The name of the Château de La Falize is derived from the Latin word Falise (Cliff, falaise) because of its position close to the top edge of a steep declivity of the valley sides of the river Meuse at the foot of which is city of Namur. Just south west of the Château the steep side of the Meuse valley is cut by the Houyoux, a tributary of the Meuse, which has created a smaller valley in the steep declivity of the Muse valley. The Houyoux is used by the land transport routes from Gembloux and Namur, to descend into the Meuse valley from the plain above.
In 1638, King Philip IV of Spain, leased this manor in 1638 to Gilles I of Glymes, Lord of La Falize, for the sum of 1500 florins. Honore de Glymes-Brabant, son of Ignace-François de Glymes-Brabant, Lord of la Falize built most of the current structure in 1757. The Château was the headquarters of William of Orange during the Siege of Namur in 1695.
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.