The Vauban citadel, overlooking Seyne, bears witness to the history of the valley since the 17th century. Already equipped with medieval fortifications, the city which then bordered Savoy was deemed insufficiently protected by Vauban, the great engineer and military architect of Louis XIV.
In 1691, Vauban erected a citadel which followed the crest of a rocky spur and thus dominated the ramparts and bastions which had been reinforced. Narrow and elongated in shape, the citadel is in fact adapted to the particular relief of the land and includes a 12th century tower inherited from military works from the Middle Ages. Protecting the small city located at its feet, the citadel, remodeled in the 18th century, lost its strategic interest in the following century and, threatening ruin, ended up being bought by the city during the 20th century.
You will discover genuine cannons, the impressive period cistern with its stalactites, the old bread oven, films, and exhibitions on the history of Seyne and its fortress.
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.