Bengtskär lighthouse was built in 1906 and rises 52 metres from the sea, making it the tallest lighthouse in Scandinavia. It stands on the outermost rocky islet of the archipelago and marks the safe entrance to the Gulf of Finland. Hiittinen1, the nearest village, is 18 kilometres to the north and Hanko, one of the most important Finnish harbours, is 25 kilometres to the northeast. Helsinki is about 150 kilometres to the east.
Building of the Lighthouse
The waters around Bengtskär were, and still are, extremely treacherous, especially during the dark winter months. Numerous shipwrecks - combined with increased winter traffic to Hanko - were the reason for building a lighthouse on Bengtskär. Drawings were prepared in 1900, but the final decision was made in 1905 after a brand new steamship, Helsingfors, sank during a winter storm.
Building took place in 1906. The granite was quarried from Bengtskär itself. The number of workers rose to 120 during the summer. All of them lived on the small islet, just 100m by 100m. The beam was finally lit on the 19 December, 1906, it could be seen for twenty nautical miles. A year later a foghorn was placed in the attic of living quarters.
Short History of the Lighthouse
After completion, the master lighthouse keeper, a machinist, and three assistant lighthouse keepers moved with their families to the living quarters. Later, when the families grew there were around 40 people living on Bengtskär during 1930s. At that time there was even a school on the island
When off duty, lighthouse keepers fished, hunted seals, shot sea birds, and so on. It was impossible to really grow anything on the island, during storms everything that was not attached to the rock was destroyed. Visiting the mainland, the larger islands, and delivery of provisions was completely dictated by the weather.
When World War I started in 1914, the lantern was taken down, and the residents evacuated. During the war, the lighthouse was shelled by two German ships, but was not badly damaged. The light was re-lit in 1919, after the waters had been cleared of sea mines.
Bengtskär again became militarily important after the Winter War2 when the Soviet Union gained control of the southernmost tip of Hanko and its port. The Finnish army was able to monitor all Russian movements to and from Hanko from Bengtskär's tower. After hostilities began again, in the summer of 1941, the Russians decided that Bengtskär had to be taken over. Just after midnight on 26 July, 1941, Russia attacked with the aid of a heavy fog. At one point the Russians occupied all of the living quarters and the Finns were stuck in the tower. Slowly the situation turned around, when Finnish artillery started shelling the island and the defenders got reinforcements from a nearby island. Shortly after dawn the battle was over and 31 Finns and around 60 Russians were dead.
After the war, the heavily damaged lighthouse was repaired and its light was once again re-lit in 1950. This time the lighthouse keepers moved on the island without their families and worked in shifts of 14 days. In reality shifts lasted often a month because heavy seas prevented changes.
In 1968, the lantern was made automatic and the lighthouse keepers left the island. The unheated building quickly started to turn into a ruin; vandals aided the forces of nature. The authorities leased the lighthouse in 1985 to an association that was supposed to renovate the building. Later, control of the lighthouse was transferred to the University of Turku that began restoration work. In 1995 the lighthouse was reopened as an historic monument.
Current Activities
The old living quarters today host the lighthouse museum, café, chapel, post office and rooms for accommodation. Every year over 10 000 people visit Bengtskär, around 1000 stay overnight in the lighthouse. Sleeping in the lighthouse in the middle of the sea is a different experience and by doing so you get to use the sauna, probably the only one in Finland made out of granite. If you climb the 252 steps to the top of the tower you can see the open sea to the south, and the dense archipelago to the north with its hundreds of bigger and smaller islands.
Plants and Animals
There are no trees growing on Bengtskär, and plants cover only a few hundred square metres of the, almost, two hectares of island. The rest of it is just bare granite. The bird life is very active during spring and autumn migrations, over 200 species have been spotted from the island. Nevertheless only four of these actually nest on the island on a regular basis. The mole is the only mammal living on the island, where the only limitation to its population is the amount of food, as it has no enemies on the island. Insects, and the frogs that feed on them, make up rest of the fauna.
How to Get There
Not surprisingly you get there by boat, either from Hanko or Kasnäs. If you're travelling by public transport it is much easier to get to Hanko than to Kasnäs, but the extra effort to get to Kasnäs is worth it, as that crossing offers better views of the archipelago. The route from Hanko crosses mostly open waters. Also if the weather is bad ferries from Hanko are cancelled more easily than the one from Kasnäs, since it also services the lighthouse. If you're not short of cash you can also take a charter helicopter from Helsinki.
Further Reading
Pictures, more detailed history, other information about booking and timetables and so on can be found from Bengtskär's Homepage.
Related BBCi Links
1 Hitis in Swedish which is the locals' language.
2 War between Finland and the Soviet Union during the winter 1939-1940.
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