Hiiumaa Explained

Hiiumaa (Dagö)
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Europe##Location within Baltic Sea region##Location within Estonia
Pushpin Relief:1
Pushpin Map:Europe#Baltic Sea#Estonia
Native Name Link:Estonian
Location:Baltic Sea
Coordinates:58.8842°N 22.6444°W
Archipelago:West Estonian archipelago
Area Km2:989
Highest Mount:Tornimägi
Elevation M:68
Country:Estonia
Country Admin Divisions Title:County, parish
Country Admin Divisions:Hiiu County, Hiiumaa Parish
Country Largest City:Kärdla
Country Largest City Population:3,287 [as of 1 January 2012][1]
Population:9,558 (2019)
Density Km2:9.1

Hiiumaa ([2] [3] in Estonian ˈhiːumɑː/) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within Hiiu County.[4] [5]

Names

Administratively Hiiumaa is the "main island" of the Hiiu County, called Estonian: Hiiumaa or Estonian: Hiiu maakond in Estonian. The Swedish and German name of the island is Swedish: Dagö or German: Dagden ('Day' island) and Danish: Dagø in Danish. In modern Finnish, it is called Finnish: Hiidenmaa, literally 'Hiisi's Land'. In Old Gutnish, it was Uncoded languages: Dagaiþ ('day isthmus'), from which the local North Germanic name Daë is derived.

History

Prehistory

Hiiumaa emerged from the Baltic Sea 8500 years ago due to isostatic uplift after the retreat of the ice cap.[6] Mesolithic settlements are found on the island's Kõpu Peninsula from about 5500 BC.[7] These settlements seem to be related mostly to seal hunting and extend into the earliest Neolithic. As Hiiumaa is constantly uplifting the local sea level was 20 m higher than today at this time. For this reason these settlements are located far from the modern coastline. The pottery found at these sites is of the Narva Type and is similar to that found on Saaremaa and the Estonian mainland.

A series of stone-cist graves are also present on the island from the Late Bronze Age through to the Late Iron Age.[8]

Crusades

The first documented record of the island of Dageida was made by contemporary chroniclers in 1228, when Hiiumaa and the rest of Estonia were conquered by Germanic crusaders. In 1254, Hiiumaa was divided between the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order, acting partly on behalf of the Hanseatic League.

Swedish and Russian era

The island was part of Swedish Estonia from 1563 to 1721, after which it passed to the Russian Empire as part of the Governorate of Estonia, though Dagö's Swedish population kept most of their privileges. Most of the island's previously numerous Swedish-speaking population emigrated or were "Estonianised" during the period of Imperial Russian rule, although a minority remained until the 20th century. Estonian Swedes are also known as aibofolke ("the island people" in the local Swedish) or rannarootslased ("coastal Swedes" in Estonian). Administratively the island of Hiiumaa belonged to Lääne County.

World War I

Hiiumaa was occupied during World War I by the Imperial German Army, in Operation Albion. After the war, in 1918, it became a part of independent Estonia.

World War II

The waters near Hiiumaa were active during World War II:[9]

Hiiumaa remained under Soviet control until Estonia regained independence in August 1991. During the period of Soviet occupation 1944–1991, Hiiumaa was declared a restricted zone, closed to foreigners and to most mainland Estonians. A number of derelict Soviet forts and communication towers are still present on the island's northern coast.[10]

Natural environment

Hiiumaa is an island in Estonia located north of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea. It is the northernmost island in the Muhu archipelago, which includes Saaremaa and Muhu. Hiiumaa has a low relief (up to 68 m above sea level) and is mostly formed of limestone, that is exposed in cliffs around parts of the island's coast. In the North of the island there are a series of fossilized beaches preserved as uplift has occurred. The modern beaches are primarily on the northern and western coast lines. The natural environment is protected within the Tahkuna Nature Reserve and West Estonian Archipelago Biosphere Reserve.

The Hiiu Shoal (Nekmangrund) is located off the northwestern shore of Hiiumaa Island. The Soela Strait separates Hiiumaa from Saaremaa to its south, and the Muhu Strait separates it from the mainland of Estonia.

