Denmark

One of the first lighthouses in Denmark was established around the year 1200 at Falsterbo (Falsterbo Lighthouse) in Skåne. A more organized arrangement of lighthouses began under King Frederick II. On June 8, 1560, the Royal Danish Lighthouse Authority (Det Kongelige Danske Fyrvæsen) was established, and it marked the route through the Kattegat from Skagen to Falsterbo; it was the first sea route in the world to receive proper navigational marking with lighthouses. Along the stretch in between, lighthouses were built on Anholt and Kullen.

Originally, wood and oil were used as fuel, but later coal became the standard. To avoid carrying fuel up to great heights, the lighthouses were constructed as “basin lights” (vippefyr), where the fire was lit in an iron basket mounted on a pivoting arm, allowing it to be lowered for fueling and then raised again. The first pivoting light in Skagen was built in 1627, and this type became fairly widespread in Denmark, but was gradually replaced by masonry towers. The last Danish pivoting light, located on Anholt, was decommissioned in 1788.

In 1655, a light was lit on the other side of the Skagerrak. It was the first in Norway and was established by King Frederick III, who granted a citizen of Christiansand the privilege of operating a lighthouse at Lindesnes. However, navigation at the time was so unreliable that sailors were unsure whether they were seeing Lindesnes or Skagen! Since mistaking one for the other could be fatal — either sailing north around Lindesnes or south around Skagen — the uncertainty was eliminated by extinguishing the light at Lindesnes. A lighthouse was not reestablished there until 1725, and it was then accompanied by other nearby lighthouses to avoid confusion.

In 1800, there were about 11 lighthouses in Denmark. That number had increased to around 100 by 1893 and further to approximately 140 by 1939.