Lighthouses of Austria

For more than four centuries to Austrian city of Vienna was an imperial capital dominating Central Europe. Following the Napoleonic wars and until World War I the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a long coastline on the Adriatic Sea in what is now Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. The imperial government built many fine lighthouses on that coast. But since the end of World War I in 1918 the Republic of Austria (Österreich in German) has been a land-locked country, extending from the Alps to the Danube. There is quite a bit of navigation on the Danube and there is boating on many Alpine lakes, especially on the Bodensee (Lake Constance).

Austria is a federal republic consisting of nine states (Bundesländer).

In German, a lighthouse is a Leuchtturm ("light tower"), plural Leuchttürme; Insel is an island, Riff is a reef, Kap is a cape, Bucht is a bay, and Hafen is a harbor.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights.

General Sources
Lighthouses of the Danube
A 2013 blog article by Dániel Szávoszt-Vass.
Lighthouses in Austria
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
World of Lighthouses - Austria
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Seezeichen der Alpenregion und andere Inlandstürme auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard views posted by Klaus Huelse. Austrian lights are near the bottom of the page.
GPSNavigationCharts
Navigational chart information for the Bodensee.
Navionics Charts
Navigational chart information for the Bodensee.

Leuchtturm Bregenz
Westmole Light, Bregenz, August 2009
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Jan Olof Nygren

Vorarlberg (Bodensee) Lighthouses
 
The Bodensee, often called Lake Constance in English, is 63 km (39 mi) long and as much as 14 km (8.7 mi) wide. The Austrian state of Vorarlberg has about 15 km (9 mi) of shoreline at the southeastern end of lake, including the delta where the upper Rhine River flows into the lake from Switzerlnd. The Bodensee is an international waterway and there are also lighthouses on the lake in Germany and Switzerland.

*
Bregenz Westmole
2009. Active; focal plane 32 m (105 ft); flashing white light; there is also a continuous green light at a focal plane of about 7 m (23 ft). 30 m (98 ft) tower, with four square steel posts supporting a box-like lantern. Jan Olof Nygren's photo of this remarkable light is above, Wikimedia has a photo by Friedrich Böhringer, Tobias Wohlrab has a 2023 photo, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The light was prefabricated and erected by a crane in a single day in May 2009. It is the signature piece in the reconstruction of the harbor. Bregenz, the capital of Vorarlberg, is at the eastern end of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and is the only Austrian town on the lake. Huelse has postcard views of an older and a second older pier light at Bregenz. Located at the end of the west mole of Bregenz. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed.
* Bregenz Ostmole
2009. Active; focal plane about 26 m (85 ft); continuous red light. Approx. 24 m (79 ft) tower, with four square steel posts supporting a box-like lantern. A photo of both mole lights is available, Christian Rajek has a December 2014 street view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. Located at the end of the east mole of Bregenz. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed.

Donau (Danube) Beacon
* Praterspitz (Donauinsel Endpunkt)
Date unknown (station established early 1900s). Unlit daybeacon. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) skeletal tower mounted on a red concrete base. Manfred Fleiss has a street view seen above right, Eugene Tsvetichov has a 2020 photo, and Google has a satellite view. Before World War II this location had a tall skeletal lighthouse: Szávoszt-Vass has a historic photo (halfway down the page). Accessible by paved pathways along the river. Located at the east end of the Donauinsel (Danube Island), the long, narrow island separating the natural Danube from the parallel excavated channel known as the Neue Donau (New Danube). Site open, tower closed.

Burgenland (Neusiedlersee) Lighthouse
The Neusiedlersee is a long, shallow lake near the Hungarian border at the eastern end of Austria. The lake is 36 km (22 mi) long and 6-12 km (3.5-7.5 mi) wide but nowhere more than 1.8 m (6 ft) deep.

* Podersdorf-am-See
1998. Active; continuous white light; also a flashing orange light is displayed sometimes as a storm warning. 11 m (36 ft) round metal tower with lantern. Lighthouse painted white with three red horizontal bands; lantern painted white with a red dome. Derzsi Elekes Andor's photo is at right, Michael Gustke has a 2016 photo, a 2006 photo is available, Wikimedia has several photos, Peter Vrablec has a 2017 street view, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of a short wooden pier in Podersdorf-am-See. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS AUT-003.


Praterspitz Light, Vienna, April 2017
Google Maps street view by Manfred Fleiss

Podersdorf-am-See Light
Podersdorf-am-See Light, Podersdorf-am-See, August 2013
Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Derzsi Elekes Andor

* Breitenbrunn
Date unknown. Active; directional light, characteristic unknown. 6 m (20 ft) round tower with a faux lantern, painted white with a blue band at the base. A photo is at right, Wikimedia has Jantinus Daling's 2019 photo, Andreas Wenth has a street view and Google has a satellite view. The directional light is attached to the outside of the lantern. Located at the Breitenbrunn campground and marina at the north end of the Neuseidlersee. Site open, tower closed.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

  • Maria Wörth (1890-1945), on the south shore of the Wörthersee west of Klagenfurt. ARLHS AUT-002.
  • St. Wolfgang (?-1961), on the north shore of the Wolfgangsee west of Bad Ischl. ARLHS AUT-004.

Notable faux lighthouses:

  • Donaupark (date unknown), in the Donaupark on the north side of the Danube (Donau) in Vienna. This striking tower was originally built for a theater production in Bregenz, on the Bodensee (Lake Constance) at the extreme western end of Austria. It was moved first to stand outside the Technical Museum in Vienna, and then moved a second time to the Donaupark. It has never been an aid to navigation. A closeup photo is available, Andrea Merli has a street view and Google has a satellite view. ARLHS AUT-001.

Breitenbrunn Light, Neusiedlersee
Komoot.com photo by Ingrid
 

Adjoining page: North: Czech Republic | East: Hungary | Southwest: Switzerland | Northwest: Germany: Bodensee

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Posted October 16, 2006. Checked and revised December 23, 2023. Lighthouses: 5. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.