After being stranded on their diminutive island in the Struten Lighthouse during stormy weather and crashing waves, the woman died of the disease and has haunted her ever since, still waiting for aid that never came.
Far out to sea, beyond Hvaler, Østfold, where the Skagerrak proves merciless and the horizon seems endless, lies a diminutive volcanic island called Struten. The island is crowned by an abandoned lighthouse that, logically, should be obscure and silent. At night, its lithe still shines over the water, directing ships away from hidden reefs.
Today, the lighthouse is part of the coastal trail in Oslofjord, with overnight accommodation available. And as the darkness deepens, the island discovers something else.
An island born from shipwrecks
The waters between Hankø and Hvaler have long been feared by sailors. Storms intensify quickly, currents change without warning, and countless ships have met their end on unseen rocks. So many people died that public pressure finally forced the authorities to act.
In the fall of 1904, the barque “Sir John Lawrence” sank in Stuten, killing all 13 crew. The wreck was found in 1997 and is considered a maritime archaeological find of great interest. It was proposed to leave the wreck intact as an “underwater museum”. The tragic sinking led to renewed demands from seafarers' associations. Now things gained momentum and in 1906/07 a lithe station was built at Struten. In the fall of 1907, the Struten Lighthouse was completed and put into operation.
Fyrvokter Fredrik Nannestad came from Kristiania with his wife Albertine Marie and two sons, Fredrik and Arthur. Together they were entrusted with keeping the flames of the kerosene lamps burning so that no more ships would be carried away by the sea.
Life in isolation
Life on Struten was tough and lonely. The family worked night shifts, seven days a week. There was no telephone. No motorboat. No school for children. Their only regular contact with the outside world was the mail ship, which arrived every two weeks, weather permitting.
In an emergency, they were provided with one lifebuoy. If aid was needed, a black balloon was to be raised on the flagpole. Someone on the mainland would see this. Help will come.
The winter of 1910 was exceptionally brutal. Storm after storm hit the island throughout February, completely cutting the family off. The waves crashed on the rocks. The wind howled around the lighthouse tower.
Albertyna became seriously ill. She was burning with fever, coughing up blood and mucus, and her strength was fading. Fredrik did everything he could. As the storm howled, he tried again and again to raise the emergency balloon. Each time the wind blew them away.
He finally managed to attach the black balloon to the mast. It fluttered wildly in the storm, silently calling for aid. But no one on land saw it, or they saw it, but it was a week before they managed to get out in a boat to see what was happening.
For many days Albertine died while the lighthouse continued to function. When the weather finally calmed down after a week, a rescue team was dispatched. They arrived too overdue. Albertine Marie Nannestad had been dead for several days. Later, a doctor discovered that she suffered from tuberculosis, a fatal and contagious lung disease.
A tragedy that had a wide impact
Albertine was buried in the city. The very next day, Fredrik and his sons had to return to Struten and resume their duties.
This story shocked the entire region. The locals began calling the lighthouse Djævleø-Fyre, the lighthouse on Devil's Island. Newspapers wrote about this tragedy for several days.
That same fall, the oldest son died of heart disease. The youngest left for America as soon as he was elderly enough. Fredrik remained alone on Stuten until his retirement, watching the lithe burn where his family once lived.
A presence that never left
The Struten lighthouse was automated in 1985. Since then, no one has lived on the island.
Many people claim to hear footsteps on the steep spiral staircase leading to the lighthouse, even when they are completely alone. Others saw the woman's shadow moving silently across the island, her figure disappearing before they could get close.
It is said that every night, when the elderly wall clock in the guard's residence strikes a quarter to eleven, he begins his rounds. It can often be seen near the flagpole. The boulder on the north side is also said to rotate every Thursday at midnight.
Witnesses say that the Struten Lighthouse has appeared every evening since the Struten Lighthouse opened to tourists. In the fading lithe, a woman stands at the flagpole and looks at the horizon. In Stuten the lighthouse still serves its purpose. And next to him, the guard's wife is still waiting for aid that is over a hundred years overdue.
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WOMAN LANTERN FORTVILTE in the Stuten lighthouse in Hvaler – Issuu
https://laguide.no/utstillinglindesnesfyr/norgesfyr/struten/dynamic-no.htm
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