The old Cistercian monastery of Melón contains in its church one of the largest and most imposing sanctuaries in Galician monastic architecture. It was founded by monks from Clairvaux Abbey in France, in 1142. It was once very powerful, as attested by the remaining architecture.
Various rooms in the monastery, the galleries in the cloister and the two later chapels are currently undergoing restoration, as well as the entrance to the monastic site.
The only element remaining from the primitive Romanesque church with three naves is one section of a nave, the transepts with two semicircular chapels, and an interesting ambulatory with freestanding columns. Its walls and roofs were refurbished once again in the late 19th century in the historicist style. It is topped with cross and quarter-sphere vaults, and has a rectangular tower at the point where the transept meets the naves.
References: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.