Brandaris Lighthouse - Brandarisstraat 2

Super

Historically interesting landmark

Mighty icon of Terschelling. They don't build them like this anymore these days.

Cool

Pogchamp

This tower is named after Sint Brandarius or Sint Brandaan. In the Middle Ages, the current village of West-Terschelling was home to a Sint-Brandarius church, the tower of which served as a beacon for shipping. This church no longer exists. The current Brandaris has taken over the role of beacon from the former Brandarius church tower; hence this lighthouse has kept the name of the seafaring saint Brandaan. The medieval Brandarius Church was built in 1323. The tower was built in such a way that it could serve as a beacon for the ships that were on their way to Amsterdam via the Zuiderzee. Good marking of the narrow passage between Vlieland and Terschelling was necessary because the Wadden Islands look very similar from the North Sea. The Hanseatic city of Kampen contributed to this first lighthouse. The island of Terschelling gradually shifted, causing the first Brandaris to collapse into the sea around 1570. It took until 1592 for the construction of a second tower to begin, but it collapsed before it was completed due to poor building materials used. The current tower was completed in 1594. In 1837, the Brandaris was rebuilt to be the first Dutch lighthouse to carry a rotating fresnel lens. The stair well and the light house were installed in that year. Electrification followed in 1907. For this purpose, a machine house was built a year earlier on the north side of the tower. This building was demolished in 1982. The lamp with electric drive was installed in 1920. In 1977 the lighthouse got a lift and a radar antenna. The light is now completely automatic.

The Brandaris is the big lighthouse on Terschelling. At night it is awesome to see the light go over the center of town.

Iconic lighthouse in the center of West-Terschelling village. Lot of shops and bars near it. Unfortunately you can’t enter the building or climb it.