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Incredible location for a lighthouse perched on a rock in Iceland’s wild surf

by David Walker 20 Comments

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The lighthouse is surrounded by open water and is precariously perched on a cliff. Morgunblaðið/Árni Sæberg

A photograph taken by Morgunblaðið photographer Árni Sæberg of the Þrídrangaviti lighthouse in 2009 has now become viral thanks to Justin Bieber of all people.

Árni Sæberg is photographer for our sister publication Morgunblaðið (and also takes photos for us at Iceland Monitor). The lighthouse, Þrídrangaviti, is located in the Westman Islands and is located around six miles from the shore.  It’s quite possibly the most isolated lighthouse in the world and is precariously perched on top of a rock pillar with the wild waves of the cold North Atlantic ocean raging below.

Þrídrangar means “three rock pillars” and the lighthouse was built there in 1939. The lighthouse has also been an inspiration to literature, with best-selling thriller novelist Yrsa Sigurðardóttir using it in her novel “Why did you lie?” This is not the first time that Sigurðardóttir draws inspiration from Sæberg’s photos. His photos of the deserted farmhouse in Hesteyri in the remote West Fjords became the setting of her spine chilling ghost story, I remember you, which recently was made into an Icelandic film of the same name.

The strong surf below the lighthouse. Photograph/ Árni Sæberg

Sæberg  didn’t realise until recently that his photo of the lighthouse had been published all around the world for years until his barber showed him the photo on a German website. The barber’s daughter also told him that Justin Bieber had been posting the photo on social media.

Sæberg flew with the national coastguard helicopter, TF LÍF to the take the photo of the lighthouse. It’s quite incredible how people actually managed to build this lighthouse, just at WW2 began. In 1939 there were no helicopters so people would have had to sail to the cliff and scale it. In an old article in Morgunblaðið, project director Árni G. Þórarinsson says in an interview, “The first thing we had to to was create a road up to the cliff. We got together of experienced mountaineers, all from the Westman Islands. Then we brought drills, hammers, chains and clamps to secure the chains. Once they got near the top there was no way to get any grip on the rock so one of them got down on his knees, the second stood on his back, and then the third climbed on top of the other two and was able to reach the nib of the cliff above. I cannot even tell you how I was feeling whilst witnessing this incredibly dangerous procedure.”

Þrídrangar, the three pillars of rock are in fact four pillars named Stóridrangur, Þúfudrangur, Klofadrangur and the fourth one is nameless. In 1938 a road was constructed to Stóridrangur and the following year the lighthouse was raised. Many years later a helipad was set up on Stóridrangur where helicopters can land.

For more information on the lighthouse you can visit a special Facebook page that has been set up for it HERE.

Morgunblaðið/Árni Sæberg
The national coastguard helicopter flying towards the lighthouse. Photograph/ Árni Sæberg
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Filed Under: Trending Worldwide Tagged With: Iceland's

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Comments

  1. Veronique Gray says

    02/01 at

    How does anyone get up there?. Its wonderful!!!

    Reply
    • Max says

      03/01 at

      Swim, swim, swim, climb climb climb 😉

      HTH.

      Reply
      • Helen Oakes says

        29/07 at

        Just WOW!!!

        Reply
    • Kim says

      17/05 at

      So cool! A tad high!

      Reply
  2. Sandy Nause says

    02/01 at

    Can it be visited ?

    Reply
    • SMF says

      05/01 at

      Depends, you got a helicopter and permission from the government? Lol

      Reply
  3. Tonja Mosby says

    02/01 at

    I was hoping to see the road or even where it was supposed to have been built.

    Reply
  4. Glenda Lyle says

    02/01 at

    does anyone live there?

    Reply
  5. Corinne Sternlieb says

    02/01 at

    This is a marvel of human determination — to protect others, and of engineering and at the last, fingers, muscle and courage. I think the story of realizing this lighthouse ought to be told in full, so our children and their children will understand that sometimes, what it takes is almost an actual but human miracle of determination. I am in awe of the people who accomplished this lighthouse.

    Reply
    • Margo Boult says

      21/01 at

      I so agree with you!!

      Reply
  6. Corunna says

    03/01 at

    Exquisite! Magestic…Fabulous~

    Reply
  7. Igor says

    03/01 at

    interesting, how long can stay there with clear mind under that sound pressure?

    Reply
  8. Bob Loomis says

    03/01 at

    Photos of the interior?

    Reply
  9. Brian says

    03/01 at

    Air BNB?

    Reply
  10. Troy says

    07/01 at

    I believe when they say road they mean path up the cliff. That’s what it sounds like to me . Regardless its amazing how this was ever built.

    Reply
  11. Clemens Volgger says

    21/01 at

    Sehr schön!
    Wäre eine Sendung füt Lost Places!

    Reply
  12. Kent E Kraus says

    21/01 at

    If it opened in 1938, how did lightkeeper get to the top? No helicopters

    Reply
  13. Jennifer Lefevre says

    21/01 at

    Did they do this because of WWII?

    Reply
  14. Angélique Schulting says

    24/01 at

    I think it is photoshop .

    Reply
  15. jeff mcilquham says

    01/07 at

    Well it is incredible yet very dangerous as the Teutonic plates are shifting as I speak. It is another challenge that we humans must deal with.

    Reply

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