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Byneset Church is a medieval church consecrated to the saint Michael. The year consecration is not exactly known, but it is assumed that it was about 1180. The same mason signatures are also found at the Nidaros Cathedral, indicating that the same masons were used in the construction of both churches. The church is built in a Romanesque style and it is a stone 'long church'. The tower was built around 1650. In 1656, a 'weapon house' was constructed in front of the west gate. It was renovated in 1811 and again in the 1970s.
References:Maybe my ancestor was baptised in this church His name was Christen Jansz Graan Baptised March 7th 1675 Maybe his name is still in the archives
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.