Vienna lighthouse

Vienna's Donauinsel lighthouse is a genuine steel lighthouse standing some 700 kilometers from the nearest sea, on an artificial island wedged between the Danube and the Neue Donau. The island itself was engineered between 1972 and 1988 as a flood-control barrier, a direct response to the severe inundations that struck Vienna in 1954 and 1975. What began as functional infrastructure has since become one of Austria's most popular urban recreational areas, with 21 kilometers of cycling and walking paths, open-air bathing spots, and the annual Donauinselfest drawing millions. The lighthouse sits alongside one of the main cycle routes and offers views across the water channels and fragments of the Vienna skyline. Its greatest draw, though, is the mild absurdity of its existence — a navigational beacon in a landlocked city.