Sletterhage Lighthouse

Sletterhage Lighthouse is located in Denmark on the southern tip of the Djursland peninsula protruding into the Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden at the entrance to the Baltic Sea. The concrete lighthouse was built in 1894 to help guide ships to and from the Port of Aarhus, via a shipping lane close to the lighthouse isthmus. After automation, the lighthouse keeper buildings were sold to a private owner.

Still, they were reacquired for public use through intervention by Skov- og Naturstyrelsen, the Danish Forest and Nature Agency. Under an agreement with the local Syddjurs municipality, the lighthouse buildings are open to the public and used for exhibitions. On display are themes related to historical and current navigational equipment and principles, marine life, and the geology of the Sletterhage area.

The facilities are open to the public in summer including access to the lighthouse tower. Before electrification, the lighthouse had a clockwork mechanism that had to be wound up every four hours to open and close a set of shutters that made the lighthouse flash at specific intervals. Today a 600-watt halogen bulb that turns off and on serves the same function. The Port of Aarhus built the Sletterhage Lighthouse.

Today 7000 - 8000 ships pass the lighthouse to and from the seaport, Aarhus, the second largest town in Denmark.