The Kingdom of Belgium (België in Flemish, Belgique in French) is located between France and the Netherlands in northwestern Europe. This region has a long and complicated history. The present kingdom was established in 1830 following an uprising against rule by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a bilingual country: 60% of its residents speak Flemish as their first language and 40% speak French. Today Belgium is an international center, hosting in its capital Brussels the headquarters of the European Union and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Belgium has a coast on the North Sea about 65 km (40 mi) long, all of it located in the Flemish-speaking province of West Vlaanderen (West Flanders). There are four ports on this coast: Nieuwpoort, Oostende, Blankenberge, and Zeebrugge, and each of the four has its own collection of lighthouses. In each case the principal light is to the east of the harbor entrance; this was done to guide ships approaching from the English Channel to the west. In addition, Belgium has saved all three of its post-World War II lightships. Flemish is a southern dialect of Dutch. Thus in Flemish, as in Dutch, the word for a lighthouse is vuurtoren; eiland is an island, ondiepte is a shoal or reef, baai is a bay, zeestraat is a strait, zeegat is an estuary or harbor mouth, kaap is a cape or headland, sluis is a lock, dijk is a dike, rivier is a river, and haven is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Belgium are the responsibility of the Agentschap Maritieme Dienstverlening en Kust (Agency for Maritime Services and the Coast) of the West Flanders provincial government. However, the lighthouses are probably operated by the respective harbor authorities. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. BE numbers are from the official Belgian Lichtenlijst. Admiralty numbers are from volume B of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 114.
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![]() Oostende Est Jetty Light and Signal Tower, Oostende, June 2022 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
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![]() Lightship West-Hinder II, Zeebrugge, November 2023 Google Maps photo by Krzysztof Grochociński |
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![]() Knokke Light replica, Knokke, July 2023 Google Maps photo by Ce Fi |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses: |
Adjoining pages: North: Netherlands: Zeeland | South: France: North Coast
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Posted January 4, 2005. Checked and revised January 22, 2025. Lighthouses: 26; lightships: 4. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.