The church of St George of Vardas (Agios Georgios) was built in 1290 AD, and is set against the picturesque lake that was built in 1989. This is the tiniest of temples, and it has the appearance of a crudely and hastily constructed little building, almost as if a group of children put it together. This is perhaps what makes it so intriguing and charming. There is no cross on the rooftop, no dome, in fact nothing at all that indicates that this is a religious building.
However, on entering the quaint little building, you are met by a small but fascinating display of frescoes on the walls. The chapel?s location near the lake The Church of St. George of Vardas is a 13th century stone structure that could easily be mistaken for a garden shed as there is nothing to indicate that it is a place of worship, not even a cross.
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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.