LIGHTHOUSES - VELI RAT

Veli rat The lighthouse Veli rat is 20 nautical miles air distance away from Zadar, to the north-west. Its strong light can not be seen in Zadar Channel since it is covered by islands that build a barrier in the aquatorium between Zadar and Dugi otok (Long Island), on which north-western cape the lighthouse stands. Not far away from the lighthouse there are settlements Veli Rat, Verunić and Polje. North from the lighthouse there is Pantera Bay to which the light of Veli Rat is a safe guidance for navigators sailing through this aquatorium. The Austro-Hungarian Office for Safe Navigation was carefully preparing technical documentation for the lighthouse tower of Veli rat. The south-western part of the Long Island (Dugi otok) is flat in configuration and the navigating route through this aquatorium is marked by a number of shallows in the south-western, western and north-western part. The light of the lighthouse is the guidance in the night to the mentioned Pantera Bay and the harbour Solišćica, the only shelter in this part of the island. For this reasons the project documentation for Veli rat predicted a much higher than average, stone, oval tower in order to make the light beam visible in the wide aquatorium from all navigating directions. The lighthouse was finished in 1849. The light beam of the power of 2000 watt at the 40 metres high top of the tower is visible from the distance of 20 miles. Interesting to mention is the fact that while building the tower more than 10,000 hen eggs had been added into the concrete mixture. The purpose of adding eggs was to provide higher consistence and better resistance to sea salt. Because of this peculiar additive the colour of the tower is specific and the tower is different from all other towers in the Adriatic. Even today, 160 years later, the surface texture of the concrete tower of Veli rat is in excellent condition. The tower of the lighthouse is entered today through a ground floor building in which today there are two tourist apartments. The interior of the lighthouse building has been completely renewed. There lives the lighthouse man with his family while the unoccupied rooms have been adapted according to tourist valorisation. The lookout – a platform at the top of the tower – can be reached over 176 stairs. From above one can enjoy a unique panorama of the nearby islands Molat, Ist, Sestrunj and Rava. South-east and south of the lighthouse there rests endless open sea and to the north, in the haze, the panorama is closed by the peaks of the mountain Velebit. After finishing the building of the lighthouse and making it functional, in the north part of its stone paved court, a small chapel was erected - the sanctuary of St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors. Veli rat is considered to be among the most beautiful lighthouses in the whole Mediterranean. From year 2000 this lighthouse is a part of a successful tourist project called „Stony lights“. Neven Šerić