Westmolenfeuer
Neue Westmole, Rostock, Germany
Name and Location
The Rostock Neue Westmole Lighthouse, also known as the Westmolenfeuer, is located at Neue Westmole, 18069 Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The coordinates are 54°11′12.5″ N, 12°05′14.1″ E.
Construction and History
The construction year of the lighthouse is undocumented in available sources. Its style is unknown, but it appears to be a utilitarian breakwater lantern tower.
Architecture and Materials
The structure is an unpainted concrete or masonry cylinder rising directly from the mole's end, capped by a small domed roof. The tower height is 12 meters (39 feet).
Light and Navigation
The lighthouse marks the outer end of the western mole at Rostock's port mouth, aiding in night-time and low-visibility approach to the Dömitz–Rostock ferry berths and commercial harbour basins. It is likely a fixed or occulting white light for harbour entrance.
Accessibility and Visiting
The mole is publicly accessible by foot, but the tower itself is not open to visitors. To reach the lighthouse, park near the Osthafen/cruise terminal and walk along the harbour sea wall to the western mole end (approximately 2 kilometers). Alternatively, use promenades along the Warnow estuary to connect to the breakwaters.
Notable Views and Landscape
The surrounding landscape offers panoramic views over the Baltic Sea, the Warnow estuary, passing cargo ships and ferries; popular for sunset walks and bird-watching. On clear days, you can see the silhouette of Warnemünde and the Kröpeliner-Tor-Vorstadt district to the east.
Anecdotes and Folklore
Locals know this lighthouse as a romantic vantage point for views of departing cruise ships and ferries bound for Gedser (Denmark). No major shipwrecks have been recorded directly at the mole, but the adjacent channel has historically been one of Mecklenburg's busiest gravel and grain shipping lanes.
Technical and Operational Details
The focal height is approximately 13 meters above sea level. The range is modest (likely under 5 nautical miles), intended for local traffic. Power and automation are assumed to be fully automated, with no on-site keeper station.
Further Information
- OpenStreetMap (way/205192343): https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/205192343
- Google Maps satellite view: https://www.google.com/maps?q=54.1868121,12.0872559
Details
| Name | Westmolenfeuer |
|---|---|
| City | Rostock |
| Country | Germany |
| Coordinates | 54.1868121, 12.0872559 |
| Events | No major shipwrecks recorded directly at the mole, but the adjacent channel has historically been one of Mecklenburg's busiest gravel and grain shipping lanes. |
| Stories | Known locally as a romantic vantage point for views of departing cruise ships and ferries bound for Gedser (Denmark) |
| Architectural style | utilitarian breakwater lantern tower |
| Construction material | "unpainted concrete or masonry" |
| Focal height | 13 |
| Tower height | 12 |
| Accessible | true |
| Landscape type | coastal |
| View description | panoramic views over the Baltic, the Warnow estuary, passing cargo ships and ferries; popular for sunset walks and bird-watching |
| Facilities | toilets, café, gift shop |
| Nearby attractions | ["Warnemünde and, to the east, the Kröpeliner-Tor-Vorstadt district"] |
| Light characteristic | "fixed or occulting white light for harbour entrance" |
| Light range | "modest (likely under 5 nmi)" |
| Automated | true |