Palencia Cathedral was built from 1172 to 1504 stands over a low vaulted Visigothic crypt (the Crypt of San Antolín). It is a large Gothic building, popularly dubbed as 'The unknown beauty' because not as well known as other Spanish cathedrals, though, it is a valuable building which has in its interior a large number of works of art of great value.
Its more than 130 metres long, 42 metres high and 50 metres wide at the centre, making it one of the largest cathedrals in Spain and Europe.
Its exterior solid, simple and austere does not reflect the grandeur of its interior, with more than twenty chapels of great artistic and historical interest. The most recognizable on the outside, is the tower, slim but a little rough, considering your Gothic style. Recent studies and excavations show that it was a military tower, and after serving this function were added to their pinnacles and cattail as the sole decoration.
The Cathedral's museum contains a number of important works of art, including a retablo of twelve panels by Juan de Flandes, court painter to Queen Isabella I of Castile and El Greco's St. Sebastian' (1576–79).
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.