Ecology

The fauna and flora of Hiiumaa are similar to the Estonian mainland. The mammal fauna includes elk, red deer, roe deer, wild boars, foxes, lynxes and martens. Wolves have recently started to repopulate the island after being made locally extinct.[11] Minks were also reintroduced in 2000, after they were exterminated by trappers.[12] Since the end of the 1990s the island shelters a conservation project aimed at restoring populations of European mink, an endangered species of which there is about only 1,000 individual specimens left in Europe as of 2017. This project started with removing from the island all American minks that had escaped from breeding farms, and reintroducing some European minks. The latter started breeding.[13]

The bird species found on the island include black storks, golden eagles, cranes, avocets and swans. The forests are dominated by pine and deciduous trees, the rest of the uncultivated land is covered by swamps and dunes. The island has about 1000 species of large plants of which 50 are protected.

Geology

The exposed geology of Hiiumaa is composed of Paleozoic limestone which dips towards the South, covered by glacial sediments. In the North of the island the limestones are Ordovician and they young upwards to the Silurian in the South.[14] These limestones formed at 30 degrees South and have since been moving North with the rest of the Estonian block.[15] Bore holes have found Cambrian sedimentary rocks and a crystalline basement.[16]

In the Ordovician (c. 455 million years ago) the sea floor was hit by a meteorite forming the 4 km wide Kärdla impact structure. This structure was then filled with Paleozoic sediment. It located about 4 km west-southwest of Kärdla and is barely visible in the modern geomorphology. The crater is well preserved at depth, with a clear rim, breccia and minerals and rocks formed from the heat and pressure of the impact.

The limestone is overlain by Pleistocene glacial deposits that were deposited as the ice cap retreated 11 to 12 thousand years ago. These include terminal moraines, the two most prominent being one in the South of Island running towards the North-East and another forming the Kõpu Peninsula.

Climate

Towns and buildings

The island has several villages, as well a small town of Kärdla (pop. 3,287) and small boroughs of Käina and Kõrgessaare. The oldest surviving church was built in Pühalepa in 1259, though it was rebuilt in the 18th century. The Hanseatic League built a lighthouse in Kõpu near the start of the 16th century. It is the third oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world.

Employment and land-use

The island’s economy is mostly tourism, livestock, farming, wrecking, fishing, and fish processing. The tourism is mostly seasonal.[17] [18]

Hiiumaa council agrees to the construction of a wind farm.[19] Recently there has been a trend towards smaller farms and more tourism

Transport

Road transport from Estonian mainland to Hiiumaa involves a 75-minute (28 km) ferry crossing from Rohuküla to Heltermaa, which is 25 km by road from Kärdla. There are up to 10 ferry departures a day operated by TS Laevad.[20] In the summer weekends, getting car space on the ferry usually requires advance booking. There are about 2 scheduled buses a day between Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) and Kärdla.[21] In the winter, the island can be reached, conditions permitting, via a 26.5 km ice road (the longest in Europe) across the frozen Baltic Sea.[22] [23] A bridge to the mainland of Estonia has been occasionally proposed.[24]

Hiiumaa is served by Kärdla Airport, with regular flights to Tallinn. Bicycle rental is also available in Kärdla and there is a good bicycle path built from Kärdla towards Kõrgessaare.

Culture and politics

The island is part of the B7 Network, a loose grouping of the major islands of the Baltic Sea.[25] Smoked cooked plaice is a traditional summertime delicacy. There is a friendly rivalry with the neighboring island of Saaremaa.[26]

