Although documents directly relating to the construction of the castle in Darłowo have not been found yet, the results of archaeological and architectural and historical premises allow us to date back the creation of the castle to the second half of the 14th century. It was during the reign of the prince of the House of Griffins, Boguslaw V and Elizabeth, the daughter of King Casimir the Great. The prince purchased the island with a mill in 1352 from a rich burgher of Darłowo - Elizabeth von Behr - in order to build a fortress on it. Over the decades, a castle had grown on the island, which in its main outlines has survived to this day. The work of Boguslaw V was at that time so representative that so that as early as in 1372 a congress of the Pomeranian princes - brothers and cousins Boguslaw took place within its walls. The first sovereign, who modernized the defense system and extended the castle was Prince Eric the Pomeranian. It took place in the years 1449 to 1459, when after the loss of the throne of Scandinavia, the dethroned king returned to his legacy.
In the Prussian times, the castle served partly as a warehouse and fell into ruin. Only at the end of the thirties of the 20th century, a regional museum was created there and it is operating. It founder and first curator was Karl Rosenow. Currently, the Castle of King Eric is organizing numerous exhibitions.
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.