwrecks at Sandhammaren became fewer when the sailing ships were replaced by steamships. Besides, at the beginning of the 1800s, there was a change in moral values regarding misleading ships onto shoals and the false lights gradually disappeared.The image to the right shows a ship in distress near the Sandhammaren reefs.In 1831, a temporary light, an open coal-powered brazier, was put on one of the high sand dunes at Sandhammaren at an elevation of 7.5 meters (25 ft) above sea level. Building a permanent light was being planned but the soft dunes would be a problem for a heavy stone structure. With the introduction of the so-called Heidenstam lighthouse in the 1860s, it was possible to build a lighthouse at Sandhammaren. Not only one, but two Heidenstam lighthouses were built, both with a height of 29 meters (95 ft). The reason for the two lighthouses was an avoidance with the nearby lighthouses Bornholm and Christiansö. The two lighthouses at Sandhammaren were opened in 1862 and were the first Heidenstam lighthouses erected. The northern lighthouse at Sandhammaren was dismantled in 1904. Author Frans Löfström has taken down many of the stories about Sandhammaren and the events taken place here in his book “Kring Sandhammaren” (Around Sandhammaren), 1946.
Salvage Companies (Dykerikompaniet)
Marine salvage or wrecking (US) is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Taking valuable goods from a shipwreck that has foundered or run aground close to shore was often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities.Dykerikompani was formerly the name of two specific companies that were commissioned to perform all major salvage operations within each company’s assigned coastal region in Sweden. The first salvage company (Swe: Dykerikompani) in Sweden was established in 1663 when Hans Albrecht von Treuleben obtained a Royal commission to carry out “diving and salvage businesses” (”dykeri- och bärgaraffärer”). In 1682 this commission was transferred to Georg Coberton. In 1692, the Southern Salvage Company (Södra Dykerikompaniet) was granted an exclusive commission for 10 years to perform salvage work on ships and goods foundered or run aground along the shores and coastal waters of Skåne, Halland, and Bohuslän. The company was founded by businessmen Jöran Holst och Sifvert Dietrichsen. In 1729, the Northern Salvage Company (Norra Dykerikompaniet)) was granted a similar commission, but along all other coastal areas of Sweden. This company was established by engineer Mårten Triewald (1691 – 1747). The company’s commission comprised the East Coast of Sweden from Kalmar and northwards, including islands Åland, Öland, and Gotland. The commission also comprised the Finnish shores; Finland then being a part of Sweden. Triewald was the author of the thesis "Konsten att lefa under watn" (“The art of staying alive submerged”), which described how to dive with open-bottomed wet diving bells and how to use other tools for divers. Both salvage companies’ commissions were continuously renewed during the 1700s. They stood under the supervision of the Crown and had the status of public companies. Each company was run by a Director and the senior staff was constituted of Divining Commissioners (Swe: Dykerikommissarie), Diving Inspectors (Dykeriuppsyningsman), and Wreck Masters (Strandfogde). The work of each company was subdivided into salvage districts (Bärgningsdistrikt) and a Divining Commissioner was the person in charge of a salvage district. However, in many districts, the existing Coastguard/Customs organization was used and in those districts, it was a Customs Inspector (Tullinspektör) acting Diving Commissioner. Each Diving Commissioner was assisted by Diving Inspectors. However, it was the Wreck Masters (Strandfogde) that supervised the shores in of the coastal district they were in charge of. The wreck master was responsible to immediately inform the inspector or the commissioner of any shipwrecks or wreckage on the shores. The wreck master was also obliged to supervise the shipwreck and its goods until it was secured so it wasn’t stolen by plunderers. The wreck masters were usually locals living in the coastal area they were to supervise, often fishermen or coastal tenant farmers, who thereby were able to earn some extra money for the family as wreck masters. The salvors usually used vessels, barges, towropes, and custom-made equipment and tools such as diving bells to salvage valuable goods from wrecked ships. A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually to perform underwater work. It has an air-filled space, open at the bottom, where the divers can stand or sit with their heads out of the water. Diving bells are usually suspended by a cable and lifted and lowered by a winch from a surface support platform. A fairly heavy ballast is often required to counteract the buoyancy of the airspace, and this is usually set low at the bottom of the bell, which helps with stability. The wet bell is a structure with an airtight chamber that is open to the water at the bottom and these were the first type of bells. In the 1600s, the first diving bell was introduced in Sweden by Swedish nobleman Hans Albrecht von Treileben (1625-1690). On 27 August 1658, he was commissioned to salvage cannons of the warship Vasa, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 in Stockholm. Between 1663–1664 von Treileben's divers were successful in raising most of the cannons of the