The Old Stiff lighthouse, over 300 years old, stands on the highest point of the island, at a spot chosen by the famous architect Vauban. Initially, it worked with coal, which was carried up the 123 steps into the tower. In the 19th century, it came to be fuelled with petrol, and today, its electrical mechanism is monitored from the Creac'h lighthouse. The semaphor building next to the lighthouse has fallen into disuse after more sophisticated electronic means of guiding maritime traffic were installed in the new Stiff lighthouse.