Coastal Dynamics Relief

NATUREUM’s outdoor grounds feature a novelty: A relief table illustrates the loss of seashore around Darßer Ort and reveals that the days of the lighthouse are numbered. Actual data shows that the lighthouse may fall victim to the sea in 50 years. The relief table was co-funded by the North German Foundation for Environment and Development, the BINGO Environmental Lottery and the Friends’ Association German Marine Museum. It was implemented in cooperation with the German Marine Museum, the Federal Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA) and the Fraunhofer Institute Rostock. Terrain data were provided by the WSA and calculated by the Fraunhofer Institute. A precision shaper then used the data and shaped the relief onto an artificial wood block.

Since 1952, coastal dynamics have decreased the shoreline off Darßer Ort lighthouse by approximately one metre per year. In about 50 years, the sea will reach the lighthouse and undermine it. And as the foundation of old oak pillars starts to rot, the once prominent building will gradually fall victim to the waves.