Visit Vinga Lighthouse, which is Gothenburg's westernmost point. During the summer you can visit Evert Taube's childhood home. Feel free to bring swimwear and find a place to swim. It is possible to stay over on the island and during the summer there is a cafe open. You can also stop by your own boat on the island.
Boat trip to Vinga Lighthouse
You see Vinga Lighthouse when you take the Stena Line over to Denmark or if you have your own boat and go out into the outer archipelago in the Kattegat. If you do not have your own boat, there are boats Vinga with Strömma bolaget during the summer. The boat trip to Vinga takes about 1.5 hours one way.
Vinga Lighthouse and its island
On the island is Vinga Lighthouse, which was built in 1890. The island is 500 meters wide in a north-south direction and about 1000 meters long in a west-east direction. The island, which is shaped like a U, is the last outpost of the North Sea. The island has been a nature reserve since 1987 and the state has owned the island since 1934. In the narrow part is the bay Gattulven which extends from the west side of the island and meets Midsommarviken in the east. It is also possible to visit the lighthouse and go up to the top. To the south is the smaller island of Koholmen and in the strait between the islands is the port of Vinga.
The Red navigation mark
The red mark, the navigation mark that stands next to Vinga lighthouse was built in 1857 and it is a sea mark. The navigation mark is 11x11 meters as a base and a height of 24 meters. It is also a symbol associated with Vinga Lighthouse. Today's navigation mark that stands on the site is the fourth on the island. Both the mark and Vinga lighthouse are K-marked. The navigation mark that stood on the same site before was built in 1720. The very first navigation mark that was built on the island was made of wood and was erected in 1606. At this time there were no houses on the island but there was only one a navigation mark.
Evert Taube lived at Vinga
Our greatest poet of all time was born in 1890 in Gothenburg. He lived with his family on Vinga Lighthouse when his father was a lighthouse keeper on the island until 1905. His parents were Carl Gunnar Taube and Julia Sofia Jacobsdotter. At the same time, there were four other families on the island and the children had their own small school. For those of you who do not know, Evert Taube is probably best known for his songs. He also wrote poetry and prose. Over the years, Evert Tabue traveled on ships around the world and he learned to speak Italian, French and Spanish. Before he was recognized as a poet, he worked as a sailor, journalist and writer. Finally, he had to record songs on gramophone in 1921, such as Karl-Alfred and Fritiof Andersson. In 1931, Evert Taube finally became famous - with his song "Calle Schewenes Vals". Then it rolled on with gigs at Gröna Lund in Stockholm, radio and TV. Evert Taube died 1976.
Evert Taube stands as a statue down in the harbor on the same wharf as Gothenburg Opera. The statue was created by Eino Hanski and placed in its place in 1996.
Today's Lighthouse on the island
The lighthouse is about 29 meters high and the material in which it is built comes from Vingaholmen which is located next to Vinga. The lighthouse was designed by lighthouse engineer Emil Karlsson. The lighting device comes from an area a little outside Paris. The lighting device is located about 46 meters above the water surface.
Today's lighthouse is located opposite where the two previous lighthouses stood. When the new lighthouse was lit, the other two were extinguished. Vinga also has two lighthouses that mark the fairway from Vingasand towards VInga past Limgåden and Bukskärsbåden, they are called "Vinga Östra övre" and "Vinga Östra nedre". They stand east of the main lighthouse. There is another lighthouse on the island, Vinga kids which is located about 300 meters northwest of Vinga's western cape.
In 1974, no more lighthouse keepers were needed on the island when the lighthouse was automated. In total, there have been 11 lighthouse keepers through the times between the years 1841 - 1974.