BENGTSKÄR

A lighthouse with many tales to tell

By Erik Plankton

August 19^th, 2016

VIA ROSALA

Johanna had the great idea of arranging a trip to the Bengtskär lighthouse island as my birthday gift. Despite the fact that I was born in January she picked the perfect weekend in August. Sunny and warm with moderate wind. First we drove to Kasnäs and took the boat to Rosala island.

Rosala Viking centre

We did the full tourist thing at the centre and learned some major points about the Viking history and how they lived. After enjoying a nice fish soup at the Viking house we sampled the produce of the local brewery and got ready for the next leg to Bengtskär.

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approaching Bengtskär

It takes about 45 to 60 minutes from Rosala to Bengtskär depending of weather. It is inaccessible in really heavy weather, so be prepared for cancellations or staying on the island for a couple of days longer than expected if the weather turns nasty.

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bliss

After the introduction to the history of the island we had some time to enjoy the excellent weather and do absolutely nothing but enjoy.

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hospitality

We stayed over night in the hotel of the lighthouse. Full service is an understatement since food was plenty and the staff was very helpful and friendly.

Bunkers

Bengtskär has a significant role in the war time action between Finland and Russia. The battle of Bengtskär is a great story and worth reading: http://www.bengtskar.fi/history.htm

We explored the bunkers and for some weird reason my headlight turned off while I was in the end of the under ground construction…

sunset

No words needed to describe the beauty of the sunset on a calm summer night in the Finnish archipelago. We spotted a seal hunting about 50 meters from the shore. We saw it about a dozen times and timed it surfacing exactly every six minutes.

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Sauna

We managed to get the last sauna slot from 22 to 23. Seeing the sunset and enjoying the sauna in candle light was something that I will remember for a long time. After the sauna we layed on the smooth rock and watched the stars. When I got up a frog leaped from my wind jacket. The island is full of frogs at night.

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THE TOWER

After breakfast we climbed into the tower. When the lighthouse was active the caretakers had to take a can of petrol every three hours to the top to keep the light running. 255 steps. The prism had been bought from France and cost 1/5 of the entire building.

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war history

There is a small museum that tells the story of the Battle of Bengtskär. It is a really interesting story.

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relaxing

Sunday had also nice weather with no agenda, so it was great to relax and enjoy some coffee and buns. Bengtskär has the most southern post office in Finland.