A WALK IN HAAPSALU!

The Episcopal castle (19), wich is one of the best-preserved castles in Estonia, is a good place to start a walking tour in Haapsalu. Since the end of the 13th century up to the year 1559 it served as the centre of the Diocese of West Estonia and the islands. The castle yard is surrounded by an 803m wall. The oldest parts of the castle, the Small Castle and the Cathedral with its excellent acoustics, date back to 1270s. A figure of a lady appears in the window of the baptistery at the full moon in August. According to the legend the White Lady in the wall is a girl who had violated the rules of the abbey. From the Watch Tower of the castle one can enjoy the best view to the town and it surroundings. The castle offers a lot of entertainment, from museum, the open-air cinema and the café to various concerts and performances.

The square in front of the castle was once a market place. Here start all the oldest streets of Haapsalu. On the Square stands the Former Town Hall (17), built in the 18th century, where at the present the Läänemaa Museum is located. Just behind the museum there stands the town church- St. John’s Church (16). It was rebult from an old warehouse in the 15th century and it differs from the other because of its north-south position. A five-meter stone altar (1630) and a wooden pulpit (1707) are worth everybody’s attention. The floor infront of the altar is covered with memorial slabs.

The walking tour continues along Linda Street. On the corner of Linda and Rüütli Steets there stands a house where according to a legend the Russian Czar Peter the Great had stoppes in 1715 and wich still, along the other legends connected with Emperor, live in the memory of the citizens of Haapsalu.

A small yellow house near Peter’s House is a childhood home of Ilon Wikland. Ilon Wikland has become famous for the illustrations of Astrid Lindgren’s more than 30 books. The artist spent her summers with her grandparents in Haapsalu until she fled to Sweden in 1944, being only 14years old. Next to Ilon Wikland’s childhood home there stands the church of Mary Magdalene (13), at the opening of wich czar Aleksander The First was present.

Turning towards the sea we reach to Big Promenade, wich until the WW II was the centre of summer life of Haapsalu. Promenade, wich starts from the once most important beach- African Beach, was founded in the sea in the mittle of the 19th century. A memorial to the Estonian first professional composer Rudolf Tobias (12) (1873-1918), and a sundial (11), both created by our own sculptor Roman Haavamägi, stand on Promenade. In 1898, Kuursaal(10) and open-air band stand were completed on the Promenade. Today, Kuursaal is a summer restaurant that beside delicious cusine offers a lot of entertainment to all its visitors. Not far from the Kuursaal stands a statue of the founder of the first spa in Haapsalu, Carl Abraham Hunnius (9) (1797-1851). Being a local doctor, he was the first to notice that local people treated themselves with the sea mud to ease the health problems. He started a reasearch and in the 1825 he initiated the building of the first spa in Haapsalu.

Big Promenade flows into Chocolate Promenade that ends at the Bench of Peter Tchaikovsky (6). The location of the bench had been the composer’s favourite place to admire the sunset in 1867 when he spent his summer in Haapsalu.

The memorial bench is near Haapsalu Rehabilitation Centre (8). Across the street stands one of the spas in Haapsalu- the recreation centre Laine (7). In front of it, on the shore Väike Viik, stands a sculpture „A Stick Breaker“ created bu Juhan Raudsepp, symbolizing a heald man. Going along Sadama Street we pass the former spa building and arrive at the Museum of Costal Swedes (2). Before WW II Haapsalu was the capital of Estonian Swedes.

When we come back to Väike Viik, we continue our tour along the sea shore walkway. On the opposite side of the bay we notice the memorial dedicated to composer Cyrillus Kreek (4) (1889-1963) in front of his home wich has been turned into his home museum. We pass Bernhard Laipmann’s memorial. He was a speaker representing peasants in arguments with landlords in 1905 and earned capital punishment for that. From Väike Viik the tour takes ust o Ehte Street and goes on along Wiedemann Street.

The street got its name after linguist Ferdinand Johann Weidemann (1805-1887) who used to live there. In the same street, in the yard of Children’s Library, is located a playground called Ilon’s Garden, named after Ilon Wikland. On the wall of the building we can read the name of Aleksandr Gortchakov, the Russian Foreign Minister and State Secretary (born in 1789). It is thought to b ehis birthplace. We pass the building of Weidemann High School (21) wich has given education since the end of 18th century. The oldest part of the schiool building dates back to the 18th century and newest part was built in 1928. A few years ago the school got the extention the most modern sports hall in Haapsalu.

At the end of the street the eye catches the sea again and the wal contiues along Õhtu Kallas. On the embankment there is a monument and park dedicated to the local poet Ernst Enno (35) From here we can see one of the pearls of Haapsalu- the Railway Station (42). The station was completed in 1907 and was built specially for the Emperor’s family. The Railway Station is one of the most beautiful ones in Estonia and its covered platform was the longest (216m) in North Europeat the time of its copletion. At present it locates the Estonian Railway Museum. From here you can turn back to Jaama Street and the town centre or walk to the forest and beach of Paralepa (32). Here you can’t miss the spa Fra Mare and the newest part of it- Thalasso (33).

Get the map from here.