A wonderful day trip and eider duck safari to the Bengtskär lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the Nordic countries and most southern travel destination in Finland. The Bengtskär lighthouse rises 52 meters above the sea level. It is situated about 25 kilometers south-west of Hanko in the outer archipelago of Finland. The lighthouse is located on the southernmost island in the Finnish Archipelago Sea, in the eastern part of the northern Baltic Sea.
The little island of Bengtskär lighthouse becomes home for hundreds of nesting eider ducks in the spring. Iconic eiders (Somateria mollissima or Haahka in Finnish) are diving birds and one of largest seabirds in Finland. The human presence on the island keeps predators aways and makes a safe habitate for nesting birds. The eiders have learned to trust the staff and visitors. The females build their nests everywhere, even next to the helicopter landing pad and the main entrance to the lighthouse. The eiders are not tame and must be respected in order not to interfere with the breeding. In 2020, there were 466 elder nests on the Bengtskär island. In the same time period, researchers have observed that the total number of eiders in the archipelago has decreased disastrously.
You can reach Bengtskär from Hanko, Rosala or Kasnäs. On a tour boat, the trip from Kasnäs to the lighthouse takes about one hour. Boat service is regular in summer but it can be cancelled in the case of bad weather. Our eider duck safari was organized by Wilson Charter.
Bengtskär has a lighthouse museum and a home museum, a permanent exhibition about the Battle of Bengtskär and other varying exhibitions, a post office, a chapel, a café and souvenir shop, as well as premises for accommodation and conferences. For overnight guests, the Finnish sauna will be heated in a granite outbuilding.
The lighthouse was completed in 1906. The plans were made by architect Florentin Granholm, who represented the National Romantic style of Finnish architecture. The interior was built in Jugend style. The light was lit for the first time on December in 1906. It was visible for about 37 kilometres.
Lighthouse keepers and their families lived on Bengtskär year-round.
The Battle of Bengtskär took place on 26-27 July 1941 during the Continuation War, when Soviet landing troops tried to blow up the Bengtskär lighthouse. Finnish troops managed to defend the lighthouse. There were 1,500 men on land, sea and air involved in the battle. A total of 32 Finns and an estimated 60-100 Soviets died in the battle. The lighthouse suffered severe damage.
After the war, the families did not return to Bengtskär. In 1968, the lantern was made automatic and the building was left deserted.
Since 1995 the Bengtskär lighthouse has operated as a museum and visitor lighthouse. In 2000, the Turku University Foundation bought the lighthouse in order to preserve it. Bengtskär is a valuable part of Finland’s cultural heritage and the landscape of the archipelago.