Vasa, working from a diving bell. In 1728, Mårten Treiwald made a new improved variant of Edmond Halley’s air-supplied diving bell. In Halley's design, atmosphere is replenished by sending weighted barrels of air down from the surface. This made the diving bell capable of remaining submerged for extended periods of time.The drawing to the right shows a cross-section of a wet diving bell. Image: Nordisk familjebok, 1800s edition.The salvage companies were not only responsible for the salvaging work but also the surveillance of the salvaged goods until it was handed over to the lawful owner or the Crown. There were some complaints about the salvage companies, their help wasn’t always easy to get and always costly. In the Parliament meeting in 1766, there were voices raised not to renew the commission for the two salvage companies. However, these voices gained no hearing. The Northern Salvage Company pursued their business until 1799 and the Southern Company until 1802 when the entire salvage process was reorganized in Sweden. In 1802, it was ruled that all salvage work in Sweden was to be put under a central agency located in Stockholm. Therefore the “Diving and Salvage Company” (Dykeri- och bärgningskompaniet) was established in 1802, responsible for all salvage operations in Sweden.In 1823, all Swedish citizens were given the right to salvage ship anchors offshore, and in 1829 the right to salvage ships or goods from the bottom of the sea, if abandoned by the owner or the Salvage Company.
Images of some known Swedish Lighthouses
The six oldest Lighthouses in Sweden
Nidingen in Halland, on the west coast, was the first lighthouse on Swedish land. Halland was formerly a Danish province but Swedish in 1645 after the Brömsebro Peace Treaty. Skåne in south Sweden, like Halland, was formerly a Danish province but became Swedish after the 1658 Brömsebro Peace Treaty and Sweden thereby obtained further lighthouses; Falsterbo Lighthouse and Kullen.These three lighthouses had, during the Danish period, been financed with the so-called Öresundstullen, a fee every ship passing through the sound between Denmark and Sweden had to pay to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The three first Swedish-built lighthouses are Landsort 1678, Örskär 1687, and Korsö circa 1750.
Draghällan Lighthouse, Sundsvall Bay
In 1845, a stone sea mark (Swe: stenkummel) was erected on a rocky islet in the Sundsvall Bay between the southern tip of island Alnön and Norra Nyhamn, a peninsula in Njurunda, south of Sundsvall. The rocky islet was narrowly visible above the surface of the water and was a problem for mariners. The erected sea mark was a mound of stones, about 4 meters high (13 ft) and painted white. The islet in the middle of the fairway into the port of Sundsvall and only about 35 x 40 m (115 x 131 ft) in size. Between 1878 and 1879, a lighthouse was built on the islet, Draghällan, funded by the townsmen of Sundsvall City. A lighthouse was built on the island of Bremö, south of Sundsvall, in 1859. However, it was necessary with a lighthouse in Sundsvall Bay too. The construction of the lighthouse in the bay was funded by Sundsvall but the operation of the lighthouse was taken over by the Royal Board of Pilot Services (Swe: Lotsverket) once it was built. The Board was the responsible authority for both lighthouse and pilot services. Connected to the lighthouse tower was a small dwelling (4 m2) for the lightkeeper. The dwelling was secured to the islet with iron bolts to withstand heavy storms. The first source of light was a kerosene incandescent lamp which needed continual tending. The first hired lightkeeper on the lighthouse was Olof Olofsson. In 1890, the lighthouse station was equipped with a manually operated fog signal. In 1902, the lighthouse was modernized and equipped with a clockwork-operated light, and in 1931 equipped with a so-called “tyfon”, a fog signal operated by compressed air. The older fog signal was kept as a “backup” signal. After a serious incident when a storm tore the roof off the lightkeeper’s dwelling, a breakwater was constructed on the islet as an extra precaution and protection. In the Mid-1920s the lighthouse services were extended, and more people were posted at the lighthouse station. It was now managed by a Master Lightkeeper. Between 1925 and 1926 a larger, red-painted, dwelling for the keepers was built on the islet, detached from the lighthouse tower. The Master Lightkeeper and his family lived in a flat consisting of 2 rooms and a kitchen while the Lightkeeper had one room and a kitchenette. Further, there was an extra kitchen for the assistant lightkeeper. In 1932, the lighthouse received a telephone connection, and in 1940 a wind-powered generator to produce electricity was installed. In 1942, a new, white-painted, 13 meters (43 ft) high, lighthouse tower was being built on the western side of the islet, beside the keepers’ dwelling. In 1945, the keepers’ dwelling was extended with yet another floor and the Master Lightkeeper’s flat was provided with yet another room and the two assistant keepers a room each. The dwelling was at this time painted yellow. The lighthouse was electrified in 1957. It was fully automated in 1966 and the former staff left the lighthouse. The keepers’ dwelling was torn down the following year.In 1997, the height of the lighthouse tower was raised to 14 meters (46 ft) to improve the range of light.See images of the lighthouse above.
