Name and Location

The Alte Liebe Lighthouse stands on the old "Alte Liebe" pier in Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany. The address is Bei der Alten Liebe 7, 27472 Cuxhaven, Germany. The lighthouse guides vessels approaching the Weser estuary and the harbour mouth.

Construction and History

The construction date of the lighthouse remains undocumented in publicly available sources. It is likely that the lighthouse was erected in the late 19th or early 20th century as navigation needs grew on the Wester­gemeinde quay. The original use of the lighthouse was as a harbour approach light, probably operated by the Imperial German Navy's maritime authorities.

Architecture and Materials

The Alte Liebe Lighthouse is a slender cylindrical tower with a gallery and lantern. It stands 23 meters tall above ground and has a load-bearing masonry or brick core, rendered exterior in a warm brownish tone, and a light mint-green roof. The roof shape features a dome over the lantern, topped by a ventilator ball.

Light and Navigation

The function of the lighthouse is as a harbour approach/pierhead light. The focal height is not officially recorded, but it is presumed to be around 25 meters above mean sea level. The light characteristic is not publicly documented, but likely a fixed white or occulting white light used for close-range guidance. The range is estimated under 10 nautical miles, designed for harbour rather than open-sea navigation.

Accessibility and Visiting

The pierhead lantern is not open to the public, but visitors may walk onto the adjoining Alte Liebe pier freely (no entrance fee) and photograph the tower from outside. The best way to reach the lighthouse is on foot via the promenade along Cuxhaven's North Sea bank; ample parking and cafés lie within a few minutes' walk.

Notable Views and Landscape

The Alte Liebe Lighthouse offers panoramic vistas of the North Sea coast, passing offshore vessels, and—at high tide—barges bound for Bremerhaven. Sunset and stormy-weather shots are especially popular with ship-spotters.

Anecdotes and Folklore

Locals sometimes call it "Kaffeetürmchen" (coffee-cup tower), referring to its pastel roof colour. It is said that, in dense fog, keepers on the adjacent pier would signal small craft by bell before the light was electrified.

Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse remains active as an aid to navigation, maintained by the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes (WSV; German Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration). No AIS transponder or radar installation has been reported on the structure itself.