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Ostrzeszów castle, situated at a short distance north-west of the town’s centre and probably originally separated from it by a moat, constituted an independent fortified establishment, although it was associated in the old times with the town’s fortification system. Built around mid-14th century, the endowment of King Casimir the Great, it was part of the ruler’s large-scale construction venture aimed at reinforcing the State’s borderline area.
Situated on a small, possibly artificially heaped-up hill, it once formed an installation embracing a rectangular area of ca. 27 m x 30 m, surrounded with tall brick walls, supported and reinforced on the angles with buttresses. In its south-eastern line – that is, on the town’s side – an enormous tower has been built, quadrilateral on its basement, turning into an octagon in its higher sections. By the tower, at its southern side, there was an entrance gate opening toward an extensive wall-surrounded courtyard. The courtyard’s inner developments were originally wooden and were replaced by brick structures around mid-15th century. A brick one-tract two- or three-storey building, rectangular in its projection, probably covered with a tall roof, was erected then along the yard’s north-western side, opposite the gate.
The castle developments so formed were meant to exercise a fortified/defensive function, in the first place, along with an administrative and residential function; they were the seat of consecutive castle-town starosts who represented the royal authority in the province. The castle was destroyed during the Swedish invasion, but was rebuilt afterwards in as early as 1661. Although it lost its defensive function, still being the seat of starost, it continued to be a centre of authority, also as home to magistrates’ and land courts.
Toward the end of 18th century, the castle’s walls and buildings were much neglected, and by mid-19th c., their condition threatened with construction disaster and the decision to have it demolished was made.
Relicts of perimetric walls and the tower (renovated and preserved in 1960) have survived till this day – the tower being made of bricks, founded on a square projection, on combined stone-brick foundations, turning into an octagon at a height of ca. 11 m above the area’s surface. Its brick elevations, with a gothic strand of the walls, have preserved remnants of former architectonic décor, in the form of a double ogival blind window in the upper section of the front wall.
Presently, the tower houses a display of torture appliances of yore, its top part offering a beautiful view of the town. For a tourist group, in order to use the tower, it is advised to contact the Regional Museum beforehand.
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.