SAAREMAA, ESTONIA

Saaremaa

 

Although we consider ourselves to be relatively well-traveled, we had never heard of a place called Saaremaa before reading the name in a travel brochure. Granted, there are several pockets around the globe, some of them actually quite significant in size, that we have not yet explored, but when we saw the name of this Baltic island and the name of the principal city, Kuressaare, in print, we couldn’t help thinking that the brochure had been written on a computer with a sticky keyboard that kept repeating letters. In part, our ignorance of the Baltic area stemmed from the fact that when Eric lived in Italy and traveled throughout Europe in the mid-1980s, the Baltic States were on the other side of the Iron Curtain and hence, forbidden fruit for a U.S. military officer serving with NATO. However, ever since the curtain was pulled back, we have rushed in to explore as many as possible of the treasures revealed. Our trip through the Baltic States included the capitals of all three countries: Vilnius, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; and Tallinn, Estonia—all fascinating for the way they express a relatively common culture in very different ways. But, having been raised in a small town, Eric is drawn to the bucolic rhythms of rural areas rather than the chaotic scramblings of the urban scene. Thus, Saaremaa captured this country boy’s heart.

At a little over 1,000 square miles, Saaremaa is the largest of Estonia’s more than 2,355 islands (some say that any rock that is exposed during low tide is included in this total). The island’s history dates back to 5,000 BC and it figures into the legends and sagas of the Scandinavian pre-Vikings, the Vikings, and the Crusaders. The island has changed hands more than a Boardwalk hotel in a Monopoly game, as evidenced by the many different names given to it by the Icelanders, Estonians, Latvians, Finns, Swedes, Danes, Germans, and Russians. During the Soviet occupation, Saaremaa was declared a restricted zone and was effectively cut off from mainland Estonia, which may have contributed to the island lagging behind the rest of the country in tourist recognition. Today, it is home to about 30,000 inhabitants, most of whom are Estonians.

You can reach Saaremaa by a TS Laevad ferry from Virtsu on the mainland, by buses that use this same ferry, or by air and, if you like an adrenaline rush in your travels, you can even drive there over a frozen ice road in the winter. Once on the island, the best modes of transportation seem to be a rental car or rental bike since the bus system there has been reported as “sketchy.” The good news is that the island is not that large and many of the attractions are in, or close to, Kuressaare.

One of the endearing features of the island is that the interesting sights are so diversified in nature—historical, natural, architectural, cultural—there is something for everyone on Saaremaa, from a medieval castle to a former leper colony to a Soviet nuclear missile base. Here are some of the highlights:

Kuressaare

Toll the Great (Suur Toll and Piret)

According to legend, Toll the Giant, was the king of Saaremaa but lived as a common farmer with his wife in the village of Tolluste in the southeast of Saaremaa. He was known to throw huge boulders at his enemies, and these can be seen strewn around the landscape to this day. He was so tall that his walking stick was a 30-foot spruce tree trunk and he could wade to the island of Hiiumaa where his brother, Leiger, lived. When he was killed and decapitated, it is said that he placed his head on his sword and walked to his gravesite. His legendary height may be based on the fact that (according to the largest ever study of height around the world conducted by London’s Imperial College using data from 1914 to 2014) Estonian men and women are the third tallest people on Earth. At any rate, Toll is deeply ingrained in the culture of Saaremaa and has become the subject of books and movies and had ships named after him. You can visit a statue of Suur Toll and Piret at Pargi 16 just to the west of the Kuressaare Castle.

Kuressaare Castle

Built in the 14th century as the stronghold of the bishop, the castle was expanded and remodeled by each of its subsequent owners, and is one of the best-preserved examples of medieval fortifications in all of Estonia. Although there is a fee charged to visit the interior of the castle, admissions to the grounds is free and provides some of the best photo opportunities of the castle’s simple, but massive, gothic architecture.

Kaali Meteorite Craters

It seems that the northern part of Europe is a meteor magnet. Of the 41 confirmed meteor impact craters in Europe, almost all are in the north. In Saaremaa, there are nine meteorite craters very close to each other, suggesting that they were made by pieces of the same fragmenting meteor. The largest is almost a perfect circle 360 feet in diameter with a lake in the bottom. There is a path around the rim of the crater and local legend has it that, if a couple walks completely around the rim holding hands, they will remain together forever. We didn’t completely believe this legend but, taking no chances, we did it–just in case.

Panga Cliff

Located on the northern shore of Saaremaa, Panga Cliff rises almost vertically from the beach to a plateau 70 feet above. A semicircular lagoon formed by an underwater cliff at the base of Panga Cliff is a favorite resting place for storks during their migration to and from Egypt every spring and fall.

Windmills of Angla

Located near the village of Angla are five remaining windmills of the nine that used to operate here. Four of them are typical Saaremaa wooden post windmills constructed so that the entire structure turns around a center post to catch the wind. The fifth is a Dutch windmill with a fixed base and a top section that turns to catch the breezes. There is also a collection of antique farm implements, including old tractors, and, in the basement of the restaurant, an interesting exhibit of old woodworking and metal fabricating machinery in like-new condition.

Churches

There are a number of interesting churches on Saaremaa, at least eight of which date from medieval times. The attractive aspects of these churches lie not in lavish appointments, but in the simple, massive architecture that was used to create a place of worship that was also a fortification to provide protection for the faithful and a refuge for pilgrims. The locals consider the rural Karja Church to be the jewel of medieval Estonian high-Gothic artistry.  

 

Lighthouses

Not surprisingly, there are several lighthouses on Saaremaa, including Sorve Lighthouse, Kiipsaare Leaning Lighthouse, and Vilsandi Lighthouse.

Vilsandi Lighthouse is located on the western coast and it is both the symbol of the island and its largest structure. The lighthouse was erected in 1809 and is the oldest preserved lighthouse on Saaremaa. The structure is a 121 foot high white conic stone tower with a red lantern room and a red foundation. The light is 131 feet above sea level and can be seen for 18 miles, warning seafarers against the numerous threats in the area. The lighthouse was converted to electricity in 1827. Artur Toom, chief of the lighthouse, took the initiative to create a sanctuary for seabirds in 1910, and today, the area has been developed into Vilsandi National Park.

There are plenty of places to stay on Saaremaa, ranging from well-appointed spa hotels to rustic cabins. In order to get a flavor of life on the island, we stayed at Jurna Farm, a rustic grouping of old farm buildings within an easy bicycle ride of Kuressaare where authentic home cooked Estonian dishes are served in the communal dining room. In the late afternoon, the cattle would line up along the fence near our bungalow and provide us with a “moolody.” (Sorry about that).  Bottom line—we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there and would return in a heartbeat.

While Saaremaa can seem like a slow-paced rural island cut off from the mainland and hence, the mainstream, there is actually a very vibrant trend of welcoming and nurturing entrepreneurs and cottage industries there. We visited a couple who relocated from London to a farm in the countryside near Kaarma, which they restored, remodeled, and rebranded as an organic eco-friendly handmade soap business cleverly named GoodKaarma. Their business has grown from a local soap shop to an international business that exports throughout the EU and Japan. And they do all of this without having to leave home!

If you are looking for a place where you won’t get trampled by overzealous tour bus photographers, where you don’t have to wait 2 hours for a table in a restaurant, where you can take a bike ride without fear of being crushed by a taxi cab, and where your friends will say “Where is that?” instead of “Oh yes, we’ve been there many times.” look into Saaremaa—our guess is that you’ll be glad you did.