Lighthouses of Slovenia

The Republic of Slovenia (Slovenija in Slovenian) is located in the northwestern corner of the former Yugoslav federation, bordering on Austria to the north and Italy to the west. The country has only a short coastline on the Adriatic Sea south of Trieste, Italy. The chief port is Koper, on the Gulf of Trieste just south of the Italian border.

This coast has a complicated history. It was part of the Austrian Empire until that empire was dissolved at the end of World War I in 1918. It was then annexed by Italy, which remained in control to the end of World War II in 1945. For the next nine years it was part of the Free Territory of Trieste, a UN-administered area. In 1954 voters in the area chose Yugoslavia over Italy, so it became part of the Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia. Slovenia was the first Yugoslav republic to achieve independence, in 1991, and the first to join the European Union, in 2004.

The coastal region of Slovenia is officially bilingual, with both Italian and Slovenian being spoken. Italian place names are shown in brackets {}. The words for a lighthouse are svetilnik in Slovenian and faro in Italian. In Slovenian rt is the word for a cape or headland. hrid is a rock, an luka is a harbor.

Aids to navigation in Slovenia are maintained by the Slovenian Maritime Administration.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. PS numbers, where known, are from the Slovenian light list Popis objektov za navigacijo; these are the same as the numbers from the Yugoslav light list Popis Svjetala i Signala za Maglu now maintained by Croatia. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Slovenia
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Currently all of the photos from Slovenia are by Capt. Peter Mosselberger ("Capt. Peter").
Lighthouses in Slovenia
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
World of Lighthouses - Slovenia
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Weitere europäische Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard views posted by Klaus Huelse.
GPSNauticalCharts
Navigational chart information for Slovenia.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Slovenia.

Piran Light
Piran (Rt Madona) Light, Piran, August 2009
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Mélisande*

Lighthouses
* Rt Sveti Bernardin {Punta San Bernardo} (Portorož {Portorose})
Date unknown (station established 1873). Active; focal plane 9 m (30 ft); red flash every 5 s. 8 m (26 ft) conical cast iron tower with gallery, painted red. Trabas has Capt. Peter's closeup, Chris Layton has a closeup street view, and Google has a distant street view and an indistinct satellite view. Located at the west end of the quay in Portorož, about 2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of Piran. Site open, tower closed. PS-068; Admiralty E2632; NGA 11860.
Piran {Pirano} Transverse Mole
1876. Active; focal plane 7 m (23 ft); green flash every 3 s. 6 m (20 ft) square brick tower topped by a small lantern. Tower painted green. Eoghan OLionnain's photo is at right, Trabas has Capt. Peter's closeup, Thomas Penn has a photo showing both mole lights, Wikimedia has many photos, the light is centered in Huelse's historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. Another Wikimedia photo shows that in 2011 the two mole lights were repainted in brighter colors. Located at the end of the transverse (south) mole at Piran. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed, but there are excellent views from the north mole or from the town waterfront. ARLHS SLO-011; PS-067; Admiralty E2630; NGA 11852.
* Piran {Pirano} West Mole
1843. Active; focal plane 7 m (23 ft); red flash every 3 s. 6 m (20 ft) square brick tower topped by a small lantern. Tower painted red. Eoghan OLionnain's photo is at right, Trabas has Capt. Peter's closeup, Wikimedia has many photos, Bert Neven has a photo showing this light and the Piran lighthouse, the light is at the left edge of Huelse's historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. Located at the end of the west (breakwater) mole at Piran. Accessible by walking the mole. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SLO-010; PS-066; Admiralty E2628; NGA 11856.
* Piran {Pirano} (Rt Madona {Punta Madonna})
1872. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 3 m (10 ft) semi-octagonal stone tower attached to the front of a 1-story stone keeper's cottage, all built on a circular stone pier. The lantern has been removed, and the light is now shown from an iron post in front of the tower. There's a good photo at the top of this page, Trabas has a photo, Danny Cambré has a fine view, Wikimedia has many photos, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The round tower behind the keeper's cottage is often mistaken for the lighthouse, but it is in fact the 1855 bell tower of the Cerkev Marije Zdravja (Church of Our Lady of Health). Located at the tip of a sharp promontory in Piran, marking the entrance to the Bay of Piran. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SLO-006; PS-065; Admiralty E2624; NGA 11848.

Piran East Mole (right) and West Mole Light, Piran, August 2012
Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Eoghan OLionnain
Koper Basin 1
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); continuous blue light visible only on the proper line of approach. 22 m (72 ft) square skeletal tower mounted on a square 1-story equipment building. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo and Google has a satellite view. Located at the waterfront in Koper, Slovenia's principal commercial port. Site and tower closed. Admiralty E2613.3; NGA 11820.3.
[Rt Debeli (Plicinia Debeli) {Punta Grossa}]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 8 m (26 ft); nine quick white flashes every 15 s. 5 m (17 ft) square cylindrical brick (?) tower mounted on a round concrete pier. Lighthouse painted yellow with a black horizontal band. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, Joel Mrvcic has a good photo, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. Located at the end of a reef extending from Rt Debeli, a promontory on the north side of Koper. This light is only a few meters south of the Italian border. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SLO-012; PS-054; Admiralty E2607; NGA 11812.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Venice and Trieste | South: Northern Croatia

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Posted August 21, 2006. Checked and revised December 23, 2023. Lighthouses: 5. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.