Stockholm, Sweden
17th - 18th century
Stockholm, Sweden
ca. 1270-1300
Uppsala, Sweden
1287-1435
Ekerö, Sweden
1662
Mariefred, Sweden
16th century
Vadstena, Sweden
1346
Gamla Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
400-500 AD
Varnhem, Sweden
ca. 1150
Götene, Sweden
12th century
Adelsö, Sweden
ca. 750 AD
Visingsö, Sweden
mid-1100s
Uppsala, Sweden
13th century
Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.
German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.
After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.