Lange Jaap

The tallest lighthouse in the Netherlands, a slender iron tower near Fort Kijkduin

Lange Jaap stands on the coastal strip near Huisduinen, a few hundred metres from Fort Kijkduin. The lighthouse is an elegant cast-iron column painted in alternating black and white bands, rising 63 metres above the flat dune landscape. It has guided shipping through the busy Marsdiep strait since 1877 and is still an active navigation aid.

The lighthouse is not regularly open to visitors, but it can be closely approached and photographed. The surrounding area — dunes, seawall, and the old village of Huisduinen — makes for a good short walk. On clear days the view from the dike takes in both the North Sea to the west and the Wadden Sea shipping lanes to the north.

things to do sight
A story
At 63 metres, Lange Jaap — "Tall Jake" — was the tallest lighthouse in the Netherlands when it was completed in 1877. Its height was dictated not by the coast's geography but by the need to guide ships over the shallow Balgzand sandflats: the light had to be seen from far out at sea, above the dunes.