1 pfennig saaremaa island estonia. Saaremaa island (Estonia): description, attractions

Saaremaa (Est. Saaremaa, Swedish Ösel, the former name in the Russian Empire - Ezel) is the largest island in Estonia and the Moonsund archipelago. The area is 2673 km². Its Sõrvesäär peninsula (Est. Sõrvesäär) is the northern border of the Gulf of Riga. The fourth largest island in the Baltic Sea after the islands of Zealand, Funen and Gotland. Administratively, it is part of the Saaremaa County.
In the Old Norse sagas, Saaremaa is known as Isl. Eysýsla (Eisyusla), from Isl. ey "island" and Isl. sýsla "county". Hence the German and Swedish names for the island - Ösel (German and Swedish Ösel). Estonian names. Saaremaa and fin. Saarenmaa means the same thing, literally “island land”. The existence of the ancient Russian name-tracing "Ostrov" is indicated by the mention in the letters of the title "Biskup Ostrovsky" - "Bishop of Ezel Island". Another name of the island - the island of Rusel is found in the middle of the 17th century in the notes of the Dutchman Nikolaas Witsen "Travel to Muscovy".

I came across this wonderful island several times already, the first time in the mention of meteorite craters…. yes, yes, there are also craters and as many as eight (!), the second time when I was looking for material about the star fortresses of the times of Peter. So I decided to take a closer look at this island and it turned out that this is a find !!! On the outskirts of the empire in small Estonia, it turns out that they could not erase everything correctly and the contradictions are striking !!!
Word to the official point of view….
.... Archaeological finds indicate that the island was inhabited at least 5000 years ago. The sagas mention numerous clashes between the inhabitants of Saaremaa and the Vikings. The island was the richest land of ancient Estonia and the base of Estonian pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle of Livonia by Henry of Latvia reports on their fleet of 16 ships and 500 people, devastating the lands in the south of modern Sweden, while (XII century) Danish. In 1206, the Danish King Valdemar II landed on the island with an army and made an unsuccessful attempt to establish a fortress there.
Independence ended for the islanders in 1227 with the conquest of the crusaders and the formation of the Ezel-Vik bishopric on its territory. German supreme power ended in 1559 when the island was sold to the Danish king. In 1645, Saaremaa passed into the possession of Sweden for more than half a century. In 1710, during the Northern War, the troops of Peter I conquered Saaremaa and the island was annexed to Tsarist Russia….
I will continue to give official information and support them with photographs. Let's start with the capital, decorated with the bishop's castle and, as they say in the guidebooks, "fortifications with a moat" - a classic star fort. On the satellite map you can see the fortress well, but also the canal that comes out of the sea and even has walls… why is he not clear! The depths there are the same around ... but it clearly ends on a cliff in great depth. There are similar canals in the bays in St. Petersburg and Venice and in many other places, for example, at the mouth of the Volga and the Urals

I give my word to the officials again ...
... The main attraction of the town of Kuressaare, and possibly of the entire island of Saaremaa, is the medieval bishop's castle. Its history began in the 13th century and continues to this day. It should be noted that Kuressaare Castle is the only surviving building in the Baltic States that has not undergone significant changes over its long history. The ancient fortress stands in the center of the city, surrounded by a deep moat filled with water. Its walls still look impregnable. Dolomite was used as a building material for the castle, which is considered one of the symbols of the island of Saaremaa. The distinctive features of the Kuressaare fortress are its style, austerity of architecture and majestic beauty. Unfortunately, the exact date of the start of the construction of the main castle of Saaremaa has not been established. It is assumed that the foundation of the fortress took place in 1322-38, during the reign of Bishop Jacob. The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1381. It is believed that the foundation of the complex began with the construction of the Long Hermann tower back in the 13th century, around which other buildings appeared over time. Kuressaare Castle was originally planned as an administrative center, where meetings could be held and at the same time withstand a siege in the event of an enemy attack. Before the start of the Livonian War, the fortress was also used as the residence of the Ezel-Vik bishops. In 1559 the castle was sold by Bishop Johannes V Munchausen to the Danes. In addition to it, there were other bishopric estates in Saaremaa. The Danish period of possession of the fortress was marked by the modernization of the fortification system. Using the old fortress wall, the new owners built a system with thick earthen ramparts and bastions, which was surrounded by a moat 30 meters wide, which was filled with sea water. Actually, in this form, the fortification appears to the eyes of travelers today. In 1710, the Kuressaare castle became the property of the Russian Empire. However, it was not used as a defensive fortress during the Russian rule. Moreover, in 1783 the Kuressare convent house (this is another name for the fortress) was completely excluded from the list of defensive structures, and after the capture of Finland by the Russian Empire, it completely lost its pivotal value.
Source: http://triptoestonia.com/dostoprimechatelnosti-kuressaare/episkopskij-zamok-kuressaare/
Well, it would seem that everything is simple and natural, but…. let's take a closer look at these certain ditches and bastions ...

