Ristna lighthouse origins uncovered
The Ristna lighthouse on the tip of Kõpu peninsula in Hiiumaa has definitively been proven to have originated from the studio of the famous French engineer Gustave Eiffel.
A document in the private archives of Gustave Eiffel’s descendants in Paris confirms that the metal structure of the Ristna lighthouse was made in Eiffel’s factory. Following the contact between researcher Indrek Laos and the Scientific Committee of the Association of the Descendants of Gustave Eiffel, the origin of the lighthouse has finally been clarified. Although the frame of the lighthouse, built in 1874, is now covered with a concrete sarcophagus to hide the damage caused by the First World War, its neo-Gothic decorative elements, which resemble the Eiffel Tower, are beautifully displayed.
«Suspicions about the links between various Estonian metal lighthouses and the famous French engineer Gustave Eiffel have been around for a long time, but now the Ristna lighthouse has provided documentary proof of this fact,» says architect Indrek Laos, who carried out the research.
«With the rediscovery of the Ristna lighthouse thanks to research of Indrek Laos, our Scientific Committee has found its full vocation to promote the forgotten legacy of our grandfather Gustave Eiffel,» adds Myriam Larnaudie-Eiffel, president of ADGE. «We are delighted to be associated with its revaluation.»
You can find more information about this discovery at www.ristnaeiffel.ee.
Ill1. 3D reconstruction of Ristna lighthouse. Flux Projekt www.fluxprojekt.eu
Ill2. List of the production of the Eiffel factory 1867-1889. Archives SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel)
Ill3. Indrek Laos, architect, and Sylvain Yeatman-Eiffel, artist and G. Eiffel’s descendant, in his Paris studio
