Many tourists who visited Gelendzhik are familiar with the tall lighthouse-tower, which is located on the Cape of Tolstoy. But there is another lighthouse in this city. It is called the gate lighthouse of Gelendzhik. Despite the fact that it is less visible, this attraction has a rich history. What is this story? We will talk about this below. And you will find a description and photos of this attraction!
History, address of the lighthouse in Gelendzhik
There is a tower in the heart of the city, on Lermontovsky Boulevard, not far from the sanatorium named after Lomonosov. The Gate Lighthouse is one of the oldest along the Black Sea coast. It was built by a French architect, whose name is François de Tonde. The official opening took place on August 19, 1987.
Tower today
The Gelendzhik lighthouse has been preserved in its original form and is still in working condition. It only changed the lamp in 1927 - kerosene to electric. The building was overhauled. Local authorities do not forget about it, the lighthouse is regularly restored. Made in a romantic style, it is a real decoration of the promenade. You can only admire this beautiful building from afar; there are no excursions inside this Gelendzhik lighthouse. The fact is that this structure is a closed facility of the Ministry of Defense.
About lighthouses
It is enough to hear about the gate lighthouse, as the question arises of what it is. To date, there are only two types of lighthouses. Identification coastal structures are used to indicate a certain point, danger on a water or earth surface. Gate lighthouses work only in pairs, they are needed to mark the line on the map, they are used to indicate the place of change of the ship's course - for example, at the entrance to the port or harbor. For such situations, structures of different heights are used. The lighthouse located farther from the ship is always higher than the one that is closer.
In that case, if the ship follows the right course, then from its deck two lights of lighthouses will be visible at once. They will be located one above the other. Such a naming system was introduced in Europe in 1837, it has the name "Leading Lights". The gate lighthouse in Gelendzhik has the name "Front", it was below the "partner", which is now destroyed. Identification marks are now on the roof of the sanatorium.
Gelendzhik Lighthouse: photo, description
Gate lighthouse built in the Art Nouveau style, decorated with unusual stained glass windows. It is a quadrangular stone tower of white color. Its height is 13 meters. On the roof of the tower is a sign of the cardinal points, from afar resembling a cross. The light of the lighthouse spreads within a radius of 9-11 miles, this is due to the rock crystal that surrounds the light bulb.
Years of war
The work of this coastal structure played a huge role during the Patriotic War. It was in the building of the gate lighthouse of Gelendzhik in April 1942 that the hydrographic department was evacuated from the city of Novorossiysk. Thanks to him alone, in September of the 43rd, the naval landing was able to land, which reflected the pressure of the Nazi troops for more than 200 days.
It is important to say that in the severe war years in the Kuban only 69 of the 69 lighthouses remained - the rest were blown up to make it difficult for the fascist troops to approach the Black Sea coast. The gate beacon in Gelendzhik was waiting for the same fate. However, the head of the coastal structure, P. T. Sokolov, managed to convince the management not to blow it up, explaining that it was simply necessary for the further work of the bay.
Landmark at Cape Tolstoy
The lighthouse on the Tolstoy cape appeared a long time ago - it happened at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, when a village called Gelendzhik occupied only the south-eastern part of the bay. The construction of the lighthouse town began far beyond the borders of the settlement; the deserted southwestern coast of the Tolstoy cape was chosen for it.
Initially, to ensure safe navigation, a kerosene lamp on a pole, a large cellar for storing fuel and various service buildings were equipped here. Later, a round lighthouse tower with electrical equipment was erected here. This tower has been preserved, but today it is not used. Simultaneously with the start of construction of the Novorossiysk seaport on the shore of Gelendzhik Bay, work began on the construction of a modern lighthouse tower - a high (with a 16-story building) multifaceted snow-white column with red stripes.
In general, it was planned to install an elevator on this lighthouse. It was even made - at a factory somewhere in Armenia. But difficulties began - delivery fell through, and an earthquake prevented. The lighthouse was left without an elevator. To climb it, you must overcome the internal spiral staircase. However, such a rise is far from accessible to everyone - the lighthouse is closed. There are various navigation facilities, a border post, a house owned by the caretaker of the coastal facility and his family. By the way, such a service is usually a family affair; for many years, this Gelendzhik lighthouse has been served by a family dynasty. The head of the lighthouse is Viktor Mikhailovich Terekhov. 52 years ago, he chose to work in the hydrographic service, 24 years he served on ships and for the third decade now he has been working as a lighthouse.
The beaches of the resort town diverge from the coastal facility on the Tolstoy Cape. It was he who gave them the name - the residents and guests of Gelendzhik call them “On Steeper” and “At The Lighthouse”.