Not far from Kronstadt, there is an old lighthouse. It is over three hundred years old. It was built by the personal order of Peter the Great; on November 13, 1718, in a letter to Vice Admiral Cornelius Cruys, the tsar wrote: “… to build a stone column with a lantern on the Kotlin spit.” On the sketch of the lighthouse tower, drawn personally by Peter I and attached to the letter, the main dimensions of the tower were indicated, and at the bottom, in his own handwriting, there was a note: “the rest is left to the architect’s discretion.”
Since the construction of a stone lighthouse required significant material costs and skilled stonemasons, who were in short supply, with Peter I’s consent, it was decided to build a temporary wooden lighthouse. The construction of the first wooden structure was completed on August 7, 1719, under the leadership of Captain 1st rank Edward Lane. The dimensions of the rocky islet are small, only 70 by 70 meters. The light was first lit on the lighthouse on August 28, 1719.
Initially, the lighthouse was wooden, and the guiding light for ships was provided by candles. However, the dim candlelight was poorly visible, and soon they were replaced by firewood. Maintaining the signal fire consumed six thousand tons of firewood per year. When thick fog made it difficult to see the signal beam, sailors navigated by the sound of a large bell. The lighthouse bell weighs 328 kilograms. It is no longer in use but has been preserved for history.
The original name of the lighthouse was “Kotlin.” In 1736, it was renamed “Tolbukhin,” in honor of Colonel Fedot Semyonovich Tolbukhin, commander of the Kronshlot garrison, the first commandant of Kronstadt, who distinguished himself during the defense of Kotlin in the Great Northern War. In the same year, the Admiralty Board decided to build a new stone lighthouse, but first, in 1737, a new temporary wooden lighthouse was erected on the site of the old dilapidated one. The lighthouse has survived many events, including a terrible fire. Until the approval by Emperor Alexander I in 1807 of the “Regulations on the Maintenance of Lighthouses and the Lighthouse Crew Staff,” the lighthouse was a temporary wooden structure.
The newly created position of lighthouse director in the Admiralty Department was taken by the energetic Captain 2nd rank Spafaryev, who revived the idea of building a stone lighthouse, developing a project and estimate for its construction, later adjusted by the chief Admiralty architect A. D. Zakharov. In 1809, the construction of the stone lighthouse began, and by September 1810, a round brick tower, a granite base, a guardhouse, and a bathhouse were built. The lantern on the lighthouse was also changed. Forty oil lamps and 23 silver reflectors were installed on the tower. The light range increased significantly.
The lighthouse is the territory of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and access to it is closed to outsiders. Lighthouse keepers are hired only for permanent work, not seasonally or on a rotational basis, and from November to May they operate autonomously, without regular vessels, but with the ability to keep their boat in the island’s garage with a slipway. In February 2021, after a lighthouse keeper was stabbed, a vacancy was announced for the position with a salary of 18-20 thousand rubles, but with full food provision for a year and the possibility to bring personal belongings on ships of the Russian Navy’s hydrographic service, as well as to run a subsidiary farm: raise poultry and use the greenhouse on the island. The lighthouse staff must participate in loading and unloading supply ships. It is possible to keep pets. Accommodation is provided in a two-story brick house with built-in amenities; major cellular network operators work on the island, and there is television reception. The keeper must be aged 25-55, healthy due to the absence of medical facilities on the island and its inaccessibility in cold seasons, have at least a secondary technical education, and be able to operate and maintain diesel electric installations, lighthouse lighting equipment, and solder electrical circuits. A LED installation is installed on its tower, the beam of which is visible for 15 nautical miles. The lighthouse is the subject of the romantic essay by the Decembrist Bestuzhev, “Tolbukhin Lighthouse.” The monument is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Sources:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Толбухин_маяк
