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The predecessor of Parz castle was a moated castle, the exact period of construction of which is unknown. It was first documented in 1220. In 1514, the estate of Parz, including the moated castle, came into the possession of Sigmund Ludwig von Pollheim, who built a new large manor directly adjacent to it.
Around 1800, the building was largely rebuilt, and only remnants of the former moated castle remain today. The manor house subsequently served as housing for officials.
Due to its dilapidated condition, it stood vacant between 1946 and 1963. It was then rented by an artist group led by Hans Hoffmann-Ybbs, who transformed it into an artist center that operated until 1998.
The moated castle is currently owned by Georg Spiegelfeld-Schneeburg, who in 2007 leased it to the operators of the Castelvecchio restaurant and the owners of the Galerie Schloss Parz.
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.