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Château de Nohant, home of the famous French writer George Sand (1804-1876), was built in 1760 on the site of a 14th century castle. Now a museum, it was home for the election of the author, in an area she particularly loved. Nohant and its inhabitants was indeed a great source of inspiration.
Today you can visit in the beautiful park and discover building's living quarters including the tiny boudoir where Georges Sand wrote his first literary efforts.
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.