Veynau castle stands in the middle of the Veybach valley, built in 1340 to close the ring of castles around Euskirchen, and thus belonged to the Jülich castle-belt. This is a very extensive complex of buildings, comprising a main castle with Palas and two corner towers, as well as an inner fore-castle with two round towers and a very large outer fore-castle.
The castle is characterized by frequent conversions, but its original features are recognizable, so that the interesting details from the 14th century are still visible.
Dietrich Schinnenmann von Aldenhoven obtained the newly built castle in 1340 as a fiefdom of the Margrave of Jülich and reinforced it to become the strongest fort in this area. During its long history, the castle stood up to several wars, was often damaged, but always rebuilt and restored. The castle belonged to the Margrave of Jülich until 1722.
After the end of the duchy of Jülich there were continual changes of owner, until finally in 1843 the Duke von Aremberg acquired the entire estate. Today the main castle is owned by Prof. Harald, Baron von Elmendorff, who has extensively restored the castle with the aid of the State of North Rhine/Westphalia.
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.