Thousands visit Greek lighthouses open on World Lighthouse Day
Nearly 18,000 people visited the 18 Greek lighthouses that were opened to the public on August 18, World Lighthouse Day.
Visitors were given tours by lighthouse keepers, officers of the Hellenic Navy who are responsible for their uninterrupted operation and upkeep.
The Greek Lighthouse Network along the coastline is over 20,000 kilometers long. The Navy’s Lighthouse Service (https://yf.hellenicnavy.gr/) oversees 144 stone-built lighthouses with 1,297 lanterns that cover the lighting needs for over 30,000 islands, islets, rocky islets, and rocks as well as over 800 main ports, large or small, and fishing shelters.
According to the Lighthouse Service sight, as of 1980 the lanterns run on solar power which is stored. The system is turned on after sunset and at sunset the solar cell breaks the circuit and turns off the lantern. The system can store enough solar power to run over 15 days, in case weather conditions do not allow energy collection and storage.
The World Lighthouse Day is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of August.
