Stavoren Lighthouse

Working lighthouse on the IJsselmeer shore

A small white-painted lighthouse just north of the harbour, still in service for shipping on the IJsselmeer. Built in the late nineteenth century when this was still open sea — the IJsselmeer only came into existence after the Afsluitdijk was closed in 1932 — the tower has been kept in working order and gives the dyke walk its terminus.

You cannot climb the lighthouse, but the path around its base is the nicest stretch of shore in Stavoren. Benches on the grass behind the dyke face the lake, and on a windy day you get a proper sense of why the Dutch worked so hard to wall this water in.

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