Photo: Espen Moe·CC BY 2.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Fredrikstad / Strømtangen
An islet in Strømsund with Strømtangen lighthouse, first lit on 20 September 1859. It stands at the approach to Fredrikstad, was automated in 1977, and is now unmanned, with an automatic weather station belonging to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
Strømtangen lighthouse stands on an islet in Strømsund, at the approach to Fredrikstad. It is a low light, 8 metres high, with the lantern house set on a column. The light shows a group occulting character every 8 seconds and carries 11.3 nautical miles.
Private boat or kayak.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out; the open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
The light was first lit on 20 September 1859, marking the fairway in to Fredrikstad from the sea. It served shipping in and out of the mouth of the Glomma through more than a hundred years of manned operation.
The lighthouse was automated in 1977 and has been unmanned since. It is owned by the state today and runs automatically.
Strømtangen lighthouse is unmanned and automated. The islet also carries a fully automatic weather station belonging to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, measuring temperature and precipitation among other things at the harbour approach. The mean annual temperature here is around 6.3 °C, with some 700 mm of precipitation a year and the wettest months from September to November.
Strømtangen is reached by private boat or kayak. The islet is small and exposed, and landing calls for calm weather. There is no known coastal trail cabin (*kystledhytte*) and no scheduled ferry. No general protection regulation is known for the islet.
The light has burned since 20 September 1859, more than 165 years on the same islet.
Forecasts for the inner waters of the Oslofjord draw partly on readings from here. The small islet feeds data to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute all year round.
People stopped living here in 1977. The lighthouse still does its job with no keeper at all.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Strømtangen on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Strømtangen på norsk.