The lighthouse is known to have been in operation in Narva-Jõesuu already in the 17th century, when Estonia was part of the Swedish Empire. A new stone lighthouse was built in 1808 in Narva-Jõesuu (Hungerburg) at the initiative of Leontiy Spafaryev of the Russian Admiralty. It suffered damage during the Crimean War, and had to be repaired in 1870 because of its unstable foundations. In 1941, during the battles of World War II, the lighthouse was completely destroyed. A new lighthouse was built on the same site in 1957.[2]