Arnaud d'Aux was born in the little village of La Romieu in Gascony in 1265 and later became cardinal in 1312. To honour his birth he ordered the construction of this Collegiale de La Romieu. As a result an abbey with a church, two towers and a court were constructed in gothic style were completed in 1318. One of the towers is an octoganal completely closed structure. The other tower is a much more square-shaped open structure carrying the chruch bells. In the church which is beautifully restored, there are unique frescos with esoteric motives and black angels on display for the public. The tiled floor is still in its original state.
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.