Bengtskär
Encyclopedia
Bengtskär is a skerry
25 kilometres (15.5 mi) southwest of Hanko
, and part of the municipality of Dragsfjärd
. This rocky skerry is the southernmost inhabited place in Finland
, and is reached by ferry
from the village of Kasnäs
.
The lighthouse
on the skerry is the highest one in the Nordic countries
, with a tower height of (46 m or 150.9 ft). It was built in 1906, and after falling into disrepair in the 1980s, it was reopened in 1995 as Finland's first lighthouse museum.
The lighthouse was bombarded in World War I
, and attacked again in World War II
.
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack....
25 kilometres (15.5 mi) southwest of Hanko
Hanko, Finland
Hanko , is a bilingual port town and municipality on the south coast of Finland, west of Helsinki. Its current population is , with a majority being Finnish speakers and a strong minority being Swedish speakers.-Politics:...
, and part of the municipality of Dragsfjärd
Dragsfjärd
Dragsfjärd is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Kimito and Västanfjärd to form the new municipality of Kimitoön....
. This rocky skerry is the southernmost inhabited place in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and is reached by ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
from the village of Kasnäs
Kasnäs
Kasnäs is a village in the municipality of Kimitoön, Finland. It belongs to the archipelago of Hitis. Blåmusslan, one of the two information centers of the Archipelago National Park is situated here. The ferries to the archipelago of Hitis, including Vänö and Tunnhamn, leave from here. There is...
.
The lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the skerry is the highest one in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
, with a tower height of (46 m or 150.9 ft). It was built in 1906, and after falling into disrepair in the 1980s, it was reopened in 1995 as Finland's first lighthouse museum.
The lighthouse was bombarded in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and attacked again in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.