Hiiumaa (German & Swedish: Dagö; Danish: Dagø; Finnish: Hiidenmaa) is the second largest island (989 km²) in Estonia. It is in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.
Archaeological evidence of the first human settlement in Hiiumaa dates to the 4th century BC. 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.
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 remains to this day. Estonian Swedes are also known as "aibofolke" (meaning island people in Swedish) or "rannarootslased" (meaning coastal Swedes in Estonian).
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| Date of Issue: March 17, 2016 - Architecture |
Sent on: July 14, 2016
Received on: July 19, 2016
2 comments:
That postmark is wonderful! Is it easy to get to Hiiumaa from Tallinn without your own car? :) Would love to visit the Estonian islands soon! :)
I know there's bus driving between Tallinn and Saaremaa, probably between Tallinn and Hiiumaa as well. The busticket's price includes the price of barge ticket, too (at least I think so..). So it's even easier and more comfortable than traveling by car :)
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