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or another type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, rocks, and safe entries to harbors.A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. They are navigational experts possessing knowledge of the particular waterway such as its depth, currents, and hazards.The image on the top of the page shows the Pater Noster Lighthouse at Hamneskär, southern Bohuslän, Sweden, built 1868. Wikipedia.
Lighthouse Occupations
A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used.To keep a lighthouse operational around the clock, lighthouse tenders were needed to lighten and douse the light, replenish fuel, and perform maintenance tasks. Because most lighthouses are in remote, isolated, or inaccessible areas on islands and coastlines, it was typical for the work of lighthouse keeper to remain within a family, passing from parents to sons. In Sweden, the stations often constituted miniature communities with all the people on the staff and spouses. From 1845, at larger lighthouse stations it was common with schools (Swe: lotsbarnskolor) for the staff’s children. The lighthouse stations were usually located in remote areas, far away from any towns. Under a Lighthouse Regulation of 1827, the Swedish lighthouse keepers were divided into three categories; Master Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrmästare), Lightkeeper (Fyrvaktare), and Assistant Lightkeeper (Fyrbiträde). The Master Lightkeeper is the person in charge of a lighthouse station. All lighthouses had a Master Lightkeeper on the staff. However, depending on the size of the station, need of tending and other prioritized services there were other people among the staff. At major stations, so-called class-1 stations, the crew consisted of a Master Lightkeeper, a Lightkeeper, and one or two Assistant Lightkeepers. Minor stations, class-2 stations, usually were manned with a Master Lightkeeper and a Lightkeeper. The smaller, easy-tended class-3 stations only had a single Master Lightkeeper on the staff. The light staff, with or without families, usually lived at the station, either in quarters connected to the lighthouse or in the lighthouse tower. In Sweden, the lighthouse staff was organized under the Royal Board of Pilot Services (Swe: Lotsverket) and it was the Board that provided the accommodations for the staff and their families. In 1838, the keepers on duty kept four-hour watches in turn. From 1838, the lighthouses were also operational all year round, even during the snowy winters, from 30 minutes before sunset and to 30 minutes before sunrise every day. From then on, the staff lived at the stations all year round too. The communities of staff and their families at the stations consisted of dwellings, storage spaces, baking cabins, wash houses, etc. At all stations, the Master Lightkeepers house was always facing the lighthouse so that he could keep an eye at the lantern to make sure it was lit. A lighthouse station also needs a safe harbor and access to fresh water. In 1845, the Swedish Royal Board of Pilot Services (Lotsverket) began school services for the children of the lighthouse staff at the stations. The school terms were shorter than in regular schools and the teachers either lived at the stations or attended several lighthouse stations schools during the terms. The names in English of the different lightkeeper occupations above are translations of the Swedish names and therefore not necessarily the correct names of the occupations used in English-speaking countries.
Master Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrmästare)
The Master Lightkeeper (Head Lightkeeper) is the person in charge of a lighthouse station. He was the supervisor of the station and the other staff was subordinated him. Usually, the Master Lightkeepers were former non-commissioned officers in the Navy.
Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrvaktare)
The Lightkeeper was subordinated the Master Lightkeeper and second in command at the station, assisting the Master Lightkeeper. However, a Lightkeeper could be in charge of a minor lighthouse station.
