The lighthouse on Cape Shabla is located on the easternmost point of Bulgaria. It is the tallest in Bulgaria and the oldest authentic lighthouse in operation in the Black Sea-Mediterranean basin.
Here, in ancient Caria, a navigation facility has functioned since ancient and Roman times. The white light of the lighthouse is visible from 17 nautical miles. It orients and protects the sea vessels from collision with the huge underwater reef, located opposite the present-day Dobrudja campsite and the shallows between Cape Shabla and the village of Tyulenovo.
In the distant past it was known that if they saw the lights of the lighthouse, sailors have halved the distance between the mouth of the Danube and the Bosphorus.
The base of the facility is a square four-walled base with a width of 8.80 meters and a height of 10 meters, above which rises a tower in the shape of an eight-walled truncated pyramid. The thickness of the walls is a meter and a half, and in the cross section of the pilasters supporting the arch, it reaches three meters.
The central dome is supported by four smaller domes. The total height above the ground is 32 meters (36 meters above sea level), the stone structure to the lighthouse site is 28.23 meters and the steps are 132. The top of its lightning rod is gilded.
After the 7.2 magnitude earthquake of March 31, 1901, the lighthouse was repaired, and in 1935 the structure was reinforced with steel elements and the then all-white lighthouse was painted as we know it today.
In 1957 the oil and gas light was dismantled and the headlight was electrified. In 1987, repairs were made again and new optics were installed, with a light source power of 1 kW.
In the sea the lighthouse can be seen at 31 km, and in clear weather much further.
A solemn ritual of the Navy in August 2006 to open and consecrate the renovated lighthouse marked the 150th anniversary of the official opening of the Shabla lighthouse. Then a capsule with a message for future generations was built into its western wall.
How to get here?
Have a charming walk around!