For some reason, these collars reminded me of all sorts of tormenting punku and picchi, but what are similar structures! And they are all different, they did not have a ruler or something ???

The classic world fortress is a star, the construction of which is attributed to the 18th century. That is, we are offered to believe, idiots, that at first they built the bishop's castle in the 14th century, and then some Danes built bastions around it…. well that can be of course, anything can happen….
Now we need to consider the castle itself.

Look closely at the brickwork of the castle walls - I would call this masonry transitional from polygonal to mortar masonry. The stones are all different, hewn and fitted to each other, even with polygonal elements ... but they lie on the mortar, so they are not perfectly hewn, it is not necessary when there is cement! By the way, it is on this island that dolomite is mined - a kind of limestone, from which the castle is laid ... and right here, on the island, it was burned and sold in the district.

But the builders of the bastion did not bother with this garbage yet, they built the old-fashioned way - they cut a stone, adjusted it, took a dollar, paper, of course, Sklyarovsky, and if he did not climb between the stones, then they put it into the walls !!!

Moreover, the ancient builders also carried out excavation work to dig this whole story with a ditch 30 meters wide, built canals throughout the island and many other interesting things can be seen from the satellite ... in general, on this island you can defend more than one doctoral dissertation on alternative history :-) ))
But someone did not like all this splendor very, very much, as elsewhere on earth ... the same fate - funnels! Nine of them survived on this island! Scientists argued for a long time, argued and decided to consider them meteorite ... but what else!

…… Kaali (Est. Kaali kraater) is a crater formed as a result of a meteorite falling on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. Lying 18 kilometers from Kuressaare in a forest near Kaali, a meteorite crater is surrounded by a 16-meter high earthen rampart with a diameter of 110 meters. In addition, there are eight smaller craters in the area, ranging from 15 to 40 meters in diameter.
The explosion threw dolomite rocks out of the main crater ... (that's what a bad explosion !!!)
The meteorite that fell, probably 4 thousand years ago, is naturally not mentioned in the Estonian chronicles (well, of course, this is a song ... Estonian chronicles ...), however, its fall, presumably, was captured in Estonian rune songs (how can you sing in runes? ??) and left a mark in Finnish and Swedish lore. However, among the local population, legends still exist. So, according to one, the earth swallowed up the church in this place, in which the brother and sister were married. According to another version, at this place, after an unbridled orgy, the land swallowed up one landowner along with his estate and company ... (well, just sodom and gomorrah) ...

In the 18th and 19th centuries, hypotheses about a volcanic eruption and a prehistoric water reservoir appeared. Finally, in 1937, the geologist I. Reinwald discovered charred remains of a tree and fragments of a meteorite with a nickel content of 8.3%, which became clear evidence of the fall of an iron meteorite ... Well, at least stop falling .... found a charred tree - well, everything is clear ... a meteorite, of course, they always come with the trees! ...

Further research completed the picture. So, it is assumed that a meteorite weighing from 400 to 10,000 tons entered the earth's atmosphere from the northeast at a speed of 15 to 45 km / s, and, losing due to friction of the atmosphere in mass, disintegrated into several fragments at an altitude of 5-10 km. The largest fragment weighing 20-80 tons and a speed of 10-20 km / s formed a large crater, eight smaller ones were the result of the fall of the rest of the fragments. One of the ten "best" craters of the earth: http://diletant.ru/articles/35295/?sphrase_id\u003d1395087
Something I am tormented by vague doubts about these meteorites, especially taking into account the Chelyabinsk…. Of course, it may have arrived, but who launched it? Question !!!

That the tour is celebrated. guidebooks, everything on the island has been preserved untouched, everything is so natural ... the craters have stood as new for 4000 years, even all sorts of mills and houses with thatched roofs.
Even here's a watch for public use…. whoever argued with me about the clock in ancient Rome and so on, come to Saaremaa ... everything is as good as new, Estonians are thrifty people!