Assistant Lightkeeper (Swe: Fyrbiträde)
There were both regular Assistant Lightkeepersas well as temporally employed assistants. The assistant lightkeepers were subordinated the lightkeeper.
Women at the Lighthouses
In 1835, the first women were employed on a trial basis at lighthouse stations. The trial employments went very well and women were accepted as employees at the stations. It became common that wives of keepers were employed too and worked with their husbands at the stations.
Uniforms of Lighthouse Staff
The early lighthouse keepers wore no specific uniform but were dressed like other people in coastal areas. The issue about uniforms for the staff had been on the agenda for a long time when the question was brought up in the 1870s and model uniforms were suggested. In 1881, the first regulations for lighthouse keepers and maritime pilots were issued. The staff then received a standardized uniform. In Sweden, the lighthouse services and the pilot services were organized under the same responsible authority, the Royal Board of Pilot Services (Lotsverket). Therefore, the lighthouse keepers and pilots adopted a more or less identical uniform. Only cap badges and service insignias separated the two groups. However, the two had the same type of rank insignias. The lighthouse staff wore a star as their service insignia on their lapels and the pilots an anchor. The color and cut of the 1881 uniform were similar to the Navy uniforms, i.e. dark blue. The peaked cap was equipped with a cap badge with a yellow anchor and the jacket was double-breasted. Rank insignias were worn on the sleeves in the form of chevrons, pointing downwards. Master Lightkeepers wore three chevrons, Lightkeepers two, and Assistant Lightkeepers one. In the 1920s, the chevrons were replaced with the same number of stripes. Suggested model uniforms 1874:
History of Lighthouse and
Pilotage Services - 2
Schools for Keepers’ Children
1845 - 1925
On 19 June 1845, the Admiralty issued a decree regarding the establishment of a school service for the children of lightkeepers and pilots in remote coastal areas. The children were to be taught how reading, writing, and arithmetic. The initiative came from the Swedish Royal Board of Pilot Services (Swe: Lotsverket) supported by the keepers and pilots. Under the 1842 Elementary School Statute, every local government (Swe: socken) was obliged to provide at least one permanent school for the children. However, in the countryside, the schools were usually located in local towns. It was difficult for the children of keepers in remote coastal areas to attend schools in towns. There simply was no regular transport service between the towns and villages and the locations of lighthouse and pilot stations in those days. Therefore, school service was arranged where the children of the keepers and pilots lived, i.e. on remote coastal areas and small islands. These schools had shorter terms than regular schools and the teachers either lived at the school or traveled between schools teaching children in several schools per term. The keeper children’s schools existed between 1845 and 1925. In other words, there were two types of schools for the keepers’ children; ambulatory and stationary schools. Ambulatory schools were schools where the teachers taught children in more than one school, i.e. they moved between schools. Stationary schools were more like regular schools and they were in major stations with many children. In 1845, keeper children schools were established at five lighthouse stations/pilot stations in the Stockholm coastal region. Gradually, 70 such schools were established in various coastal regions in Sweden. The schools were not only open for the children of keepers and pilots but also for children of other coastal people and islanders, for example, fishermen’s children. A prerequisite, there had to be at least 3 to 4 children at a lighthouse or pilot station to have a school established. Since the children often were of different ages, they all had to attend the same class. Teaching was carried out for about 4 months of the year and usually held a high standard. It was solely female teachers at these schools. The classrooms could be anything available, from a room in the Master Lightkeepers dwelling to a simple outhouse or an attic put in order, where also the teacher lived. Some lighthouse stations built a school building for the teaching of the children, for example, at Gotska Sandön, Hanö, Vinga, and Understen. At other stations, there simply weren’t enough children for a school, or not possible to arrange a school. Children at these stations had to be boarded in coastal towns during the terms where they could be taught. The image to the right shows schoolmistress Vendla Thorslund (1883-1955) who in 1919 was the schoolmistress at the lighthouse stations; Holmögadd, Bergudden, and Fjärdgrund. Image: fyr.org/wiki. PDM. The image to the left shows children attending class at Vinga lighthouse station in the 1930s. The schoolmistress is Berta Svensson. Image: fyr.org/wiki. PDM. The keeper and pilot schools lasted until 1925. The responsibility for the teaching of these children was then transferred to the public school authorities subordinated to the Swedish National Board of Education (Swe: Skolöverstyrelsen). Most ambulatory and stationary schools at the stations were now closed down. The children of keepers and pilots thereby got a very long way to school. Most children had to be boarded on the mainland and be away from home for months at a time.
