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Founded: 1823Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Latvia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Latvia)
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Aizupe Manor (Latvian: Aizupes muižas pils) was built in late classicism style in 1823. In 1561 the estate was the property of the Duke, who granted the manor to his counselor Salamon Henning. In 1719, the manor became property of his heirs, and later von Koskulu's, and von Mirbahu's. From 1793 to 1920, the manor was in the hands of the Hahn family.
The manor then remained a 19th century farm complex with residential houses, large barns with ramps, distillery, and a park established between 1830-1840 next to the manor house until the beginning of the 20th century. From 1939 to 1945, it was occupied by the Cīrava Forest School, and from the 1945 to 1985 by the Forest Technical School. Since the 1990s it has been under control of the Cīrava municipal council.
References: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.