The Lighthouse of Praia da Barra, also known as the Aveiro Lighthouse (), is an active lighthouse in the civil parish of Gafanha da Nazaré, municipality of Ílhavo, in the Portuguese district of Aveiro. Situated on the coastal Praia da Barra, at the southern margin of the Ria de Aveiro, it is the tallest lighthouse in Portugal, with a height of overseeing the barrier beach and exposed to Atlantic storms. It is open to the public and visits are held on Wednesdays from 14:00 to 17:00. History On 8 January 1856, a dispatch determined the need for a lighthouse on the coastal area of the Ria de Aveiro at the mouth with the Atlantic Ocean; the Director das Obras Públicas do Distrito de Aveiro (Aveiro District Director of Public Works), in accordance with the Porto captaincy and Director Maquinista de Faróis (Lighthouse Engineering Director), indicated the appropriate location for a new lighthouse. The authorities had rejected the idea to repurpose the existing signal tower from the Fort of Barra, opting instead to custom-build a new Barra lighthouse in 1858. On October 14, 1870, a general Aveiro coast and harbour illumination plan elaborated by councilman Francisco Maria Pereira da Silva, was approved by official dispatch. The original plans for the lighthouse were approved in 1879 for an octagonal tower of high. After alterations to the original project, the lighthouse construction started in 1879 and concluded in 1893. The new Barra lighthouse replaced the services of the Hermitage of Senhora das Areias which, from the writings of friar Agostinho de Santa Maria: ...for navigators it served as lighthouse as lookout and fixed star, that, the dangers of big storms and tempests, warned those that could shipwreck, to escape from that inhuman wave, which subverts ships... The build was initially under the direction of engineer Silvério Pereira da Silva and later by engineer José Maria de Mello e Matos, envisioning a budget of 51 contos de réis and equipped with an elevator that would eliminate the need for a 228 step winding staircase. The first beacon was from an incandescent petrol lamp and horn combination and began operating on October 15, 1893. The lighthouse would later be upgraded by a first-order lamp, with four clarions, oscillating at 2.5 seconds and with a 1.5 eclipse, and a 9.5 second interval, that allowed it to reach . In addition, a Holmes fog signal was installed