The Celtic camp of La Bure, located in Lorraine, France, is one of the many fortified hilltop sites bordering the Upper Meurthe Valley. The plateau, now covered by forest, is shared between the communes of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges and Hurbache, at the western edge of the Ormont massif.
This hilltop settlement, of the 'spur' type, fortified to the east, is situated on a sandstone promontory overlooking the Meurthe Valley by more than 200 meters. It was intensely occupied during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, particularly at the end of the second Iron Age and the period of Gallic independence, as well as throughout most of the Roman period, from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. The site's occupation dates back at least to the Late Neolithic, as evidenced by numerous stone artifacts made from flint, such as chisels, scrapers, blades, arrowheads, and polished axes crafted from other materials.
A few shards of green-glazed pottery are believed to date from the Middle Ages. This archaeological collection is stored and partially displayed in the archaeological section of the Pierre-Noël Museum in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, where a model of the entire site can also be seen.
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.