False Lights – Plundering of
Wrecks
Ever since Medieval times, the coastal population has considered wrecks and wrecked goods their property and have tried to seize whatever they could get their hands on. However, legally, wrecks were the property of the Crown, and only the Crown was entitled to salvage wrecked goods. In the 1600s, the Crown began using mounted officials within the Coastguards, then subordinated the Swedish Customs. These mounted coastguard officials were called “strandridare” in Swedish. Their responsibility was to prevent smuggling and the plundering of wrecks by patrolling the seashores. The term “strandridare” literally means “shore rider”. The first “strandridare” was hired in 1638 in the Kalmar region on the Swedish east coast. They were keeping watch over a 250 km (155 mi) long coastal strip. In 1832, the “strandridare” (Shore Riders) were being replaced by “Kustuppsyningsmän” (Coast Inspectors). Under a regulation issued by the Royal Board of Pilot Services, the pilots must cooperate with the Customs and Coastguards to prevent smuggling. Plunderers and bandits often lit false lights to lure merchant ships onto shoals to plunder the wrecked goods of anything of value. The Swedish penal code of 1734 stated: "The who lightens false lights or make false navigational marks with the intent to mislead mariners onto shoals to be wrecked will pay the penalty of 32 pairs of the rod, independent if any damage was done or not.” However if a false light caused a ship to be wrecked, the guilty “shall suffer death”. The image to the right shows bandits misleading a ship onto a shoal with false light. Copperplate engraving. Public Domain. DigitaltMuseum.A coastal region in southern Sweden where there were many reports in former days about false lights causing merchant ships to be wrecked is Sandhammaren in southeastern Skåne. The waters in this region are full of sand reefs which were a nightmare for mariners on the sailing ships. It is reportedly said that the ships were misled onto the reefs by the bandits’ false lights and the wrecked ships were plundered. Surviving castaways were usually attacked and killed by the plunderers, not to leave any witnesses. The plunderers were often people from nearby coastal communities who thought that everything that the sea brought was their legitimate property. To give destiny a bit of help in their favor (disfavoring of the mariners) was of no concern. The wrecked ships were a blessing to the locals. In stormy weather conditions, the bandits lit false lights far onshore to make the mariners believe they were further out than they were. The shipmasters then usually changed their course and steered the ship closer to shore which resulted that them run aground and was wrecked. The plunderers grabbed anything of value from the wrecks and surviving members of the crew were killed and buried on the seashore.Sandhammaren which means “The Sand Hammer” was for a very long time considered “a slaughterhouse for seamen”. Seamen on the sailing ships passing the Bornholm Narrows used to say a special prayer “Save us from Sandhammaren Thou Mighty Lord” (Swe: "För Sandhammaren bevare oss du milde herre Gud".Sandhammaren is Scandinavia’s biggest ship graveyard of lost ships and seamen graves. The many shipwrecks at Sandhammaren became fewer when the sailing ships were replaced by steamships. Besides, at the beginning of the 1800s, there was a change in moral values regarding misleading ships onto shoals and the false lights gradually disappeared.The image to the right shows a ship in distress near the Sandhammaren reefs.In 1831, a temporary light, an open coal-powered brazier, was put on one of the high sand dunes at Sandhammaren at an elevation of 7.5 meters (25 ft) above sea level. Building a permanent light was being planned but the soft dunes would be a problem for a heavy stone structure. With the introduction of the so-called Heidenstam lighthouse in the 1860s, it was possible to build a lighthouse at Sandhammaren. Not only one, but two Heidenstam lighthouses were built, both with a height of 29 meters (95 ft). The reason for the two lighthouses was an avoidance with the nearby lighthouses Bornholm and Christiansö. The two lighthouses at Sandhammaren were opened in 1862and were the first Heidenstam lighthouses erected. The northern lighthouse at Sandhammaren was dismantled in 1904. Author Frans Löfström has taken down many of the stories about Sandhammaren and the events taken place here in his book “Kring Sandhammaren” (Around Sandhammaren), 1946.
