5 Points of Interest & Landmarks in Hiiu County That You Shouldn't Miss

The 6-floor Windtower Experience center is a concept in a whirlwind that has collected the thrilling experiences of Hiiumaa. This center offers many exciting activities for big and small. Discover interactive games, admire exhibitions, learn the local humour. For crazy adrenaline-seekers, the Windtower has the tallest climbing wall in the Baltics, 20m high. There is also a fun café RUUDI. The dishes are simple yet delicious, and a little mysterious, the ingredients are local, and our people are awesome. RUUDI is a truly lovely place to spend time at.

Scrolls mention Suursadam harbor for the first time as Saare Sadam (Serle Ham) in 1593. In 1680 Dutchman Erasmus Jacobson built a bigger ship-building concern in Suursadama harbor. There were lime-furnaces nearby. The production of these lime-furnaces was sent to many ports of the Baltic Sea.In 1848 a 358-ton bark (ship), "Hioma", was built in this harbor. This sailboat was the biggest boat in Estonia in the 19th century. "Hioma" was the first sailboat that sailed over the equator in 1854 and around Kap Hoorn into the Pacific Ocean.A big storehouse has been taken under protection as an architectural monument.

It happened about 455 million years ago that a meteor with a diameter of about half a kilometre started moving towards the earth with the speed 30-40 km/s. The meteor went through a 100-meters thick layer of water in less that 0.1 seconds and a 140-meters thick layer of sedimentary rock and exploded with a force equal to 25,000 explosions of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The diameter of the crater is 4 km and it is one of the most remarkable ones in the world. The ring wall of the crater can be seen well from Palukula and Tubala. In Palukula there is a crater viewing tower. Near the viewing tower you can find a small limestone quarry which reveals the layer of limestone with its cracks.

At first, you don’t see more than just a large pile of rocks. Yet it is clear that the strength of ordinary hands would not be sufficient to achieve this. It is often thought this an ancient sacred place, a place where fundamental agreements were concluded, and consultation held with the gods. It is also thought that the pile of rocks marks the grave of Nordic King Ingvar. Ingvar was killed in Estonia around 600 and buried in a place marked with the name Kivi (Rock). There are also stories that this is the place where seaman brought the gods rocks for luck before embarking on voyage. It is also said that manor lord O. R. L. von Ungern-Sternberg was planning to build an Egyptian-style pyramid.