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Today Spetses Lighthouse's Fresnel lens and its pedestal are on display at the Hellenic Lighthouse Service headquarters in
Piraeus. A modern beacon shines from the lighthouse. Except for the addition of more rooms in the residence and updates of
modern conveniences and equipment, Spetses Lighthouse looks much as it did in 1885. It is a conical, telescopic-style masonry
sentinel standing on a low hill. A lovely interior feature of the dwelling is ironwork around the front-door window that
features a lighthouse with rays coming from the lantern.
The modern beacon flashes white or red every five seconds depending on the direction from which it is viewed. The lighthouse
was automated in 1986 but was still manned by lightkeepers as of 2009. It is accessible by road from Spetses town but there is
limited vehicular traffic on the island. A motorcycle, water taxi, car taxi, or horse-drawn carriage can be hired to reach the
lighthouse.
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LIGHTHOUSE SPETSES
Nearest Town: Spetses
Date Established: 1831 - rebuilt 1885
Focal Plane: 88,6 feet (27 meters)
Heigth of Tower: 38 feet (12 meters)
Characteristic: white or red flashes every 5 seconds
Spetses Island lies at the Southern end of Argolis, a mile offshore in the Golf of Argolis. Ferries connect to the island from
Piraeus and nearby Kosta on the Peloponnese. Spetses is famous for its fragrant flora, including many wildflowers and Aleppo
pine forest. Large vehicular traffic is forbidden but residents and visitors have plenty of horse-drawn carriages and donkeys
for transport. The lighthouse has a helicopter pad for use by the Hellenic Lighthouses Service.
Spetses was home to Laskarina Bouboulina, a national hero who spent all her fortune to build ships to fight in Greece's War of Independence against Turkey beginning in 1821. Her statue stands on the waterfront at Dapia Harbor also called Limani and her
bones are kept in a nearby church.
On a promontory enclosing the east side of the harbor at Final Point is the lighthouse. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in
modern-day Greece, established in 1831 with funds a public tax levied shortly after Greece gained independence and with money
donated by a wealthy family on the island. The original tower's lamps probably were illuminated with olive oil but whale oil
also may have been used.
The tower was rebuilt in 1885 and equipped with a kerosene beacon. Ioannis Nouhakis wrote in the 1901 edition of Greek
Horografia: "On the Northeastern entrance of the old harbor exists a white constant light of the sixth order, on a round
stone-built tower. At a distance 30 meters north of the tower is the residence of the keepers."
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