Article from "Fyrbladet" (The Lighthouse Paper), newsletter
for members of The Society of civil servants in the Lighthouse
Department, 1970 in connection the the automation of Mykines
Fyr
The lighthouse on
Mykines was build in 1909 and lit the same year the 1.th of
November.
Along with the building
of the lighthouse, the principal lighthouse keeper house, a house
for storing paraffin and a warehouse were erected. Moreover a
bridge was built over the narrow sound, which divide Mykines Holm
from Mykines.
In this way connection
between the lighthouse and the little village, which is lying at
the the south westernly corner of Mykines, was established. Though
the path is not the easiest accessible - one have to pass a hight
of about 130 meters - it has shown to be indispensable, as it only
is possible to land on Mykines Holm in fine weather.
In 1928 a radio station
with a radio beacon was installed in a new house which was built
north of the principal lighthouse keeper house. This house was in
1934 enlarged with a generator house.
As the amount of work at
the lighthouse increased, more staff living on the Holm was
necessary and in 1927, 2 houses were built, one for an assistant
lighthouse keeper and one for an assistant. This was the
configuration until the war began in 1939 - 40, where the island
was occupied by the British Army, who established a guard in the
village, while the lighthouse was taken care of by the usual
staff.
During the war, Myggenæs
Fyr was more times attacked by German aeroplanes and the generator
house was damaged by bombs. The houses, especially the principal
lighthouse keeper house, was hit by machine gun bullets and one
member of the staff was lightly injured by a bullet.
After the war, a new
generator house was built in 1948 - 49 and the radio beacon was
renewed.
In 1955 the old bridge
was substituted by a new grilled beam bridge, as the rock around
the gjogv didn't allowed the building of a new suspension
bridge.
After 1960 the houses
were renewed in several ways, among others with central heating and
the fresh water supply was expanded and there is now pressure on
the taps and a bathing room has been arranged in the principal
lighthouse keeper house.
In 1968 - 69 it was
decided to automate the lighthouse, as the conditions for the
school children were unsatisfactory and it was increasing difficult
to get the necessary manpower to maintenance work and transports,
as the number of inhabitants in Myggenæs village, have been steady
declining during these later years.
Along with this, it was
decided by the Faroese parliament, Lagtinget, in an attempt to stop
the depopulation of the island, to build a power station and supply
the village with electrical light. Because of that, the road was
ready for automation of the lighthouse and this process was
finished this autumn.
The power station built
in the village not only supply the village with electricity but
also supply the lighthouse through a 2 kilometer long cable. At the
same time, a room for a reserve generator with a diesel engine and
a new radio beacon was arranged in the outhouse of the principal
lighthouse keeper house. The generator starts automatically, if the
main power from the village fails.
At the same time, a new
mast of glass fiber without ropes, has been erected and a whiplash
and umbrella antenna installed. And this arrangement has shown to
be very fit for the conditions at Mykines Holm with its salt
saturated atmosphere, which is corrosive and has shown to disturb
the function of the antennas.
The beacon also got
alternation current and connected to the reserve power
station.
Because of the
automation, the staff could be transferred and the lighthouse is
now taken of by an assistant lighthouse keeper, who is living in
the village and inspects the lighthouse once a week.
The principal lighthouse
keeper house has been put in order and is intended to be standing
and used during inspection and maintenance work. The two smaller
houses have been demolished as well as the generator hose and the
paraffin house. So in this way, the establishment is now almost as
it was, when built in 1909.
An automation almost
always has its victims and seen from the island and in further
meaning the Faroes and the staffs point of view, it has to be
regretted, that the development has been followed by this
simplification.
During the years, the
lighthouse and its staff have had great importance for the village
and it has to be mentioned, that tax for 3 to 4 families no more is
a part of Myggenæs kommune's income and besides this, the extensive
building and repair works, have implied great turnover and income
for the inhabitants of the village, who always with interest and
craftsmanship, have participated in all kinds of work.
The daily and detailed
weather observations also have disappeared to regret for many. Left
back is maybe a little local forecast in the Faroese wireless, but
without doubt, many on the Faroes are missing the daily contact
with the lighthouse and the staff out there.
One can now stand in
Myggenæs village and look out at the empty and deserted "Holmen".
In the night, one sees the light of the beacon, but apart from
this, only darkness. The establishment looks as it did in 1909, but
there is no more life around the house, everything is empty and
deserted. What one in former time looked out at and longed for, is
now only empty and deserted, bygone now and it lasted for only 61
years.
The cache is an small Lock & Lock container
Artikel fra "Fyrbladet", medlemsblad for Foreningen af
Embedsmænd i Fyrvæsnet, 1970 i forbindelse med automatiseringen af
Mykines Fyr
Fyret på Myggenæs blev
bygget i 1909 og tændt samme år 1. november.
Samtidig med fyrets
bygning blev fyrmesterboligen, oliehus og pakhus opført,. Desuden
var det nødvendigt at opføre en bro over det smalle sund, der
adskiller Myggenæs Ø fra Myggenæs Holm.
