Pärnu installs exhibit to save Sorgu lighthouse from demolition

Pärnu has installed an exhibition and art installation in support of preserving the Sorgu lighthouse, which Estonia’s Transport Administration is considering demolishing, ERR reported. The city hopes to persuade the agency to change its plans.

The Estonian Maritime Museum’s exhibition in Martensi Square tells the story of the lighthouse and the work of architect Aleksandr Jaron. The installation features archive photographs and historical maps from the museum’s collection, along with rare engravings and colour photographs.

“With this installation, we have tried to highlight the values embodied by the Sorgu lighthouse,” said architect and exhibition curator Indrek Laos. Built in 1944, the lighthouse reflects the architectural styles and techniques of its era, he said, and is more than just a navigational marker.

Sorgu is a small island in the Gulf of Livonia, about an hour by boat from Munalaiu harbour. It has no permanent residents and is occupied by cormorants. The lighthouse keeper’s buildings remain beside the lighthouse, and the entire complex belongs to the Transport Administration.

The agency has assessed the lighthouse’s condition as poor and considers demolition one possible option, said Robert Kiviselg, Pärnu’s deputy mayor for construction and planning. The lighthouse is not listed as a heritage-protected object, and the city is discussing its preservation with the Environmental Board, the National Heritage Board and the Transport Administration, he said.

Laos said preserving the lighthouse complex was important for its cultural value. Pärnu and the Kihnu Institute are working together to save it and want Sorgu Island to be placed under heritage protection.

Kihnu Institute director Kolde Reet said there were few other monumental buildings in the Kihnu archipelago. She described the lighthouse as a familiar sight on the journey home from Kihnu harbour or Munalaiu and said she would find its disappearance difficult to accept.