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4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)
User Reviews
Pavel Navrkal (5 years ago)
Jana Dočkalová (6 years ago)
Jaroslav Scherrer (6 years ago)
Lucie Kosíková - Weissová (7 years ago)
Jirina Brezinova (7 years ago)
Archangel Michael's Church was built in the 12th century for the newcomers who were settling down in the neighbourhood of Znojmo Castle. The consecration to Archangel Michael and the location on the highest point of Znojmo seem to imply that this church might have replaced an ancient pagan occult place. However, the medieval history of the church does not seem to be free from dramatic events: in the early-15th century the Hussites bombed the church so it had to be built anew. In the 16th century Lutheran preachers got hold of it, when the church tower collapsed for the first time (1581). In 1624 the Jesuits took over the ravaged place and rebuilt it. In 1642 the church tower collapsed for the second time, not to be built again as part of the church structure. In 1852 they built a new tower separately from the church.
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.