Vareler Siel lighthouse

The Leuchtturm Vareler Siel stands on the southern edge of the Jadebusen, a shallow bay on the North Sea coast. It was built in 1876 by the Borsig engineering works in Berlin and served as a guiding light for ships heading to Wilhelmshaven’s harbours. The tower stood on the Schafdeich, a protective dike near Varel’s small port, rising 29.7 metres above a 3.5-metre stone foundation. Its light was first lit on 1 April 1877, showing a red fixed beam at 27 metres and a white fixed beam at 24 metres. Two fourth-order Fresnel lenses focused the beams, and later a flashing group was added using an Otter shutter. After the Arngast lighthouse took over in 1910, the Vareler Siel light was extinguished and the tower dismantled. Today only the sturdy iron shell remains, its eight storeys and six supporting struts still visible. The city of Varel briefly used it for fishing before demolition in 1923. The site overlooks the wide mudflats and the quiet harbour entrance, where seabirds gather at low tide.