Estonian islands

Kasselaid near Abruka

The Estonian Islands comprise 2222 islands in the Baltic Sea and 133 larger islands in lakes and rivers. Only 29 islands in the country are larger than 1 km² (100 hectares), 318 are larger than 1 hectare and only 19 islands are inhabited.

geography

The largest islands in Estonia

Saarnaki, windmill from 1880

The Osmussaar lighthouse

The West Estonian Baltic Sea Islands

The Moonsund Islands ( Estonian Lääne-Eesti saarestik ) form a group of islands belonging to Estonia in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. The archipelago with a total area of ​​approx. 4000 km² includes the largest islands in the country: Saaremaa ( Ösel ), Hiiumaa ( Dagö ), Muhu ( Moon ), Vormsi ( Worms ), as well as around 500 smaller islands. These islands are separated from the Estonian mainland in the east by the Väinameri ( Moonsund ).

The islands of the Riga Bay

The aforementioned archipelago delimits the Riga Bay . The larger Estonian islands lie in this bay : Kihnu ( Kühnö ) and Ruhnu ( Runö ).

The East Estonian Baltic Sea Islands

In the Gulf of Finland there are larger islands that, like Kotlin or Seskar, belong to Russia. The East Estonian islands are among the northernmost points in the country.

useful information

The islands of Vaindloo and Nootamaa show the northernmost and westernmost points of Estonia.

Terms

Saar in Estonian means island, laid island . Estonian also differentiates between rahu (reef), kare , nasv , mäkki , kivi (rock), kuiva and skäär ( archipelago ).

Residents

The population of the Estonian islands is declining. On the island of Kõinastu laid , the island village of the same name Kõinastu ( Kõinastu küla ) is only inhabited by one resident. The other residents have turned their backs on the island since the 1960s, but there are a few summer houses on the island. The islands are primarily used as grazing land for sheep .

natural reserve

The Vilsandi National Park ( Vilsandi rahvuspark ) has an area of ​​180 km² and includes around 160 other larger and smaller islands with the eponymous island of Vilsandi . It was founded in 1971 and has been a nature reserve on a smaller area since 1957 and a bird reserve since 1910.

→ Main article : Vilsandi National Park

traffic

Muhu and Saaremaa are connected by a 3.6 km long dam (Väinatamm), which is accessible by cars. It was inaugurated on July 27, 1896 after two years of construction. A permanent connection from the island of Muhu to the mainland and over the Suur väin ( Suur Sound ) is the subject of heated debate in Estonia.

List of the main islands

→ Main article : List of Estonian islands

This list includes the 30 largest islands in the country, 18 of which are inhabited. It also includes the inhabited island of Mohni (38th place in terms of area) and two islands that represent the northernmost and westernmost points of the country.

The list can be sorted by clicking the arrows.

island	Area km²	Residents	Inhabitant / km²	Location notes	image
Saaremaa Ösel	2671	30966	11.6	Moonsund Islands Largest island in the country
Hiiumaa Dagö	989	11087	11.2	Moonsund Islands
Muhu Moon / Poppy	198	1476	7.5	Moonsund Islands
Vormsi Worms	93	350	3.8	Moonsund Islands
Kassari cash boxes	19.3	300	16	Moonsund Islands
Naissaar Nargen	18.6	10	0.5	Gulf of Finland
Kihnu ( Kühnö ) cultural heritage	16.4	490	30th	Gulf of Riga
Väike-Pakri Small Pakri	12.9	8th	0.6	Gulf of Finland
Suur-Pakri Large Pakri	11.6	-		Gulf of Finland
Ruhnu Runo	11.4	56	4.9	Gulf of Riga
Abruka Abro	8.8	33	3.7	Moonsund Islands
Vilsandi ( Filsand ) westernmost inhabited island	8.8	30th	3.4	Moonsund Islands
Piirissaar Porka	7.8	67	8.6	Lake Peipus Largest inland island in the country
Prangli Wrangelsholm	6.4	80	12.5	Gulf of Finland
Osmussaar Odinsholm	4.6	3	0.65	Gulf of Finland
Vohilaid Wohhi access!	3.9	-		Moonsund Islands
Aegna Wulf	2.9	10	3.4	Gulf of Finland
Kõinastu laid Drotzenholm	2.6	1	0.4	Moonsund Islands
Võilaid	2.5	-		Moonsund Islands
Tauksi ( Tauks ) National Park	2.5	-		Moonsund Islands
Suurlaid	1.9	-		Moonsund Islands
Manilaid (Manija)	1.9	31	16.3	Gulf of Riga
Väike tulip Small tulip	1.8	-		Moonsund Islands
Kesselaid Schildau	1.7	7th	4.1	Moonsund Islands
Heinlaid ( Hainalaidsholm )	1.6	-		Moonsund Islands
Saarnaki laid Sarnak	1.4	-		Moonsund Islands
Kaevatsi laid ( Swinholm )	1.4	-		Moonsund Islands
Loonalaid Lettenholm National Park	1.1	-		Gulf of Finland
Rammu saar Rammo	1.0	-		Gulf of Finland
Hanikatsi laid	0.9	-		Moonsund Islands
Mohni Ekholm 38th position	0.6	2	3.3	Gulf of Finland
Vaindloo Stenskär northernmost point in the country	0.06	-		Gulf of Finland
Nootamaa Stenskär westernmost point in the country	0.06	-		Moonsund Islands

Inland island

island	Area km²	Residents	Location notes	image
Piirissaar Porka	7.8	67	Lake Peipus Largest inland island in the country

See also

• List of Estonian islands

Web links

Commons : Estonian Islands  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

• Christian Bornhaupt : Draft of a geographical-statistical-historical description of Liv, Ehst and Kurland, together with a wall map . WF Häcker, Riga 1855, p. Lk. 27.
• Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 1: Estonia (including Northern Livonia) (= sources and studies on Baltic history. Volume 8/1). Started by Hans Feldmann . Published by Heinz von zur Mühlen . Edited by Gertrud Westermann . Böhlau, Cologne / Vienna 1985, ISBN 3-412-07183-8 .

References and comments

1. ↑ The official number of islands in the Baltic Sea is 2,222, while school books often still read the figure of 1,521 : Minifacts about Estonia 2017 : Number of islands 2,222
2. ↑ Puhka Eestis: Saared. (Estonian, accessed March 29, 2019)
3. ↑ Nils Niitra: Eesti sai 700 meresaare Vorra rikkamaks. (August 24, 2015, Estonian)
4. ^ Legacy of the Baltic Germans deutschlandfunk.de
5. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 26, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

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