The Château de Guilleragues is a medieval, previously ruined but restored castle in the commune of Saint-Sulpice-de-Guilleragues.
This early 14th-century castle, built at the side of a small valley, consists of a long rectangular building, composed of a fortified house flanked by two towers and two watchtowers at either extremity of an annexe of the same height, from 1564. The lower court and the common buildings in the north east also date from the 16th century.
Château de Guilleragues was built in many stages and went through many changes in its history. The oldest parts and foundations date back to the 12th century. Little is known about the earliest dates and status of the structure. More obvious are parts built in the 14th and 16th century.
The building must have been two or three separate structures initially, which were joined at some later point. The best known occupants of the castle are the De Lavergne family, who owned the castle in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact, a major change took place in the 1560s, where windows were enlarged and added, doors where enlarged and many decorative features were added, changing the castle from a fortified structure with defense as its main function to a livable, more luxurious stately home.
The residence belonged in the 17th century to Gabriel-Joseph de Lavergne, Vicomte de Guilleragues, a brilliant diplomat and author of the Les Lettres portugaises. Privately owned, it has been listed since 1954 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
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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.