St. Jacob's Church in Gingst is a brick church from the 14th century. It has suffered immense damage from fire and collapse over the years. After a serious fire a stucco ceiling was installed in 1726, and gradually the whole interior of the church was remodelled in the Baroque style. The organ built by Stralsund native Christian Kindt in 1790 is particularly grand. Other items include a baptismal font with a wood lid (1736), a decorated pulpit (1743) and the main altar built in 1776.
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.