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Vormsi Island
It takes a ferry 45 minutes to go from Rohuküla Harbour to Vormsi. It is the fourth biggest island in Estonia (93 square kilometres), first mentioned in 1391. From the 13-14the centuries up to 1944 most inhabitants of Vormsi were coastal Swedes. In 1938 the population was about 2600 people; most of them left during WW II. At the moment there live about 330 people.
The road from Sviby harbour to Hullo Village is covered with asphalt but most roads on the islands are gravel roads. To get a better picture, a bike trip is the best. Those who travel by car should know that there are no petrol stations on the island, and there are no ATMs.
In summer you can rent a bicycle or a boat at the harbour. There is a marked camping place on the island. A 3-kilometre hiking trail starts from Sviby and ends at Rumpo.
The roads on the island form number eight and therefore there are two different routes, which are called the east and the west circles and they meet at Hullo, which is the centre of the island. The east circle starts at Sviby Village. The old villages that have preserved better are along that circle. Here you can see typical to Vormsi houses with glass balconies. When you have passed Söderby Village, before reaching Norrby, the road turns to Norrby lighthouse which was built in 1935. From here it is possible to see Noarootsi peninsula. From here the road takes you to Diby village on the peninsula. Landscape on Diby peninsula is peculiar, rich in rare kinds of orchids. The next village from Diby is Rälby with its peculiar road net. Once there were Vormsi windmills at the outskirts of the village. Today only one is there for you to see.
At the crossing point of the circles there stands the most important sight to see – the 14th century St Olaf’s Church. After the Swedes had escaped, the empty church was good loot for vandals. The church was restored and in 1990 it was inaugurated. Next to the churchyard, in Vormsi graveyard, there is the world’s biggest collection of circular crosses (more than 300 crosses).
From here you can take a new travel route, the west circle. Kärrslätt Village is the oldest in Vormsi. From here you reach Saxby Village, which is known for the oldest cast-iron lighthouse on the coast of Estonia. In the forest between two villages, Förby and Suuremõisa, there is Hoitberg’s coral reef which dates back to the ice age. Suuremõisa manor, which now lies in ruins, was once the property the Stackelbergs Family, then a state manor and a sanatorium for the girls from aristocratic families. By the road towards Rumpo, on the left, there lies Prestviken, one of two lakes in Vormsi, which now has started to overgrow.
Back at the crossroads, you have two choices: either to turn towards Hullo or to Rumpo peninsula. The area on the peninsula is under nature protection. It is an important nesting and stopping area for migratory birds. In Rumpo you can find different tourist farms to stay overnight.
In Hullo there is Vormsi School, a post office and several guesthouses. Earlier people divided Hullo into two parts: one part for local people, the other one for holidaymakers. The beginning of the path to Parunikivi starts at the community centre. Parunikivi is an erratic bolder with German engravings probably dedicated to the last baron of Vormsi.
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