Saare County

Saare County (Saare maakond) takes in Estonia's largest island along with a few smaller ones such as Muhu and Ruhnu. A vacation on Saaremaa means juniper heaths, windmills, limestone cliffs, and a slowness you can hardly find on the mainland anymore.

Kuressaare and the Castle

The main town, Kuressaare, on the south coast, has the best-preserved medieval castle in the Baltics: the square episcopal castle of dolomite stone, built in the 14th century for the bishops of Ösel-Wiek, stands in the middle of a moat and houses the island museum. The town itself is small, with wooden houses, a town hall from 1670, and several spa hotels; Kuressaare was already known for its mud baths in the 19th century. The German name of the island, Ösel, recalls the long rule of the Teutonic Order and the bishops.

Sights on Saaremaa

Near Kaali lies a meteorite crater, formed a few thousand years ago, with a perfectly round lake about 110 meters in diameter. In the west, the Panga cliff drops some 20 meters into the sea, in the northwest the Angla windmills recall rural life, and on the Sõrve Peninsula a lighthouse stands at the southern tip. Vilsandi National Park in the west protects islands with seals and seabirds. On Muhu, connected to Saaremaa by a causeway, the Koguva open-air museum shows an old fishing village with thatched roofs, and the churches of Kaarma, Karja, and Valjala are among the oldest in Estonia. The tiny island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga, once inhabited by Estonian Swedes, has a wooden church from the 17th century and a cast-iron lighthouse. Away from the sights, stone walls, juniper bushes, and orchid meadows shape the landscape, which is best explored by bike.

Food, Getting There, and Best Time to Visit

On Saaremaa you'll find dark rye bread baked in a wood-fired oven, smoked fish, and cloudy homemade beer traditionally brewed with juniper. To get there, take the ferry from Virtsu to Muhu; the crossing takes about half an hour, and from there you continue over the causeway. Small planes connect Kuressaare with Tallinn. The best time to visit is summer, from June to August, when the days stay light late and concerts and festivals take place in the castle courtyard in Kuressaare.