The Marekerk church was designed by the city architect Arent van ’s-Gravesande in 1639-1649, who also designed the Bibliotheca Thysiana on Rapenburg 25. It was opened in 1649. The main entrance was designed by Jacob van Campen in 1659. The organ was built by Pieter de Swart around 1560 for the choir of the Pieterskerk and it was moved to the Marekerk in 1733 and enlarged by Rudolph Garrels. It was restored in 1966 by Flentrop Orgelbouw.
The carillon has a church bell by C. Wegewaert from 1647, with a diameter of 202.7 cm and it has a bell by Francois Hemony from 1663 with a diameter of 98.6 cm. The mechanical clock in the tower is by B. Eijsbouts in 1941, an electric winding mechanism was added later.
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.