Built in 1894, Poland’s Gdansk New Port Lighthouse is one of Poland’s oldest surviving towers. It has the distinction of being at the very spot where World War II started. It was from this lighthouse and the nearby moored battleship Schleswig Holstein that Germany first opened fire, on September 1, 1939, on Polish positions across the river.
The lighthouse served as an active aid to navigation until 1980 when it was decommissioned and left unattended.
Now, the old lighthouse my again have a new life. Polish born and life long lighthouse aficionado Stefan J. Michaela of Montreal-Verdun, Canada, have purchased it. His plans call for him to restore the lighthouse and display an exhibit on the walls of the inside of the tower of lighthouses from around the world.
This story appeared in the
April 2002 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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