Fort De Roovere was part of the West Brabant Dutch Water Line. It is an earthen fort that goes through a wall (the Ligneweg) and is connected to Fort Pinssen. The fort is open from the ‘back’, and the ‘front’ consists of two bastions. The fort has a dry moat and the banks are overgrown with trees. In 1747, during the Austrian War of Succession (1740–1748) the fort was under siege by the French. This siege has been extensively documented. Eventually, the fortress Bergen op Zoom fell and the siege was abandoned.
Over the years, the de Roovere fort has fallen into major disrepair. It has only recently been restored through contributions. In addition, a bridge was built to access the fort across its moat. The designers felt it would be inappropriate to build a bridge over the moat, so instead, they decided to construct a partially submerged bridge, rendering it practically invisible. The bridge has taken on the name 'The Moses Bridge,' as it appears to have divided the moat's waters. This design allows people to cross virtually undetected at water level: only a few bobbing heads are usually visible. Its construction is entirely of wood waterproofed with foil.
A foundation has been established, Friends of Fort de Roovere, whose goal is to make sure the fort is not forgotten. In the middle of 2010, extensive renovation of the fort began with the removal of the undergrowth and a deepening of the old moat so that the fort could be more easily recognizable as such. The clearing of the area led to many local protests. Remarkably, very little to no interest was paid toarcheological research as there should be traces of the French siege nearby. Local amateurs with metal detectors still regularly findcannonballs there, which must have come from the siege.
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.