Haapsalu

This article is about the town with this name. For the administrative unit, see Haapsalu (urban municipality).

Haapsalu (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈhɑːpsɑlu]) is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375.^[1]

Haapsalu
Town
View from Haapsalu Castle
Haapsalu Location within Estonia Show map of Estonia Haapsalu Location within Baltic Sea region Show map of Baltic Sea Haapsalu Location within Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 58°56′22″N 23°32′27″E
Country	Estonia
County	Lääne
Municipality	Haapsalu
Town rights	1279
Area [1]
• Total	11.09 km2 (4.28 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Population  (2024)[1]
• Total	9,812
• Rank	14th
• Density	880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Estonians	83.5%
• Russians	11.9%
• other	4.6%
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	90503 to 90507
Area code	(+372) 047
Vehicle registration	S

History

The name Haapsalu derives from the Estonian words haab 'aspen' and salu in the archaic sense '(forested) island' (now 'grove').^[2] Until the first half of the 20th century, in Swedish and German the town was called Hapsal. Haapsalu and the surrounding area was the center for the Estonian Swedes from the 13th century until the evacuation of almost all ethnic Swedes from Estonia prior to the Soviet invasion of Estonia during World War II in 1944.^{[citation needed]}

The first written record of Haapsalu dates back to 1279, when the town was chartered and became the capital of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, which it remained for the following three centuries. Buildings from those early days remain today, including an episcopal castle, which has the largest single-nave church in Estonia.^{[citation needed]}

Neighborhoods of Haapsalu

There are six neighborhoods of Haapsalu:

• Holmi
• Kesklinn
• Männiku
• Paralepa
• Randsalu
• Vanalinn.^[3]

Healing by sea mud

The sea mud in Haapsalu is claimed to have a curative effect. A military doctor, Carl Abraham Hunnius, founded the first mud cure resort in 1825. News of the "curative mud" spread quickly amongst the wealthy customers in then capital city Saint Petersburg, and elsewhere in the former Russian Empire. The mud spas were frequented by the Russian imperial Romanov family.^[4] For almost 200 years, Haapsalu has been a popular summer destination where people from all around the world come for medical treatment. At present, there are three "mud cure" establishments in Haapsalu.

Other attractions

The Land of Ilon Wikland (Wiklandia), a recreation centre for children, is set to open in a few years^[when?] within the town. Wikland, a famous book illustrator, has had a strong bond with Haapsalu since her childhood.

The August Blues Festival is held every year in August in Haapsalu.

Since 2005, the town hosts Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, an annual film festival dedicated to genre films.^[5] In 2017, the pastors of Haapsalu made an open statement calling to end the city's financing of the festival, claiming the horror and violence depicted in the screened films were not fit to represent the resort town image.^[6] The same year the festival was held to a record-breaking attendance.^[7]

Demographics

Ethnic composition 1922-2021

Ethnicity	1922[8]		1934[9]		1941[10]		1959[11]		1970[12]		1979[13]		1989[13]		2000[14]		2011[15]		2021[16]
	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%
Estonians	3597	84.9	4103	88.3	3580	94.5	6819	79.6	8417	73.3	9058	69.5	9704	66.4	9587	79.5	8404	82.0	8016	83.5
Russians	178	4.20	125	2.69	57	1.50	-	-	2220	19.3	2987	22.9	3726	25.5	1841	15.3	1427	13.9	1140	11.9
Ukrainians	-	-	0	0.00	-	-	-	-	296	2.58	441	3.38	547	3.74	287	2.38	181	1.77	127	1.32
Belarusians	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	99	0.86	186	1.43	233	1.59	97	0.80	61	0.60	58	0.60
Finns	-	-	5	0.11	6	0.16	-	-	62	0.54	81	0.62	77	0.53	64	0.53	57	0.56	60	0.63
Jews	9	0.21	5	0.11	0	0.00	-	-	23	0.20	20	0.15	12	0.08	5	0.04	4	0.04	3	0.03
Latvians	-	-	10	0.22	3	0.08	-	-	44	0.38	40	0.31	32	0.22	9	0.07	12	0.12	15	0.16
Germans	304	7.17	251	5.40	-	-	-	-	-	-	46	0.35	48	0.33	16	0.13	8	0.08	6	0.06
Tatars	-	-	0	0.00	-	-	-	-	-	-	38	0.29	38	0.26	15	0.12	10	0.10	11	0.11
Poles	-	-	11	0.24	11	0.29	-	-	-	-	21	0.16	18	0.12	9	0.07	4	0.04	7	0.07
Lithuanians	-	-	0	0.00	1	0.03	-	-	26	0.23	24	0.18	27	0.18	24	0.20	18	0.18	15	0.16
unknown	0	0.00	1	0.02	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	34	0.28	13	0.13	37	0.39
other	149	3.52	138	2.97	131	3.46	1748	20.4	296	2.58	93	0.71	155	1.06	66	0.55	52	0.51	101	1.05
Total	4237	100	4649	100	3789	100	8567	100	11483	100	13035	100	14617	100	12054	100	10251	100	9595	100.01

In popular culture

Drone video of Haapsalu promenade, peninsula of Krimmi holm, Tagalaht and Haapsalu old town in June 2022

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1867 wrote a suite of three pieces for piano during his stay in Haapsalu, titled Souvenir de Hapsal.

In the 19th century, the town became famous for its "Haapsalu shawls", a delicate craft made by local women.

Haapsalu has sometimes been called the "Venice of the Baltics" — an apparent exaggeration used mostly to promote the resort town to foreign tourists.^[17]

Haapsalu is site of a fencing school founded by Estonian fencer Endel Nelis, used as the setting of the Finnish-Estonian film The Fencer.^[18]

Gallery

• 
  Haapsalu castle
• 
  Central square
• 
  Town centre
• 
  Haapsalu kuursaal (resort hall)
• 
  Bay of Haapsalu Tagalaht
• 
  Former train station, notable for the length of its platform canopy.
• 
  Town Hall
• 
  Train station
• 
  Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene
• 
  A pavilion by the seaside promenade
• 
  View from the promenade
• 
  Jaani Lutheran church

See also

• Haapsalu shawl
• Haapsalu linnastaadion
• August Blues Festival