Bengtskär Lighthouse is located in the

Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea ( fi, Saaristomeri, sv, Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest ar ...

about 25 kilometers south west of

Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...

, Finland. The lighthouse was built in 1906 on the Bengtskär skerry where it rises 52 meters above sea level and is the highest one in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

. The lighthouse had been planned for some time, but after the steamer '' s/s Helsingfors '' ran aground in 1905 in the vicinity en route from Lübeck to Helsinki resulting in several crew members trapped and drowned on board, the project gained urgency and was completed during the following year. Soviet troops stationed in Hanko during the Continuation War, disturbed by a Finnish observation post in the light house tried to blow up and destroy the lighthouse during the Battle of Bengtskär in 1941. These days Bengtskär Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination and is visited annually by roughly 13,000 to 15,000 tourists. There are some hotel rooms, and a sauna made of granite.

References

External links

Bengtskär Lighthouse website
* Lighthouses completed in 1906 Kimitoön Lighthouses in Finland Buildings and structures in Southwest Finland Lighthouse museums Maritime museums in Finland Tourist attractions in Southwest Finland 1906 establishments in Finland {{Europe-lighthouse-stub

See also

References

External links