This is the sixth funnel, which has stood well for all 4000 years ...

And here are the houses of the common people ... modestly, not all have a stove ... although there are a hell of a lot of stones around ... straws on the roof.

Here are such funny stops ... well, you think polygonal masonry ... probably a lot of it left in estonia ... not bombed!

Look how lovingly these funnels have been digging and preserving for all 4000 years, singing runic Estonian songs ... how they knew that they would get into the top 10! I think that there were more craters there ... they smelled when the Soviet government gave the tractor.

But this "fun" of the bishop was preserved in the castle and judging by the brilliance they left it idle quite recently ... or maybe they didn’t abandon it at all ... oh, these Estonians are Europeans, they will throw new meteorites on us ... you can see everything on the top.

Kaali meteorite craters

The next point of our program for exploring the island of Saaremaa was a unique place - nothing like it had ever been seen before: Lake Kaali, formed 7500 years ago by a meteorite hitting the Earth. Upon entering the earth's atmosphere, the meteorite split into 9 parts, and all the craters formed on the earth's surface are located close to each other (in the center of Kaali, near the store there is a map of their location), but this one is the most impressive: among the trees lies a perfectly round lake with a diameter of 110 meters and a depth of 22 meters (the rest of the craters are from 13 to 39 meters in diameter). We were lucky: I saw photographs in which the lake looks like a puddle of dirty water, but on our arrival the weather was rainy and cloudy, but the lake was full of water.

Already in the Stone Age, a settlement of people arose on the shores of the lake, in the Middle Ages the lake was fenced off with a wall in order to preserve it as a source of clean drinking water. Now there are several buildings here: a restaurant, a hotel, a shop and a school; apparently, children come here from the surrounding farms. As our driver Eduard told us, the islands are full of remote places-farms, where you can often see not only a product of the Russian automobile industry produced in the 1970s, but also German tanks adapted for various household needs. And in some places "they don't even know that the Soviet regime no longer exists."

It is believed that the Kaali meteorite was the basis for many legends of the Scandinavian epic and the Estonian Kalevala.

Church in Valjala

Not far from Kaali there is a Romano-Gothic church in Valjala dating from the beginning of the 13th century - the oldest building in Saaremaa. It somewhat resembles large merchant houses in Tallinn - a peaked roof, high walls. Fragments of ancient burial grounds are found in the stonework of the spire.

Angla windmills

On the Estonian islands, until the last century, the custom was widespread to build windmills in groups - near villages, in high places. Near the village of Angla, there used to be 9 mills (5 survived), which were built here one after another, and a new one was immediately built on the site of the dilapidated ones. The ones we saw were built at the beginning of the 20th century. In principle, I adhere to the point of view that I saw one mill - I saw everything, but here it is worth seeing, because the design is interesting: a plank body is supported on a massive wooden pillar, which can rotate around its axis. The mills are two-storied, below there is a flour receiver and a mechanism for adjusting the millstones; on the second floor there are threshing and traction mechanisms, which are driven by two pairs of mill wings. These are four of the five mills that we saw, but the fifth is of the Dutch type (1927).

Karja Katarina Church

A few kilometers away is the smallest medieval temple in Saaremaa - the Katariina Church - the smallest medieval temple in Saaremaa, dating back to the 14th century and well preserved. Alas, there is no photo: it was raining so much that it was not only pointless to shoot, but also dangerous for equipment ...

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The coast of the island is mostly rocky beaches. In some places, there are stone cliffs, such as the 22-meter Panga Punk cliff in Kyudema Bay or the steep coast of Undwa Punk, located on the Tagamyiza peninsula in the northwest of the island.

Landscape

The landscape of Saaremaa is mostly flat, with the highest point being the 54 meters high Raunamägi hill near Kihelkonna in the west of the island, in the Viidumäe nature reserve, founded in 1957. Like mainland Estonia, the island is covered with a large number of forests, which make up 40% of its area. The largest lakes are Suur Lakht (est. Suur Laht Big bay), Mullutu Lakht near Kuressaare and Karujärv (Est. Karujärv Bear lake) near Kyarla. Of geological interest is dolomite quarried near Kaarma.

