Would you like to visit one of the most isolated places in the world, one that is an architectural marvel as well as the closest to nature you could get? Then pack your bags and head to Iceland to visit the Pridrangar Lighthouse, located on the highest point of three rocks six miles from the Icelandic coastline. There are three rocks here and the lighthouse was built in 1939 on top of a very steep, high and dangerous rock with the wild North Atlantic Ocean raging below. The only way to reach here is by helicopter.
A photograph taken by Morgunblaðið photographer Árni Sæberg of the lighthouse in 2009 became viral after Justin Beiber shared the photo a few years back, introducing the unconventional lighthouse to the world.
There's a lighthouse in Iceland that sits on the highest of three rocks six miles off the Icelandic coastline, built in 1939 on top of an extremely steep and dangerous rocky cliff. It's the the Þrídrangar lighthouse pic.twitter.com/mupqfEkQGW— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) November 19, 2023
Author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, a best-selling mystery novelist, used the Pridrangar lighthouse, also known as Thridrangaviti lighthouse, as inspiration for her book “Why Did You Lie?” Sigurðardóttir has previously drawn inspiration from Saeberg’s images. Her terrifying ghost story, “I Remember You”, was inspired by his images of the abandoned farmhouse in Hesteyri, in the isolated West Fjords. The story was recently adapted into an Icelandic film of the same name.
Sæberg took a photo of the lighthouse while flying with TF LÍF, a national Coast Guard helicopter. The fact that this lighthouse was constructed right before World War II started is pretty amazing. It would have been necessary for humans to sail to the cliff and climb it in 1939 because there were no helicopters. Árni G. Þórarinsson oversaw the construction of the lighthouse and enlisted seasoned climbers to ascend the sea stack. For the last pitch, they created a human stack consisting of one man on his knees, another on top of him, and a third climbing on the second because they were unable to bite into the rock at the top with their climbing equipment and there were no handholds.
In July 2015, six workers were sent by helicopter to maintain the Pridrangar lighthouse. The workers spent the night on the island, but they did not sleep the whole night. The workers told the National Broadcast that there was only water all around. The sheer height made breathing a bit difficult. This lighthouse has an advanced Fresnel lens, which illuminates it. This ensures that it is visible even from a great distance. It guides ships even in the worst conditions.