Haapsalu

Haapsalu (Hapsal in German and Swedish, Хаапсалу in Russian) is a 10,236 inhabitants town in the western part of Estonia. It's the capital of the county of Lääne as well as a popular seaside resort. It's nicknamed by some as the Venice of the Baltics although other claim it's an exaggeration. It was awarded as EDEN (European Destinations of ExcelleNce) in 2013.

How do I arrive to Haapsalu?

  Haapsalu is quite communicated and connected with the rest of Estonia and its islands. 

• Boat: there are boats to Hiiumaa and the island of Vormsi from Rohuküla (9 km west). There are frequent buses between Rohuküla and Haapsalu.
• Bus: there are daily buses from Haapsalu Bus Station to Pärnu (aprox. 2 hour 30 minutes), to Tartu (aprox. 4 hours 15 minutes), at least 1 bus every day to Tallinn (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) and daily buses to Kärdla (aprox. 2 hours 45 minutes) and Käina (aprox. 2 hours 15 minutes) in Hiiumaa.
• Car: if you rented a car, it's a 40 minutes journey from Penijõe at Matsalu National Park, 45 minutes from Padise, 1 hour 10 minutes journey from Keila-Joa and 1 hour 20 minutes from Tallinn and Pärnu.

History

The origin of Haapsalu dates back to 1279, becoming one of the center os the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek during 300 years. In those years it was built Haapsalu castle and its cathedral, the largest single-nave one in the Baltic states. Since the 13th Haapsalu and in general all Lääne County was the center of the Estonian Swedes until their evacuation of almost all of them from Estonia in 1944. Haapsalu was destroyed during the Livonian War. Locals claimed that the sea mud had curative effects and in 1825, the doctor Carl Abraham Hunnius founded the first mud cure resort. It became then popular among the aristocracy of Saint Petersburg, capital of the Russian Empire, and since them became a popular summer destination. Some of the salt mud spas were frequented by Romanov family, the painter Nikolai Roerich or the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In 1907 it was finished the construction the railway betweent St. Petersburg and Haapsalu and during the Soviet times the town was forbidden for foreigners.

What can I visit in Haapsalu?

Haapsalu is a relaxing seaside resort which is worth a visit and moreover it has some very popular festivals like White Lady Festival (honours a young girl who, according to legend, was bricked up alive inside the walls in the 14th century; it takes place in the full moon of August), August Blues and Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival.

These are Haapsalu's main attractions:

• Haapsalu Castle (10-18 from May to Sep; 11-17 Wed-Sun from Oct to Apr; 10€/ 5€/ free  adults/ retiree, students and kids/ kids under 8): ruins of the former castle where the western part of Estonia was ruled between the 13th and 16th centuries, under the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. The interesting remains consist in the wall, the moat and the crenellated tower. The inner part of the castle has a museum about it and its history. From the museum it can be visited St. Nikolaus Cathedral, a Romanesque-Gothic style cathedral where the White Lady is said to live; it's considered the largest of its kind in the Baltic countries. Summer concerts take place here too and there's a nice playpen.
• Haapsalu Old Town Hall (10-18 from Jun to Aug;11-17 Thu-Sun from Sep to May; 4€/ 3€  adults/ reduced): former town hall from 1775 that hosts a small but interesting museum about town and Lääne County's history as well as an old pharmacy and the former office of the mayor. 
• St. Jaani Lutheran Church (10-14 Fri-Sat, 13-16 Sun from May to Aug): church built in the 16th century with a façade from 1858. It has nice relieves in the altarpiece and carved pulpit.
• Ilon's Wonderland (10-18 from Jun to Aug; 11-17 Wed-Sun from Sep to May; 6€/ 5€  entrance from Jun to Aug/ entrance from Sep to May): small museum that shows the work of the Estonian-born Swedish illustrator Ilon Wikland, who was raised in Haapsalu. It's ideal for kids and the illustrator is quite popular for the illustration of books such as Pippi Longstocking, The Brothers Lionheart or Karlsson-on-the-Roof.
• St. Maria Magdaleena Estonian Orthodox Church (9-14): 19th century church located by the promenade.
  
• Continuing north there's Aafrika Beach, a small beach at Haapsalu Bay. This bay is one of the most important migratory birds habitats in Estonia. In the southern part of the beach there's an observation deck for birdwatching.
• Haapsalu has an interesting and charming promenade (quite popular in 19th century Russia) with sculptures like a Dr. Karl Abraham Hunnius bust, a sundial and Tchaikovsky's bench that can play some of his songs. Here it's located Haapsalu Resort Hall, resort hall built at the end of the 19th century and one of the only ones that kept its original form.
  