Salvage Companies (Dykerikompaniet)
Marine salvage or wrecking (US) is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Taking valuable goods from a shipwreck that has foundered or run aground close to shore was often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities.Dykerikompani was formerly the name of two specific companies that were commissioned to perform all major salvage operations within each company’s assigned coastal region in Sweden. The first salvage company (Swe: Dykerikompani) in Sweden was established in 1663 when Hans Albrecht von Treuleben obtained a Royal commission to carry out “diving and salvage businesses” (”dykeri- och bärgaraffärer”). In 1682 this commission was transferred to Georg Coberton. In 1692, the Southern Salvage Company (Södra Dykerikompaniet) was granted an exclusive commission for 10 years to perform salvage work on ships and goods foundered or run aground along the shores and coastal waters of Skåne, Halland, and Bohuslän. The company was founded by businessmen Jöran Holst och Sifvert Dietrichsen. In 1729, the Northern Salvage Company (Norra Dykerikompaniet)) was granted a similar commission, but along all other coastal areas of Sweden. This company was established by engineer Mårten Triewald (1691 – 1747). The company’s commission comprised the East Coast of Sweden from Kalmar and northwards, including islands Åland, Öland, and Gotland. The commission also comprised the Finnish shores; Finland then being a part of Sweden. Triewald was the author of the thesis "Konsten att lefa under watn" (“The art of staying alive submerged”), which described how to dive with open-bottomed wet diving bells and how to use other tools for divers. Both salvage companies’ commissions were continuously renewed during the 1700s. They stood under the supervision of the Crown and had the status of public companies. Each company was run by a Director and the senior staff was constituted of Divining Commissioners (Swe: Dykerikommissarie), Diving Inspectors (Dykeriuppsyningsman), and Wreck Masters (Strandfogde). The work of each company was subdivided into salvage districts (Bärgningsdistrikt) and a Divining Commissioner was the person in charge of a salvage district. However, in many districts, the existing Coastguard/Customs organization was used and in those districts, it was a Customs Inspector (Tullinspektör) acting Diving Commissioner. Each Diving Commissioner was assisted by Diving Inspectors. However, it was the Wreck Masters(Strandfogde) that supervised the shores in of the coastal district they were in charge of. The wreck master was responsible to immediately inform the inspector or the commissioner of any shipwrecks or wreckage on the shores. The wreck master was also obliged to supervise the shipwreck and its goods until it was secured so it wasn’t stolen by plunderers. The wreck masters were usually locals living in the coastal area they were to supervise, often fishermen or coastal tenant farmers, who thereby were able to earn some extra money for the family as wreck masters. The salvors usually used vessels, barges, towropes, and custom-made equipment and tools such as diving bells to salvage valuable goods from wrecked ships. A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually to perform underwater work. It has an air-filled space, open at the bottom, where the divers can stand or sit with their heads out of the water. Diving bells are usually suspended by a cable and lifted and lowered by a winch from a surface support platform. A fairly heavy ballast is often required to counteract the buoyancy of the airspace, and this is usually set low at the bottom of the bell, which helps with stability. The wet bell is a structure with an airtight chamber that is open to the water at the bottom and these were the first type of bells. In the 1600s, the first diving bell was introduced in Sweden by Swedish nobleman Hans Albrecht von Treileben (1625-1690). On 27 August 1658, he was commissioned to salvage cannons of the warship Vasa, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 in Stockholm. Between 1663–1664 von Treileben's divers were successful in raising most of the cannons of the Vasa, working from a diving bell. In 1728, Mårten Treiwald made a new improved variant of Edmond Halley’s air-supplied diving bell. In Halley's design, atmosphere is replenished by sending weighted barrels of air down from the surface. This made the diving bell capable of remaining submerged for extended periods of time.The drawing to the right shows a cross-section of a wet diving bell. Image: Nordisk familjebok, 1800s edition.The salvage companies were not only responsible for the salvaging work but also the surveillance of the salvaged goods until it was handed over to the lawful owner or the Crown. There were some complaints about the salvage companies, their help wasn’t always easy to get and always costly. In the Parliament meeting in 1766, there were voices raised not to renew the commission for the two salvage companies. However, these voices gained no hearing. The Northern Salvage Company pursued their business until 1799 and the Southern Company until 1802 when the entire salvage process was reorganized in Sweden. In 1802, it was ruled that all salvage work in Sweden was to be put under a central agency located in Stockholm. Therefore the “Diving and Salvage Company” (Dykeri- och bärgningskompaniet) was established in 1802, responsible for all salvage operations in Sweden.In 1823, all Swedish citizens were given the right to salvage ship anchors offshore, and in 1829 the right to salvage ships or goods from the bottom of the sea, if abandoned by the owner or the Salvage Company.
