Dueodde Lighthouse

On Bornholm's southern tip, among dunes and pines behind Dueodde Beach, Dueodde Lighthouse rises 47 metres into the sky — Denmark's tallest lighthouse and the only one on Bornholm you can climb. On a clear day, the view from the platform stretches roughly 35 kilometres across the Baltic, beach and forest.

A tower on stilts in the sand

The hexagonal reinforced-concrete tower was built between 1960 and 1962 to replace two older lighthouses from 1879/80. The unstable dune sand posed a real engineering challenge: the "pencil" stands on 19 concrete piles driven 14 metres into the ground, and Baltic seawater was pumped in through a 700-metre pipeline to mix the concrete. The rotating lens apparatus is considerably older than the tower itself — a French-made unit from 1886, carried over from the previous lighthouse. The light has run automatically since 1977; its signature is three white flashes every ten seconds, visible for about 20 nautical miles.

196 steps to the platform

The climb follows the internal staircase — 196 steps, no lift — rewarding you at the top with the best panorama on southern Bornholm: the snow-white beach, the dune landscape, the forests to the south and the open Baltic Sea. Dueodde's sand is reckoned among the finest in northern Europe; it was once used in hourglasses. Don't confuse the lighthouse with the 70-metre Bornholmertårnet at the entrance road, a former Cold War listening post with its own visitor centre — a separate attraction in its own right.

Getting there and practicalities

• By car via Dueoddevej, then Fyrvejen to the large beach car park; from there it's a few minutes' walk to the tower.
• In summer, the BAT ring bus routes stop at Dueodde; general tips are gathered in the Getting there guide.
• The tower only opens seasonally and at irregular hours — the beach and dunes with their wooden boardwalks, by contrast, are accessible at any time.

Is it worth a visit?

If you're already heading to the island's most famous beach, it's worth checking the tower's opening hours: the climb costs little, takes half an hour, and delivers the best panorama in southern Bornholm. More lighthouse stories feature in the Lighthouses guide, while the north is covered by the Hammeren Lighthouses.