The 10 Best Things to Do in Korgessaare, Estonia

The history of the lighthouse began over 500 years ago when a landmark was needed by the Hanseatic League in the first place, as their merchants were complaining about ships disappearing in the Baltic Sea. The highest hill (68 m) of Hiiumaa, the Tornimagi, became the location of the lighthouse.In 1531 a massive stone tower was erected.Interesting to know:• Kopu is the third oldest constantly active lighthouse worldwide• In 1660 iron stairs were constructed on the outer wall of the tower.• In 1810 a staircase was built inside the tower

The centre of the Hiiumaa Museum. Popularly known as the Long House (the longest wooden house in Kardla, over 60 m), the building was constructed in the 1830s as the residence for the directors of the Hiiu-Kardla Cloth Factory. It has been home to several generations of Ungern-Sternbergs and Peltzers. During the Soviet period, the building was used by various agencies.The Long House includes workrooms and offices, depositories, a library, concert and exhibition halls. In addition to the story of the development of Kardla and the factory, a factory worker’s residence is on display. Various short-term Exhibitions are also organized year- round.

Tahkuna Lighthouse is situated on the north end of Hiiumaa. The construction of the cast iron lighthouse began in 1873. The lighthouse is assembled of cast iron parts of so-called Gordon system. System is based on prefabricated details, that are easy to transport. That's the reason why this high tower was rather easy to build. Interesting to know:• Czaric Russia bought the lighthouse from the world exhibition of Paris in 1871.• It's the highest lighthouse in Estonia - 42,7 m above the sea level.

Behind the Hiiumaa Museum Long House there is a 3.3 hectare Beach Park. Once the location of a Swedish graveyard until Kardla baron Robert Eginhard von Ungern-Sternberg had a free-form park established instead. For a long time it was called the Baron’s garden. In the western side of the park on a small hill there is a cast iron cross, commemorating the Swedish graveyard. The main trees in the park are domestic. Foreign tree species include larches, white pine and several fir species. The most interesting tree – red beech tree – grows in the south-west side of the park. Altogether 34 species of trees and bushes have been counted in the park.

Bronze bell – a ship’s or soul bell that starts ringing by itself in a strong wind. With the movement of its cross-shaped pendulum in a storm, it seems a bring a message from the sea – a bell tower in a way … symbolically. The incline of the monument has a visual and emotional impact and should also call to mind the last moments of the ship. Tender details are also added to the bronze bell – four child faces on each of the main points of the compass.

In 1830 brothers Konstantin and Eduard von Ungern-Sternberg brought the woollen textile factory from Suuremoisa over to Kardla. The factory that definitively influenced the development of Kardla and the whole of Hiiumaa grew very fast. In 1830 there were 210 employees, in 1880 already 770. With its 2000 citizens Kardla became a considerable centre of its time. In October 1941 the factory was destroyed but the houses of workers and the house of the baron (Long House) have survived. In 1982 a monument for the Kardla woollen textile factory was erected; the figure, placed on a granite base and cut hollow, symbolizes a loom.

The Ristna Lighthouse is located on the Ristna northern cape, which is relatively close to the Kopu Lighthouse, which is built on a rise in the middle of bogs and is therefore often concealed by fog. This was also the reason that the Ristna Lighthouse was built. It was ordered from France in 1873 and started working in 1874. A 7-pood copper bell was also installed in the lighthouse.

The museum managed by the Hiiumaa Military History Society is located in Tahkuna. The crown jewel of the exposition is the BB-316 cannon barrel from the Tahkuna Kukeraba battery. The museum exposition covers Hiiumaa’s coastal defence structures, armaments, and ammunition. In a barracks atmosphere, visitors can examine surveillance and communications equipment. There is a reconstruction of a border strip in the yard.The armament collection is still modest. In the diesel house, there is a generator ready to start up. Simple fuel drums also comprise a collection: a riveted drum from the beginning of the last century, from the German Wehrmacht and Finnish Lentojoukut, as well as a Russian armament oil drum.

During the period from 1889 to 1891, an apostolic orthodox church and a schoolhouse for the children of the congregation were built in Puski. The peculiar choice of location has been explained by the fact that the first Russian priests of Puski did not know the local conditions. The land was owned by Ungern-Sternberg who, as an opponent of the attack of orthodox faith and religious conversion in general, donated a plot in the middle of nowhere. Nowadays there are ruins of the church and schoolhouse in Puski and a quiet village graveyard sleeping with the sough of wind in the pine grove.

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.