This Lighthouse of the Week continues with another "weird" lighthouse -- this one is a leaning lighthouse in the water off Estonia. Now, it used to be on the beach in Estonia, but beach erosion took away the beach and also some foundation, which is why (for awhile at least) it had a pronounced lean. But erosion can be fickle; it also leaned back, and though it's been predicted that it would fall over, it apparently hasn't yet, but the last reliable update we have is from 2018.
Here's where it should be, off the island of Saremaa, Estonia's largest island.The Lighthouse Directory has this to say about it (slightly edited):
"1933 (station established 1879). Inactive since 1992 (listed as a daybeacon until 2009). 25 m (82 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and white horizontal bands. This is presently the world's best known leaning lighthouse, but if you want to see it, don't delay. Critically endangered by beach erosion, the lighthouse stands at the water's edge. For several years it was leaning at an angle of as much as 15°, but an August 2007 photo shows a reduced angle, and by early 2008 it had come back close to vertical. However, these shifts are caused by undermining of the foundation by the waves, and it seems very likely the tower will collapse eventually."
Like I said, the Lighthouse Directory says it's still there as of 2018.
So let's look at some pictures, including a chronology of losing beach and leaning tower. And a stamp.
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