LIGHTHOUSE AGIOS SOSTIS

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Nearest Town : Messolongi
Date Established: 1859
Focal Plane: 39 feet (12 meters)
Height of tower: 36 feet (11.5 meters)
Characteristic: red or white flash every 5 seconds

The conical white stone lighthouse of Agios Sostis is attached to the gulf side of a stone , single story white dwelling. Its name means "Saint Savior". The lighthouse designed by Greece's royal architects, Cristian Hansen and Theophilus Hansen of Denmark, stands on the east side of the deserted island of Agios Sostis. This island sits on the north shore of Gulf of Patra , across from Akrotiri Araxos 5 miles (about 8 kilometers) from the city of Messolongi. It marks the entrance to the Bay of Messolongi, which is very shallow and is called " Messolongi Lagoon" by some sailors.

The land here is low and marsly, with abundant mosquitoes and birds. Dues to changes in the shoreline, a stone revetment was built years ago in front of the lighthouse to protect it from erosion. There is a boat landing and a sandy beach runs between the lighthtouse and the pier. Ruins of a customs house , the small church of St. Sostis and the lighthouse are the island's only structures.

Agios Sostis classical Fresnel lens , a fourth-order apparatus, is long gone. The modern FA-251 DC beacon operates on solar power. The white light shines out 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) and the red 14 miles (22.5 kilometers). The lighthouse is not open to the public and is accesible only by private boat from Toulrida, near Messolongi.

The area is famous for poets. Kostis Palamas grew up here in the mid-nineteenth century and penned a tribute to the town of Messolongi in " Lament of the Lagoon". Lord Byron spent time here as well, helping the Greeks fight for independence in the early 1820s. He died at Messolongi in 1824.