Even in the late Ice Age, the archipelago was covered with a thick layer of ice, which created tremendous pressure on the earth's crust, due to which the island's surface was depressed. After the ice melted, this pressure disappeared and the surface uplift, which continues to this day, began, amounting to about 2 mm per year. The average height of the island above sea level is approximately 15 m.

Abruka

Abruka Island, with an area of \u200b\u200b9 km², with the neighboring islands of Vahase and Kasselide, is approximately 6 km from Kuressaare. A nature reserve has been formed on the islands, as they are a stopping place for many species of migratory birds. Deer also live on these islands covered with deciduous forest (which is not typical for Estonia).

Vilsandi

This flat island is located in the far west of Estonia and is part of the Vilsandi National Park. The park also includes 161 islets (about 10% of all Estonian islands). Vilsandi has an area of \u200b\u200babout 9 km² and is mostly forested.

Climate

Due to its position in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea, Saaremaa is in a temperate climatic zone and has a mild maritime climate. The island has rather long warm summers and mild winters; Strong winds cause frequent weather changes and heavy precipitation (\u003e 50 mm) mainly in the autumn and winter months.

Average temperatures in July and August are 16-20 ° C, sometimes reaching 25 ° C. February, with an average temperature of -4 ° C, is the coldest month in Saaremaa.

Flora and fauna

The island has a rich flora and fauna due to the mild maritime climate. About 80% of the plant species found in Estonia are also found on the islands. About 120 of the available plant species are protected by the state. The most famous of the rare plant species is the Saaremaa rattle ( Rhinanthus osiliensis). In addition, 35 of the orchid species found in Estonia grow here.

History

In the Old Scandinavian sagas, Saaremaa is known as Isl. Eysýsla (Eisyusla), ey "Island" and sýsla "District". Hence the German and Swedish names for the island - Ezel (German and Swede. Ösel), hence the Latin Osilia... The first Novgorod chronicle mentions "Ostrovskaya land, literally the same means Est. Saaremaa and fin. Saarenmaa, once stood for the entire archipelago, and the island was called Kuressaare - mound (pl. kured) means stork, and saar - isle,i.e - stork island... The existence of the ancient Russian name-tracing "Ostrov" is indicated by the mention in the letters of the title "Biskup Ostrovsky" - Bishop of Ezel Island. Another name of the island - the island of Rusel is found in the middle of the 17th century in the notes of the Dutchman Nikolaas Witsen "Travel to Muscovy". In Latvian "Sāmsala". Sala - island, but here is the word sām it has no logical meaning in the modern Latvian language, it turns out: Island - Sām - s.

Archaeological finds indicate that the island was inhabited at least 5000 years ago. The sagas mention numerous clashes between the inhabitants of Saaremaa and the Vikings. The island was the richest land of ancient Estonia and the base of Estonian pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle of Livonia by Henry of Latvia reports on their fleet of 16 ships and 500 people, devastating the lands in the south of modern Sweden, at that time (XII century) Danish. In the chronicle, an interesting moment looks when the Teutons, Saxons, Frisians and Livs attacked the Estons, then the inhabitants of the island sailed to restore order and heaped stones at the mouth of the Dune, although at that time no one attacked them. In 1206, the Danish King Valdemar II landed on the island with an army and made an unsuccessful attempt to establish a fortress there.

Independence ended for the islanders in 1227 with the conquest of the crusaders and the formation of the Ezel-Vik bishopric on its territory. German supreme power ended in 1559 when the island was sold to the Danish king. In 1645, Saaremaa passed into the possession of Sweden for more than half a century. In 1710, during the Northern War, the troops of Peter I conquered Saaremaa and the island was annexed to Tsarist Russia.

Saaremaa, as a strategically important place, was an important battlefield during the First and Second World Wars.

German troops landed on Saaremaa in September 1941. On the night of October 3, 1941, the remnants of Soviet troops were evacuated from the island. (See Moonsund defensive operation). The island was fully occupied by Soviet troops on November 24, 1944, during the 1944 Moonsund operation.

In 1949, 1,028 people were deported from the island of Saaremaa in two days, of which 307 are children - a third of the island's population.

After Estonia left the USSR, the island became part of independent Estonia.

Administrative divisions

The county consists of 14 municipalities: 1 city and 13 rural municipalities.

