The origin of Château de Duras was the church of Saint-Ayrard (now demolished), which was located 1200m from the castle. The church was given in 977 to the Abbey of La Réole by Gombaud, Bishop of Vasconie and Guillaume, Duke of Gascony. In 1087, Bertrand de Taillecavat gave a quarter of the church of Saint-Ayrard to the abbey of La Réole. In 1127 the priory of Saint-Ayrard's villa is destroyed by the Viscount of Besamont. A house and a chapel was then built on the current site of the castle. A charter of 1233 attributed to the prior of La Réole the rights to the city of Duras, as he owned the priory of Saint-Ayrard. The charter is signed by Geraud de Malemort, Archbishop of Bordeaux, Raymond, Bishop of Agen and Guillaume de Bouville, Lord of Duras.
The first castle of Duras dates from the 12th century and was built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Dropt valley. The castle belonged to the family of Bouville. The castle was captured in 1254, from the Viscounts of Benauges and Bezaume by King Henry III of England after a revolt of the Gascon lords. He passed the castle to his son, the future Edward I.
In the early 14th century, Gaillard de Goth, brother of the first French pope Clement the 5th, inherited of Duras castle. Papal money must have been useful for the construction of a new fortress to replace the former medieval castle. Then, the lands of Duras became property of Arnaud de Durfort when he contracts a marriage with Marquèse de Goth, the Durfort became then Durfort-Duras and the castle remained property of the same family until 1838.
Today Château de Duras is open to the public. The visitor can browse History and Architecture through the 30 restored rooms
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.