Notable people

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.stat.ee/ppe-46953 Comparison of self-government units
  2. Web site: Hiiumaa. Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. 30 July 2019.
  3. 30 July 2019.
  4. Web site: Hiiumaa island, Estonia. Encyclopedia Britannica. en. 2019-04-18.
  5. Web site: Hiiumaa. b7.org. 2019-04-18. 18 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418210743/https://www.b7.org/index.php/b7-islands/hiiumaa. dead.
  6. Book: Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology. 1994. Estonian Academy Publishers. en.
  7. Web site: Coastal Adaption and Marine Exploitation of the Island Hiiumaa, Estonia, During the Stone Age with Special Emphasis on the Kõpu I Site. ethesis.helsinki.fi. 2019-04-18. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042846/http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/kultt/vk/kriiska/tekstid/11.html. dead.
  8. Laneman. Margot. 2012. Stone-Cist Grave at Kaseküla, Western Estonia in the Light of Ams Dates of the Human Bones. Eesti Arheoloogia Ajakiri. en. 16. 2. 91–117. 1406-2933. 10.3176/arch.2012.2.01. free.
  9. Book: Mäntykoski, Jorma . The Finnish Navy At War in 1939-1945 (Suomen Laivasto Sodassa 1939-1945). 1991. Tietoteos Ky. Espoo. 978-951-8919-05-9. 154. 1778118M.
  10. Web site: Military Structures of Hiiumaa. Atlas Obscura. en. 2019-04-18.
  11. Saarma. Urmas. Kübarsepp. Marko. Männil. Peep. Jõgisalu. Inga. Hindrikson. Maris. Remm. Jaanus. Keis. Marju. Plumer. Liivi. 2016-07-06. Wolves Recolonizing Islands: Genetic Consequences and Implications for Conservation and Management. PLOS ONE. en. 11. 7. e0158911. 10.1371/journal.pone.0158911. 1932-6203. 4934778. 27384049. 2016PLoSO..1158911P. free.
  12. Web site: Scientists think they can save the European mink—by killing its ruthless rivals. Karát. Kata. 2017-08-15. Science AAAS. en. 2019-04-18.
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pZziPy1jLM The Baltic coast
  14. Schwartz. Maurice. Bird. Eric. Orviku. Kaarel. 1995-01-09. The Provenance of Beaches on the Estonian Islands of Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and Muhu. Journal of Coastal Research. en. 11. 1. 0749-0208. 21 April 2019. 21 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190421223022/http://journals.fcla.edu/jcr/article/view/79510. dead.
  15. Book: Suuroja. Kalle. Impacts in Precambrian Shields. 2002. Natural Resources of the Kärdla Impact Structure, Hiiumaa Island, Estonia. 295–306. 10.1007/978-3-662-05010-1_12. 1612-8338. Impact Studies. 978-3-642-07803-3.
  16. Puura. Väino. Suuroja. Kalle. 1992. Ordovician impact crater at Kärdla, Hiiumaa Island, Estonia. Tectonophysics. 216. 1–2. 143–156. 10.1016/0040-1951(92)90161-X. 0040-1951. 1992Tectp.216..143P.
  17. Ahas. Rein. Aasa. Anto. Mark. Ülar. Pae. Taavi. Kull. Ain. 2007. Seasonal tourism spaces in Estonia: Case study with mobile positioning data. Tourism Management. 28. 3. 898–910. 10.1016/j.tourman.2006.05.010. 0261-5177.
  18. Web site: Hiiumaa - Official tourist activities. hiiumaa.ee. 2019-04-18.
  19. Web site: Hiiumaa council agrees to construction of wind farm. 2017-06-10. ERR. en. 2019-04-18.
  20. https://www.praamid.ee/wp/?lang=en Praamid.ee.
  21. Web site: Bus schedules and booking. BussiReisid. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080913193341/http://www.bussireisid.ee/index.html?MENU=&KEEL=en. 13 September 2008.
  22. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/estonia-claims-europes-longest-ice-highway-2219449.html Estonia claims Europe's longest ice highway.
  23. News: BBC: No seatbelts allowed on Europe's longest ice road . 18 February 2014. 7 April 2011 .
  24. Web site: 10 companies ready to privately finance bridges to Saaremaa, Hiiumaa. 2018-09-18. ERR. en. 2019-04-18.
  25. Web site: B7 Steering Committee. b7.org. 2019-04-18. 18 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418210741/https://www.b7.org/index.php/what-is-the-b7/b7-steering-committee. dead.
  26. Web site: Rival Estonian islands drawn closer through 10 km long tug-of-war battle. SBS News. en. 2019-04-18.