The Abbey of St Paul, Verdun is a former Premonstratensian monastery in Verdun, department of Meuse. The surviving buildings are used for civic purposes.
The abbey was founded in 973 by Benedictine monks. In 1135 it passed to the Premonstratensians, then not long established. The abbey was destroyed and rebuilt several times, most recently in the 17th century. In 1790, during the French Revolution, a new church was being built. Both that and the existing 17th-century church were destroyed. The 17th-century conventual buildings survived, and now accommodate the palais de justice of Verdun and the offices of the sous-préfecture of the Meuse.
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.