In 1720, Drost Johann Friedrich Ignaz, along with his three brothers Ferdinand Ernst Adam, Adolf Franz Friedrich, and Mauritz Lothar von der Lippe, all of whom were canons in Paderborn, had a Baroque-style castle constructed on a square island on the Heubach, a tributary of the Emmer, by the master builder Justus Wehmer.
In 1767, the male lineage of the Vinsebeck branch of the von der Lippe family came to an end with the death of Moritz Anton Freiherr von der Lippe. As a result, the castle passed to his sister Theresia, who was married to Hermann Werner von der Asseburg zu Hinnenburg. Theresia, in turn, passed on the castle and other properties to her daughter Antonette, who was married to Johann Ignatz Graf Wolff-Metternich zur Gracht.
Around 1795, the Wintrup branch of the von der Lippe family brought a lawsuit against the Wolff-Metternich Counts for control of Vinsebeck. The plaintiff contested a family contract from 1767 that had abolished the male-only inheritance rule, allowing for inheritance through the female line. The unsuccessful legal battle extended over 40 years. Today, the castle is owned by Simeon Graf Wolff-Metternich.
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.