The Tourlitis lighthouse is the emblem of Andros, a slender white tower that rises from a lone rock pinnacle in the open sea below the medieval castle of Chora. It holds a distinction shared by no other lighthouse in Europe. Standing on a wave-cut stone stack rather than on land or a harbour wall. It is the single most photographed sight on the island.
This guide covers what makes Tourlitis unique, its history from the nineteenth century through its wartime destruction and its rebuild in the 1990s. The best place to see it and the best time to photograph it. Read it alongside the guide to Chora, the capital of Andros, where the lighthouse stands.
What is the Tourlitis lighthouse in Andros?
Tourlitis is a lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour of Chora, the capital of Andros, built on a tall rock pinnacle rising straight from the sea just below the town’s ruined Venetian castle.
The Tourlitis lighthouse marks the entrance to the bay of Chora on the east coast of Andros. It sits on a weathered stone stack, shaped over thousands of years by the waves into a natural pedestal. That rises from the water a short way off the tip of the town’s peninsula, directly beneath the ruins of the medieval castle known as the Mesa Kastro.
The tower itself is modest in size, standing about seven metres tall. With its light at a focal height of some thirty-six metres above the sea and a range of around eleven nautical miles. Small as it is, its position on the lone rock against the deep blue water gives it a presence out of all proportion to its height. It has become the defining image of the island.
Why is the Tourlitis lighthouse unique?
Tourlitis is the only lighthouse in Europe built on a rock rising from the open sea, rather than on land, a headland or a harbour mole.
What sets Tourlitis apart is where it stands. Almost every lighthouse is built on solid ground, a cape or a breakwater. Tourlitis rises from a sea stack detached from the shore. A pillar of rock sculpted by the waves and left standing alone in the water. This makes it the only lighthouse in Europe raised on such a formation in the open sea.
The effect is striking: from the shore the white tower appears to grow straight out of the waves, framed by the castle above and the wide Aegean beyond. This unusual siting, more than its size or its light, is what has drawn photographers and made Tourlitis the symbol of Andros, reproduced on postcards, guidebooks and travel features across Greece, and it ranks high among the things to do in Andros.
What is the history of the Tourlitis lighthouse?
The original Tourlitis lighthouse was built in 1887 and lit at the start of 1897, in the age when Andros was one of the great shipowning islands of Greece.
Tourlitis was raised in the late nineteenth century, its construction dated to 1887 and its light first shining at the beginning of 1897. The lighthouse belonged to the era when Andros ranked among the foremost maritime islands of Greece. Its shipowners’ fleets crossing the world. A beacon guarding the approach to the capital’s harbour was part of that seafaring life.
For decades the tower on its rock guided vessels safely past the point and into the bay of Chora, a working part of the island’s maritime infrastructure. Its story is bound up with the shipping heritage that also built the mansions and museums of the town. It stood as a companion to the castle on the headland above through the first half of the twentieth century.
What happened to the lighthouse in the Second World War?
The original Tourlitis lighthouse was destroyed during the Second World War, when it was hit in and reduced to ruins. For decades afterwards only a bare scaffold beacon stood on the rock in place of the tower.
The war brought the end of the first Tourlitis. In , amid the German occupation of Greece, the lighthouse was struck and destroyed, leaving little more than rubble on the sea stack. The loss was one of many suffered by the lighthouses of the Aegean during the conflict, when these coastal beacons became casualties of the fighting.
For the decades that followed, the rock carried only a simple metal scaffold tower to show a light, a functional replacement without the character of the original. The emblematic white tower that had marked the entrance to Chora was gone, and the pinnacle stood bare of its landmark until late in the century.
Who rebuilt the Tourlitis lighthouse?
The Tourlitis lighthouse was rebuilt in , funded by the Andriot shipowning family of Goulandris. The reconstruction restored the tower to its rock and made it the first automated lighthouse in Greece, operating without a resident keeper.
The lighthouse was restored to its old form in , its rebuilding paid for by the Goulandris family. The Andriot shipowners whose name is also attached to the island’s celebrated Museum of Modern Art. Their patronage returned the white tower to the pinnacle after half a century, reviving one of the island’s most cherished landmarks.
The rebuilt Tourlitis was equipped to run automatically, making it the first automated lighthouse in Greece, its light operating without a keeper living on the isolated rock. Since the reconstruction it has been not only a working navigational aid but one of the leading attractions of Andros, drawing visitors and photographers to the shore of Chora.
Where is the best view of the Tourlitis lighthouse?
The best view is from the ruined Venetian castle at the tip of the Chora peninsula, reached by an old arched stone bridge. From there the lighthouse appears to rise straight from the sea, with the open Aegean behind it.
The finest vantage point is the headland of Chora itself. A pedestrian marble street runs the length of the town’s peninsula to the open terrace of the Riva. From there an old arched stone bridge crosses to the islet crowned by the ruins of the medieval Mesa Kastro. From the bridge and the castle the lighthouse stands directly before you, rising from its rock.
The walk out to the castle is short and is one of the highlights of a visit to the capital. Taking in the mansions of the marble street and the bronze statue of the Unknown Sailor at the Riva along the way. For the full circuit of the town, its museums and its seafront, see the guide to Chora.
When is the best time to see and photograph Tourlitis?
Sunrise and sunset are the best times to see and photograph Tourlitis, when the low light gilds the white tower and the sea.
The light makes the picture. At sunrise and again toward sunset the sun sits low over the sea and washes the white tower and the surrounding water in warm gold. The moment most photographers wait for. The rock and the castle catch the same light, so the whole scene, tower, pinnacle and ruined fortress, comes together at the ends of the day.
The lighthouse can be admired at any hour from the castle bridge. It makes a fine subject even under the flat light of midday. But the golden hours reward the visit most. Combining the walk to the castle with a sunset over Tourlitis is one of the essential experiences of a stay in Chora. A fitting close to a day on the island.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you visit the Tourlitis lighthouse up close?
The lighthouse stands on an isolated rock in the sea and cannot be entered or reached on foot, as there is no bridge or path out to it. The closest approach on land is the ruined Venetian castle on the Chora peninsula, a short walk across an arched stone bridge, from where it stands directly before you. Some coastal boat trips in Andros also pass the rock and give a view of the tower from the water.
Why is the Tourlitis lighthouse famous?
Tourlitis is famous as the only lighthouse in Europe built on a rock rising from the open sea, rather than on land or a harbour wall. Its slender white tower on a lone stone pinnacle below the castle of Chora is the emblem of Andros and the island’s most photographed sight. Its dramatic setting has made it a landmark known well beyond Greece.
How tall is the Tourlitis lighthouse?
The tower of Tourlitis stands about seven metres tall, with its light at a focal height of roughly thirty-six metres above the sea. Thanks to the height of the rock it sits on. A range of around eleven nautical miles. It is a small lighthouse whose fame rests on its extraordinary setting rather than its size.