Derved skabtes en
forbindelse mellem fyret på Holmen og den lille bygd, der ligger på
Myggenæs' sydvestlige del og selv om denne gangsti ikke kan siges,
at være let tilgængelig - man skal op i ca.130 m højde - har den
dog vist sig helt uundværlig, da man kun i meget godt vejr kan
sejle til Holmen.
I 1928 blev der oprettet
en radiostation med radiofyr indrettet i et nyt hus nord for
fyrmesterboligen. Dette hus blev i 1934 yderligere udvidet med et
maskinhus.
Da arbejdet på fyret var
blevet stærkt forøget, krævedes personale med fast boplads på
Holmen, hvorfor der i 1937 blev opført 2 nye holiger, henholdsvis
for en fyrassistent og 1 fyrpasser. Denne tilstand varede til
krigen begyndte i 1939 - 40, hvor øen blev besat af englænderne,
der oprettede vagt i bygden, hvorimod fyret stadig blev passet af
fyrpersonalet.
Under krigen blev
Myggenæs Fyr angrebet flere gange af tyske flyvemaskiner og
maskinhuset blev helt ødelagt af bomber. Husene, især
fyrmesterboligen, blev ramt af maskingeværkugler, hvorved en af
fyrpersonalet blev lettere såret af en kugle.
Efter krigen blev der i
årene 1948 - 49 bygget nyt maskinhus og radiofyret fornyet.
I 1957 blev den gamle
bro fornyet med en gitterdragerbro, da klipperne omkring Holmgjoven
ikke tillod bygningen af en lettere hængebro som den
tidligere.
Efter 1960 er boligerne
blevet moderniseret på flere punkter, blandt andet er der
installeret centralvarme og ferskvandscisterneanlægget blev
udvidet, hvorved der er kommet trykvand og badeværelse indrettet i
fyrmesterboligen.
I 1968 - 69 blev der
truffet endelig beslutning om fuldstændig automatisering af fyret,
da blandt andet skoleforholdene for personalets børn var
utilfredstillende, ligesom det var meget vanskeligt at få den
nødvendige arbejdskraft til vedligeholdelsesarbejder og
transporter, da indbyggertallet i Myggenæs Bygd gennem de senere år
har været meget stærkt dalende.
Da man yderligere fra
Lagtingets side - uanset det dalende befolkningstal - ønskede
bygden forsynet med elektrisk lys, var vejen hermed åbnet for en
endelig automatisering af fyret, der blev tilendebragt i dette
efterår.
Der blev i bygden bygget
et elektricitetsværk, der ikke alene forsyner bygden med strøm, men
også fyretablissementet gennem et ca 2 km langt kabel. Samtidig
hermed blev fyrmesterboligens udhus indrettet til maskinrum
indeholdende reservegenerator med dieselmotor og nyt radiofyr, der
alt sammen indkobles automatisk, såfremt bystrømmen skulle falde
ud.
Samtidig blev der opsat
en ny let antennemast udført i glasfiber med piske og
paraplyantenne, uden afstivning med barduner og denne har vist sig
særdeles velegnet for de stedlige forhold, hvor den saltmættede
luft virker stærkt generende på en almindelig trådantenne.
Selve fyret fik også
vekselstrøm og er ligeledes tilsluttet reservestrømsanlægget.
På grund af de indførte
automatiseringer kunne fyrpersonalet nu forflyttes og fyret passes
nu kun af én fyrpasser boende i bygden, der tilser fyret 1 gang om
ugen.
Fyrmesterboligen er
blevet gjort i stand og skal forblive stående indtil videre,
beregnet for ophold under inspektion og vedligeholdelse, hvorimod
de to mindre boliger fra 1937 er nedrevet. Det samme gælder
maskinhuset og oliehuset, således at etablissementet nu fremtræder
omtrent som det så ud ved opførelsen i 1909.
En automatisering kræver
næsten altid ofre og set fra øens og i videre forstand Færøernes og
personalets side, må det beklages, at udviklingen har medført denne
forenkling.
Fyrets og dets
personales betydning for øen, har gennem årene været meget stort,
for eks. kan anføres, at 3 - 4 familiers skatteindtægt nu udgår af
Myggenæs kommunes indtægter, ligesom de mange og gennem årene meget
omfattende byggearbejder, der er foretaget ved fyret, har betydet
stor omsætning og indtægt for bygdens beboere, der altid med
interesse og dygtighed har deltaget i alle arbejder.
De daglige og meget
omfattende vejrmeldinger er nu også forsvundet til stor gene for
mange. Tilbage bliver måske en lille lokal vejrberetning i den
færøske radioavis, men der er ingen tvivl om, at man på Færøerne
stærkt vil savne den daglige kontakt med fyret derude.
I Myggenæs bygd står man
nu og ser ud på den tomme og forladte "Holmen". Om natten ser man
fyrets lys, men derudover er der mørkt overalt, etablissementet ser
ud, som det gjorde i 1909, men der er ingen liv og travlhed omkring
boligen, alt er tomt og øde. Det man tidligere fra bygdens side så
ud på - og længtes efter - det er fortid nu, det varede kun i 61
år.
Cachen er en liten Lock & Lock beholder