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Brandenbourg Castle history goes back to the 9th and 10th centuries when there was a wooden fort on the site. The 13th century keep, now 11.9 metres high, used to have four floors, only three of which remain. In the 14th century a chapel was added to the castle. And during the 15th and 16th centuries the castle was expanded and a bailey, two towers, vaulted cellars and curtain walls were added. In 1668, the French attacked the castle which subsequently fell increasingly into ruin.
The castle was inhabited until the middle of the 18th century. Like many other medieval castles, it was then abandoned and left to fall into ruin. In 1936 and during the 1950s, the State carried out basic consolidation work. Since the 1980s, all necessary consolidation work has been performed while archaeologists have continued to explore the site for further evidence of the castle's history.
The castle is located high above the crossroads of the road from the River Sûre up into the Ardennes and that from Bourscheid to Vianden. The site, measuring 35 by 95 metres, consists of the main castle and of a lower courtyard. The site used to be fully accessible to the public but access is now restricted, probably in the interests of preventing further damage.
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.