Images of some known Swedish
Lighthouses
The six oldest Lighthouses in Sweden
Nidingen in Halland, on the west coast, was the first lighthouse on Swedish land. Halland was formerly a Danish province but Swedish in 1645 after the Brömsebro Peace Treaty. Skåne in south Sweden, like Halland, was formerly a Danish province but became Swedish after the 1658 Brömsebro Peace Treaty and Sweden thereby obtained further lighthouses; Falsterbo Lighthouse and Kullen.These three lighthouses had, during the Danish period, been financed with the so-called Öresundstullen, a fee every ship passing through the sound between Denmark and Sweden had to pay to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The three first Swedish-built lighthouses are Landsort 1678, Örskär 1687, and Korsö circa 1750.
In 1845, a stone sea mark (Swe: stenkummel) was erected on a rocky islet in the Sundsvall Bay between the southern tip of island Alnön and Norra Nyhamn, a peninsula in Njurunda, south of Sundsvall. The rocky islet was narrowly visible above the surface of the water and was a problem for mariners. The erected sea mark was a mound of stones, about 4 meters high (13 ft) and painted white. The islet in the middle of the fairway into the port of Sundsvall and only about 35 x 40 m (115 x 131 ft) in size. Between 1878 and 1879, a lighthouse was built on the islet, Draghällan, funded by the townsmen of Sundsvall City. A lighthouse was built on the island of Bremö, south of Sundsvall, in 1859. However, it was necessary with a lighthouse in Sundsvall Bay too. The construction of the lighthouse in the bay was funded by Sundsvall but the operation of the lighthouse was taken over by the Royal Board of Pilot Services (Swe: Lotsverket) once it was built. The Board was the responsible authority for both lighthouse and pilot services. Connected to the lighthouse tower was a small dwelling (4 m2) for the lightkeeper. The dwelling was secured to the islet with iron bolts to withstand heavy storms. The first source of light was a kerosene incandescent lamp which needed continual tending. The first hired lightkeeper on the lighthouse was Olof Olofsson. In 1890, the lighthouse station was equipped with a manually operated fog signal. In 1902, the lighthouse was modernized and equipped with a clockwork-operated light, and in 1931 equipped with a so-called “tyfon”, a fog signal operated by compressed air. The older fog signal was kept as a “backup” signal. After a serious incident when a storm tore the roof off the lightkeeper’s dwelling, a breakwater was constructed on the islet as an extra precaution and protection. In the Mid-1920s the lighthouse services were extended, and more people were posted at the lighthouse station. It was now managed by a Master Lightkeeper. Between 1925 and 1926 a larger, red-painted, dwelling for the keepers was built on the islet, detached from the lighthouse tower. The Master Lightkeeper and his family lived in a flat consisting of 2 rooms and a kitchen while the Lightkeeper had one room and a kitchenette. Further, there was an extra kitchen for the assistant lightkeeper. In 1932, the lighthouse received a telephone connection, and in 1940 a wind-powered generator to produce electricity was installed. In 1942, a new, white-painted, 13 meters (43 ft) high, lighthouse tower was being built on the western side of the islet, beside the keepers’ dwelling. In 1945, the keepers’ dwelling was extended with yet another floor and the Master Lightkeeper’s flat was provided with yet another room and the two assistant keepers a room each. The dwelling was at this time painted yellow. The lighthouse was electrified in 1957. It was fully automated in 1966 and the former staff left the lighthouse. The keepers’ dwelling was torn down the following year.In 1997, the height of the lighthouse tower was raised to 14 meters (46 ft) to improve the range of light.See images of the lighthouse above.
