Back Tour-tan Beg Lokmazhe Breton Phare de Saint-Mathieu German Faro de Saint-Mathieu Spanish Phare de Saint-Mathieu French Saint-Mathieu fyr Swedish
 The Saint-Mathieu Lighthouse and the ruins of the abbey | |
 | |
| Location | Plougonvelin, Finistère, France |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 48°19′48″N 4°46′15″W / 48.33000°N 4.77083°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1692 (first) |
| Construction | stone tower |
| Automated | 1996 |
| Height | 121 feet (37 m) |
| Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white tower with grey trim, red lantern |
| Heritage | classified historical monument, monument historique inscrit  |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1835 (current) |
| Focal height | 184 feet (56 m) |
| Range | 29 nautical miles (54 km; 33 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 15s |
The Saint-Mathieu Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Pointe Saint-Mathieu in Plougonvelin, around Brest in Finistère.[1] The lighthouse is open to the public.
Saint-Mathieu was built in 1835 among the ruins of the ancient Abbaye Saint-Mathieu de Fine-Terre. It is a major lighthouse of the French coast, with a theoretical range of 29 nautical miles (around 55 km).
Along with the Kermorvan Lighthouse, it signals the direction of the Chenal du Four, which transient ships used to follow on a north-south axis before the creation of the Rail d'Ouessant. Saint-Mathieu's alignment with the Portzic Lighthouse also indicates the route for entrance to the Goulet de Brest.
It was classified as a monument historique on 23 May 2011.[2][3]
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of France: Northern Finistère". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ Base Mérimée: Phare de Saint-Mathieu, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ "Classement au titre des monuments historiques de plusieurs phares ou anciens phares du littoral" [Classification of many lighthouses and old coast lighthouses as historic monuments] (in French). 22 November 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2013.