The Nividic lighthouse built off Ushant has a rather special history. It was the first lighthouse at sea to be built to operate without an on-board human presence. Its maintenance and electrical supply were carried out with a cable car, from where the 2 concrete pylons still visible standing in its surroundings.
24 years of construction!
The decision to build the Nividic lighthouse was made during the construction of the Jument lighthouse in 1910. It was a question of taking advantage of the teams in place and their proven know-how with the rapid construction of La Jument in delicate conditions. The foundation work of the lighthouse began in 1912, but the works only ended in 1936 (24 years!) with the construction of the cable car to transport the maintenance equipment. In parallel an electric cable 2 km long connects the Nividic lighthouse to that of Créac'h which has a powerful generator.
An erratic operation
Lit in 1936, this lighthouse will function only 4 years. Indeed, the Germans occupying Ushant decided to turn off all lighthouses at sea during the Second World War. In the absence of maintenance, the electric cable and the nacelle disappear during the storms of this period. In 1952, an attempt was made to reignite the headlight with gas cylinders, but without personnel, ignition was more than uncertain.
Rescued by helicopter
It was only with the installation above the lantern of a platform to land a helicopter in 1952 that regular ignition was resumed. This platform is replaced in 1996 by solar panels which with batteries give autonomy to this lighthouse.
An innovative beacon
Access to the lighthouse, impossible except by perfectly flat seas, forced engineers to find new solutions to make it work. Thus with its cable car, this installation is a world first and is hailed in the press as the"world record for French engineering".
