Having survived war and decades of storms: a 120-year-old lighthouse stands in the Mykolaiv region that few people know about

At the State Institution “Derzhhydrography” 26 March 2026 reminded of the anniversary of one of the well-known navigational objects of the Mykolaiv region — the Lupariv Front Lighthouse. This year the structure turns 120 years old: the lighthouse first appeared in 1906 in the village of Lupareve, located on the left bank of the Southern Bug.

Despite its venerable age, the history of this lighthouse remains little known to the general public. At the same time, the structure is significant for navigation, as it belongs to paired range lights. Usually such navigational objects share a common name and differ only by designation — front or rear. However, in this case there is a peculiarity: the range on the seventh bend of the Buzko-Dnipro-Liman Canal is formed not by two like-named lighthouses, but by the Lupariv Front and the Kislyakivsky Rear.

During World War II the lighthouse suffered damage. Later, in 1955, a new tower was erected on its site — a 13-meter four-sided stone structure. For better visibility from the sea, one of its sides was painted red, complemented by a prominent white stripe in the middle.

Today the lighthouse is equipped with a dioptric light-optical apparatus and emits a constant red signal in the direction of the range. Its light is visible at a distance of 16 miles, that is approximately 29.6 kilometers. Primary power is supplied by the external electrical grid, while a battery and a diesel generator remain as backup sources.

It is noted separately that since 2009 the technical condition of the light-optical equipment and power systems has been monitored using the “Monitoring” system. This allows continuous tracking of the lighthouse’s operation.

Over more than a century the Lupariv Front Lighthouse has become not only an important landmark for mariners but also a recognizable symbol. Its image was included in the first block of postage stamps “Lighthouses of Ukraine”, which Ukrposhta released in 2009 jointly with Derzhhydrography. Thus, the lighthouse in Lupareve remains not simply an engineering structure but part of the history of navigation, technical heritage, and the recognizable image of the Mykolaiv region.

Previously we wrote:

• The enemy watched but didn’t succeed: how Kim and Ukrposhta fooled Russian drones at the Ruskyi Lighthouse
• Light from the estuaries now on a stamp — the Ruskyi Rear becomes a philatelic star!
• Goodbye, Ruskyi Lighthouse, hello Lymanskyi! Renaming by the Halytsynivka village council
• Unauthorized earthworks discovered at the Siversy lighthouse site
• The world’s first reinforced-concrete: the history of the Ozharsky Lighthouse near Mykolaiv