Unyielding guard on the Douro River
Steadfast amidst the surf: A lighthouse on the Portuguese Atlantic coast defies the waves, wind and weather.
The Felgueiras Lighthouse in Porto
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal was one of the leading seafaring nations, known for expanding the horizons and developing new sea routes. Many outstanding personalities faced the – often life-threatening – adversities of the sea: Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India. Bartolomeu Dias was the first to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope. Pedro Álvares Cabral is considered the person who officially discovered Brazil. Without technical innovations, it would not have been possible to push the boundaries of the known world back then. New types of ships, more accurate sea charts and aids such as Quadrant and Gradstock led courageous explorers to increasingly remote areas of the seven seas.
Beacons have been lit at the coast since ancient times in order to prevent shipwrecks and wrong turns at sea. With the great advances in construction and lighting technology, the first lighthouses as we know them today were built in the 18th century. As fixed points visible from afar, they make navigation easier for ship crews and at the same time warn of dangerous coastal stretches. These include the Felgueiras Lighthouse, which guards the gateway from the Atlantic in the direction of Porto.
A piece of maritime history
The Felgueiras Lighthouse stands on the pier at the mouth of the Douro River in Portugal, where the river and the Atlantic meet. This stretch of water where the ocean and river meet had been problematic for a long time due to the natural movement of sand and a dangerous navigation channel. Both of them repeatedly led to shipwrecks. With the growth in maritime transport and the increasing economic importance of the port of Porto in the 19th century, there was a need to make the entrance to the port safer and more indestructible. The construction of piers in 1790 and 1857 facilitated the stabilisation of the navigation channel.
The Felgueiras Lighthouse was built in 1886. For a lighthouse, it is relatively small, because it rises only ten metres in height. The hexagonal shape, made of resistant granite, is also rather unimpressive. What makes it so spectacular is its position – at the end of the Felgueiras pier where the river flows out into the Atlantic. The quay wall is curved so that the water surges upwards. Even when the waves are low, the water is absolutely breathtaking as it foams and roars around this iconic monument in Porto.
Under the control of the tides
The Felgueiras Lighthouse stands on a pier on the right bank of the Douro River. The massive sea wall projecting far into the sea, is secured by a strong stone wall. In this way, the pier serves as a breakwater to protect the mouth of the Douro River. At the very end of the pier is the lighthouse, where it is exposed to particularly adverse conditions. Sometimes the waves break over the Felgueiras Lighthouse and are double as high as the lighthouse itself! This places enormous demands on the construction and material.
Corrosion resistant to salt water, resistant to the force of the waves, stable even in strong winds: Due to its exposed location in a harsh environment, the Felgueiras Lighthouse has had to withstand immense pressures since its construction. Innovative responses from progressive thinkers were needed to meet this challenge. For instance, the civil engineers designed a construction with minimal corroding surfaces. Granite was chosen as the material, which will last for a long time due to its robust character. Anti-corrosive coatings extend the life of iron or steel parts such as railings, doors or the roof. Due to this engineering skill, the lighthouse still resists the forces of nature around 140 years later.
An enduring landmark
Thanks to regular modernisation work, the Felgueiras Lighthouse kept pace with the times and was therefore always able to fulfil its service reliably: In 1955, a second-order Fresnel lens was fitted, which sends a red flash of light every five seconds with a range of nine nautical miles. Automation followed in 1979 and it was controlled remotely from the Leça Lighthouse, just a few kilometres to the north. In 2009, things initially came to an end: The Felgueiras Lighthouse ceased to operate, apart from as a fog horn.
However, on 13 December 2021, the authorities decided to put the lighthouse back into service due to its historical importance. Since then, it has once again guided sailors from all over the world safely through the gateway to the Douro River. The Felgueiras Lighthouse therefore represents the high standards of the builders to oppose the enormous power of water and thereby protect others from damage – outstanding, reliable and world-class.
