Visit to Bengtskär lighthouse - 13 July 2018

Bengtskär is a myth in Finland. It is the southern most constructed place in Finland, and remains the highest lighthouse in the Baltic. It has always been a strong symbol of Finland as it was the last "picture" of Finland that the emigrants to the Americas would see in the XIX century. It remains an iconic representation of Finland, which was used in the Parisian subway couple of years ago for an advertisement campaign to promote tourism in Finland.

It takes one hour from Hanko with the ferry, going through a hazy sea.

One thought for the migrants from previous centuries who passed here.

The light house was constructed after the SS Helsinfors sank on New Year's Eve 1905 along with the rescue boat sent to assist. The guide at the lighthouse told us that the cause of the sinking may have been a faulty compass. In fact, the compass is thought to have frozen after some crew drank the alcohol in the compass case and replaced it by water.  

252 steps to the top...

There are lots of eider duck nesting at the light house, completely unafraid of there visitors. Visitors are said to prevent the eagles from attacking the ducks during the mating period. 

Each red pin represents an eider's nest on the island at a time of a survey

The huge Fresnel lens is no longer in use since there are no bulbs any more. It seems to have been replaced by the small lamp on the right.

In July 1941, Russian troops landed in Bengtskär in an attempt to destroy it, since it was used as an observation post by Finns to monitor Russian maritime trafic at the mouth of the gulf of Finland. The battle was fierce, involved boats and plane. Eventually, the Finns were able to keep control of the lighthouse which was not destroyed.

The chapel in the light house

The large round window on the top floor of the building was the fog horn that could be heard up to 20 miles away. It was blown at one minute interval and each blow would shake the entire building!

Departing from Bengtskär in the afternoon