Cape Rozewie, located in the area of the Coastal Landscape Park, was until recently the northernmost land in Poland. Ever since the 16th Century it has been known by sailors as a place where a fire signal was lit and which currently has the strongest navigational light on the Polish coast.
The characteristic red and white lighthouse was built using bricks and field stones in 1823. Initially the tower was 21.3 metres in height, but the fast growing beeches surrounding the lighthouse led to the low-visibility of its light. Over the years the tower was raised by 20 metres and currently it is 33 m in height and the signal it emits is visible from 26 nautical miles.
Rozewie, lighthouse, fot. Pomorskie travel
The building contains a permanent exhibition devoted to the development of lighthouse science, where you can see such items as the old reflector from the Stilo lighthouse with the Fresnel lens, navigational lights and models of old lighthouses beginning from the structure on Faros.
One of the rooms of the lighthouse is a tiny room, where Stefan Żeromski wrote “Wiatr od morza” (“Wind from the Sea”). Currently, it is being used as a memorial room, which displays keepsakes of the author.
After reaching the top of the lighthouse, you can admire the vista of the surrounding area from Władysławowo to Hel from the gallery.
Rozewie, lighthouse, fot. Pomorskie travel
Two legends are inextricably connected with the lighthouse in Rozewie. One of them tells about a Swedish sailing ship, which foundered near the coast of Rozewie. The only survivor of this tragedy was the captain’s daughter, who one night, during a raging storm at the sea, lit a warning fire for the sailors with a Kashubian fisherman. When both of them died, their descendants followed in their footsteps.
The second legend about Rozewie refers to the times of the Swedish Deluge. The Swedes killed the lighthouse keeper, because they believed he was signalling someone. The distraught fiancée cast a curse on the army, as a result of which they turned into the beeches that grow around the lighthouse to this day.
