Tragedy at Flatholmen

There is a tiny island, Flatholmen, which lies about a mile off the coast of Jaeren, in Southwest Norway. The nearest harbor is Tananger, and across a peninsula, in the more sheltered water of the fjords, lies the great port of Stavanger. One of many lighthouse islands, Flatholmen shows the safe channel between the mainland and the reefs which lie further west, around the larger island of Rott, bird sanctuary. A lighthouse was first built on Flatholmen in 1862; a boathouse added in 1863, an outbuilding, including a laundry, in 1894. A new tower was built in 1898, the lens having a flashing characteristic and a color sector. The fresh water supply was so poor on the island, a cistern was constructed in 1908, replacing the earlier well which seeped salt water after storms. The light station was rebuilt in 1932, electrified in 1957, and is now totally automated: a third-order lens with 3 white, 6 colored sections, in a red light tower on a white concrete cylinder. Flatholmen isn't scenic like some sites along the fjords, nor is it accessible to tourists. But it has been immortalized in song, because of events which occurred there.