What was the first town/city in Europe with electric street lighting?

JaneofGaunt

The first electric street lighting employed arc lamps, initially the 'Electric candle', 'Jablotchkoff candle' or 'Yablochkov candle' developed by the Russian Pavel Yablochkov in 1875. This was a carbon arc lamp employing alternating current, which ensured that both electrodes were consumed at equal rates. Yablochkov candles were first used to light the Grands Magasins du Louvre, Paris where 80 were deployed -- improvement which was one of the reasons why Paris earned its "City of Lights" nickname. But that was a Department Store! Soon after, experimental arrays of arc lamps were used to light Holborn Viaduct and the Thames Embankment in London - the first electric street lighting in Britain. The first street in the UK to be lit by electric light was Mosley Street, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The street was lit by Joseph Swan's incandescent lamp in February, 1879. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_light#History_of_street_lighting But then: In 1891, Hammerfest, Norway, became the first urban settlement in Northern Europe to get electrical street lights. The invention was brought to Hammerfest by two of the town's merchants who had seen it demonstrated at a fair in Paris. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerfest Then there's Blackpool: Much of Blackpool's growth and character from the 1870s on was predicated on the town's pioneering use of electrical power. In 1879, it became the first municipality in the world to have electric street lighting, as large parts of the promenade were wired. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool#Electricity Dec 08 09, 8:38 AM

author

I read somewhere that Hammerfest was the first town in Europe with electric street lightning. I nevere believed in this, and as you say: Both Paris, London, Newcastle. Blackpool etc. were earlier, as well as Timosoara, Romania. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_light#History_of_street_lighting Dec 09 09, 5:08 AM