• Haapsalu Kuursaal (12-20 from May to Sep): white and green wooden building that allows to go back in time to 1897. It has a rose garden surrounding it.
• Estonian Swedish Museum (10-18 Tue-Sat, 10-16 Sun-Mon from Jun to Aug; 10-16 Tue-Sat from Sep to May; 3€/ 2.50€  adults/ retiree and students): interesting museum that shows the history of Estonian Swedish since they arrived in the 13th century till the return of most of them in 1944 in boats like Triina. To show such history there are relics, photographies, old fishing nets and some tapestry.
• Estonian Railway Museum (10-18 from Jun to Aug; 11-17 Wed-Sun in May, Sep; 11-16 Fri-Sun from Oct to Apr; 4€/ 3€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): museum that shows the golden ages of the station of Haapsalu and old train engines.  
• Paralepa Forest Park: park full of trees in the western part of the town. It has its own beach (quite popular although it's a bit swampy), Paralepa Beach. 
• Haapsalu used to be a very popular resort because of its sea mud. In case you'd like to give a try of the spa culture a good choice is Fra Mare Thalasso Spa (Ranna tee 2).
• Outside the main part of Haapsalu there's Kiltsi Airfield, an airfield built by former Soviet Union army that is currently abandoned. Not far from here it can be explored the Ruins of Ungru Manor, remaims of the building that used to represent one of the most impressive Neo-Baroque buildings in Estonia.
  

Haapsalu Kuursaal

Haapsalu Railway Sation

St Olevi Lutheran Church

To get deeper into the Swedish heritage of Estonia it can be a nice idea heading north towards Noarootsi (Nuckö in Swedish), a Estonian-Swedish bilingual municipality with 910 inhabitants. Swedes lived there until in 1939 when the Soviet Union built army bases (being replaced by war refugees from Ida-Viru County and Ingria) but some of then came back when the USSR collapsed. In the 19 people village of Saare (Lyckholm in Swedish, Lückholm in German) can be found Saare Manor, manor founded in 1662 and bought by Friedrich Adolf von Rosen after the Great Northern War (1773) untill the land reform of 1919. During the 20th century the manor collapsed and Gustav von Rosen bought the ruins and rebuilt the manor. On its stables it can be visited a small museum about the history of Noarootsi, focused in the first period of independence of Estonia, Lyckholm Museum (10-20 Tue-Sun from May to Sep; 12-18 Sat-Sun from Oct to Apr; 1.30€/ 1€/ 0.50€  adults/ retiree/ students). Going north there's the small village of Nõva (Neve in Swedish), 106 inhabitants. Here it's located St Olevi Lutheran Church, the oldest and also smallest surviving wooden church in Estonia, from the 17th century, and the beautiful Nõva Beach.

Abandoned Soviet structures in Paldiski

Continuing west it can be visited Padise (Padis in German), a 1,771 inhabitants town with two main sights: Padise Monastery, huge ruins of a former 14th century monastery that can be explored and imagine its former majesty; and Padise Manor, 18th century manor that belonged to von Ramm family currently used as a boutique hotel. The last stop (20 km north from Padise) is in Paldiski (Rågervik in Swedish, Baltisch-Port in German, Балтийский Порт in Russian), a Baltic port and town of 3,806 inhabitants. This town was a closed city (off-limits to foreigners, non-resident Soviet citizens, even non-resident Estonians themselves) in the USSR because of its military importance. It's particulary recommeded for those interested in the grey world of the Soviet Union (abandoned bunkers, piles of unidentifiable junk and various military debris). Moreover Paldiski has other interesting building like Amandus Adamson House-Museum (11-18 Tue-Sun; 3€/ 2€/ free  adults/ reduced/ kids under 8), small museum located in the summer studio of Amandus Adamson, an important Estonian sculptor and painter; Radoneži Orthodox Church or Pakri Lighthouse (10-20 Tue-Sun from May to Sep; 12-18 Sat-Sun from Oct to Apr; 5€/ 3€  adults/ students), that provides nice views of the Baltic Sea. The music video of the popular song Faded by Alan Walker (2015) was in part filmed in or around Paldiski.

 

 

 

Vormsi's Cemetery

Only 25 km from Haapsalu there's the 4th largest island of Estonia, Vormsi (Ormsö in Swedish, Worms in German), a 93 km² island just 3,000 years old with 415 inhabitants; the maximum length of the island is 16 km so it's an excellent idea to move along it with a bike. The island was mostly inhabited by ethnic Swedish till they ran away during WW2 (when the island had 2,500 inhabitants). But it has enought interesting things to be worth a visit. The ferry harbour is 1.5 km far from Sviby (Swibi in German), a 36 inhabitants small village. There it can be visited Vormsi Farm Museum (11-17 Wed-Sun from May to Sep; 2.50€/ 1€  adults/ students), an ethnographic museum that shows the Swedish heritage and the traditional dressings from Vormsi. The largest village in the island is Hullo, with 245 people and administrative center of Vormsi. Here there's St. Olavi Lutheran Church (10:30-12:30 Sun from May to Sep), 14th century small church with a small statue of St. Olaf, an excellent Baroque pulpit and medieval paintings in the ceiling, a suncrosses cementery (Vormsi's Cemetery) and has ruins of a Russian Orthodox Church too. The westernmost point in the island is Saxby Lighthouse, a 24 m high ligthouse from 1864 close to the village of Saxby (Saksbi in German), with 7 inhabitants. Most of the island is part of Vormsi Landscape Reserve and there are some interesting routes within the island: Allika hiking trail (1.2 km), Huitberg hiking trail (3 km) and Rumpo hiking trail (6.7 km).

 

Where can I eat in Haapsalu?

Some of the nicest places to eat are the cafes Müürlääre Kohvik (Karja 7) and Hapsal Dietrich (Karja 10) or the bar Herman's Bistro & Bar (Karja 1a).
In case of travelling to Vormsi the best idea is buying at Hullo Kauplus or eating at the restaurant Krog No. 14 of Hullo.

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