Lighthouses as traditional coastal landscape heritage and the basis for lighthouse tourism development: the case of Poland

摘要

Lighthouses are typical elements of coastal landscapes, however automation usually means the loss of their primary functions. In searching for new functions, tourism is regarded as the best prospect. The tourism attractiveness of lighthouses is scrutinized and linked with different forms of tourism. Focusing on the Polish lighthouses, it is explained that given the cultural, social and economic transitions on the Southern Baltic coastline they constitute the most visually legible relation between the past and the present. The use of Polish lighthouses for 'lighthouse tourism' is analyzed in the context of existing practices referring to this kind of maritime heritage.