Name and Location

The Palagruža Lighthouse, also known as "Light of Palagruža," is an active aid to navigation operated by Plovput (Croatian Maritime Safety Agency). Located on the small rocky archipelago of Palagruža in the central Adriatic Sea, approximately 40 nm southwest of Split. The coordinates are 42.392573 N, 16.2557073 E.

Construction and History

The lighthouse was built in 1875 under the directives of the Imperial–Royal Austro-Hungarian Admiralty to aid shipping on the open Adriatic route. It remained manually staffed until automation in the late 20th century. The keeper-staffed period lasted until around 1970, after which it became fully automated and remotely monitored by Plovput.

Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse is a Late 19th-century Austro-Hungarian masonry structure. The tower is cylindrical, rising from a single-storey keeper's house made of local stone and brick masonry, with attached service outbuildings. The lantern dome and gallery railings are painted red.

Light and Navigation

The lighthouse has a three-white-flashes-every-16-seconds light characteristic (Fl(3)W 16s). It is approximately 103 meters above sea level and has a range of 24 nautical miles (≈44 km). The original lens was a dioptric Fresnel apparatus, which has been replaced with modern LED optics. Power comes from mains electricity via submarine cable with diesel-generator backup.

Accessibility and Visiting

Access to the lighthouse is only possible by private or chartered boat (weather-dependent) due to its remote location. The lighthouse compound is closed to casual visitors, but day-trip cruise operators sometimes include a circumnavigation of the islets.

Notable Views and Landscape

The area around Palagruža is known for its sparse vegetation on rocky islets, making it an important breeding site for shearwaters and terns. The waters are popular with blue-water anglers and scuba divers, noted for their visibility.

Anecdotes and Folklore

Although not formally listed in Croatia's register of immovable cultural heritage, the Palagruža Lighthouse is regarded as an emblem of Adriatic maritime history. Anecdotes survive of 19th-century keepers who endured months of isolation, logging weather in hand-written journals now held in Split Maritime Museum.

Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse is still an active aid to navigation on official hydrographic and nautical charts (INT 65; BA chart 21; HHI 34). It has integrated AIS (AtoN) transponder for virtual aids-to-navigation system. The NOAA/UKHO chart symbols feature a light surrounded by a small circle with "Fl (3) 16 s" label.

Further Information

For further information, please visit the official Plovput website or consult references such as Hrvoje Gerić's book "Svjetionici na Jadranu" (2010) and Croatian Hydrographic Institute's Nautical Chart HHI 34.