Lindau Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse in Germany, located on Lake Constance. The lighthouse was built from 1853 to 1856 at the western mole in the entrance to the harbour of Lindau and was first lit on 4 October 1856. It succeeded the light station in the Mangturm tower of 1230.
During the first years of operation the light was created by an open oil fire. At that time the keeper would steadily have to keep the fire burning in great pans and operate a bell and foghorn. The firing was later converted to kerosene and then gas. Since 1936 the tower has been operated electrically and was automated in the early 1990s. The light is lit on demand by ships using radio signals. The light characteristic is one flash every three seconds which is created by two rotating parabolic reflectors.
The lighthouse and the entire port of Lindau were originally built by the Bavarian Railway Company and later used to be operated by the shipping department for Lake Constance of Deutsche Bahn. Eventually the port was sold to the city works of Constance in 2002 together with the Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe GmbH shipping company. After several years of negotiations the port area and thus the lighthouse were transferred to the town of Lindau in April 2010. It is open to visitors who may find information on local fauna and flora and on Lake Constance shipping.
The lighthouse is a popular subject for photographs.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.