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| Location | Raz de Sein Finistère Brittany France |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 48°02′26.8″N 4°45′23.2″W / 48.040778°N 4.756444°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1887 |
| Construction | granite, kersantite |
| Automated | 1995 |
| Height | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Shape | tapered square tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | unpainted tower with an upper black band, black lantern |
| Power source | solar power  |
| Heritage | monument historique inscrit |
| Fog signal | ELAC-ELAU 2200 vibrator (2+1 blasts every 60 seconds) |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1887 |
| Focal height | 33 m (108 ft) |
| Lens | 4/5 horizon lens, 50 cm focal length, dpt 3 m |
| Intensity | 250 W halogen lamp |
| Range | 18 nautical miles (33 km) |
| Characteristic | Oc (2+1) WRG 12s. [1] |
| France no. | FR-0700[2] |
La Vieille ("The Old Lady" or "The Wrass") is a lighthouse in the département of Finistère at the commune of Plogoff, on the northwest coast of France. It lies on the rock known as Gorlebella (Breton for "farthest rock"), guiding mariners in the strait Raz de Sein, across from the companion lighthouse Tourelle de la Plate—also known as Petite Vieille ("Little Old Woman"). It is among the small class of lighthouses around the coasts of France carrying the moniker "hell", due to a remote position in rough seas.
Initial planning talks began as early as 1861, though the construction project was not confirmed until twenty years later. Fierce tides limited the period in which building work could take place to less than half of each year. After five years, construction was complete and its beam first shone in 1887.[3] The light is occulting, with a range of 18 nautical miles (33 km); a foghorn was installed in the early twentieth century.
La Vieille achieved notoriety in the 1920s when two disabled war veterans were stranded there for weeks by storms, their health deteriorating. They were employed under a new law reserving the job of lighthouse keeper to those who had served in the war. The tremendous difficulties experienced in getting them back to shore led to the repeal of the new law. In 1995 it was the penultimate French lighthouse to become automated, a process delayed due to the keepers on-site staging a protest against the task being carried out.
- ^ Guichard, Jean; Trethewey, Kenneth R. North Atlantic Lighthouses. Paris: Flammarion, 2002. ISBN 2-08-010563-9.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Brittany: Southern Finistère". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
- ^ Base Mérimée: Phare de la Vieille, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)