Population

The population of Saaremaa is 34,978 (31.12.2007), which is approximately 3% of the Estonian population. Because of eating. loss and migraine. outflow, the population is constantly decreasing: in 2010, only 32,800 inhabitants remained on the island. Due to the isolated position of the island, the demographic composition of its population has hardly changed during the time Estonia was part of the USSR. 98% of the population are Estonians, 1.2% are Russians, about 0.2% are Ukrainians and Finns. Almost all of the Russian-speaking population of the island lives in Lääne-Saare parish. Estonian, Russian, Finnish languages \u200b\u200bare widespread. Religion - Lutheranism, Orthodoxy.

Infrastructure

An extensive network of roads has been built on the island. The state owns 1,088.4 km of all 3158.4 km of roads on the island. Only one sixth of them - 516.3 km - are asphalted, about the same - 572.2 km - covered with gravel. In sparsely populated areas in the southwest and northeast, as well as in the central part of the island, the roads are mostly gravel [[K: Wikipedia: Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] [[K: Wikipedia: Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] ... Route 10 runs from Kuressaare daily shuttle buses to Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu. Sea communication with the rest of the islands and the mainland is maintained through the ports of Myntu (with Ventspils in Latvia), Roomassaare (from Abruka and Ruhnu) and Triigi (from Syru to Hiiumaa). Roomassaare has the island's only airport.

Archeology

Natives

• Aavik, Johannes (-) - Estonian linguist, reformer of the Estonian language.
• Antson, Alexander (1899-1945) - Estonian playwright, writer, journalist, athlete.
• Bellingshausen, Faddey Faddeevich (1778-1852), Russian officer and discoverer of Antarctica, was born in the town of Lakhhetagge (now Lakhetaguse) in the south-west of the island.
• Alexander Vostokov (1781-1864) - philologist, academician, who introduced the term "Old Church Slavonic", was born in Kuressaare.
• Moller, Anton Vasilievich von (1764-1848), Russian admiral, member of the State Council, father of the artist Fyodor Moller.
• Moller, Fyodor Antonovich (1812-1875), historical painter and portrait painter, friend of Bryullov and Gogol, his painting "The Kiss" is in the Tretyakov Gallery, buried in Kuressaare, then Ahrensburg.
• Kaal, Ira (1911-1988) - Estonian Soviet writer, poetess, journalist. Honored Writer of the Estonian SSR.
• Victor Kingisepp (1888-1922), founder of the Estonian Communist Party, was born in Kuressaare.
• Ekesparre, Oscar Reingoldovich (1839-1925) - court master of the court, member of the State Council of the Russian Empire.
• Walter Flex (1887-1917), German poet, died in 1917 at Pöide in the east of the island.
• Arnold Ruutel (born 10 May) is an Estonian politician and former President of the Republic of Estonia.
• Hendrik Krumm (1934-1989) - opera singer, People's Artist of the USSR (1980).
• Bolshoy Tõll is a legendary giant, a character in Estonian mythology.

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Literature

• Zur Geschichte der Ritterschaften von Livland und Oesel. Herausgegeben von der Livländischen Ritterschaft und von der Oeselschen Ritterschaft. Ilmgau Verlag, Pfaffenhofen Ilm 1974. ISBN 3-7787-2011-2.
• Peter W. von Buxhöwden: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Provinz Ösel. Götschel, Riga-Leipzig 1838, Hirschheydt, Hannover 1968 (Nachdr.). ISBN 3-7777-0935-2.
• C. Marenbach: Baltische Länder. Michael Müller, Erlangen 1997. ISBN 3-89953-213-9.
• N. Williams, D. Herrmann, C. Kemp: Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania. The best of the Baltics. Lonely Planet Publications, Melbourne 2003. ISBN 1-74059-132-1.
• I. Aleksejev: Eesti tuletornid - Estonian Lighthouses. GT Projekt, Tallinn 2003.
• Körber, M .: Oesel einst und jetzt. 3 Bde., 1887, 1899 und 1915. Nachdrucke 1974-75, Hirschheydt.
• Körber, M .: Bausteine \u200b\u200bzu einer Geschichte Oesels. 1885. Nachdruck 1977, Hirschheydt.

In Russian

• Kuznetsova L. I., Evgeniev I. B. The Mystery of Saaremaa Island. - M .: Geografgiz, 1960 .-- 128 p. - 50,000 copies (On the study of meteorite craters on the island)
• Richter D.I.,. Ezel // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

see also

Notes

Links

• (unavailable link -,)
• - webcam with a view of Kuressaare

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Excerpt from Saaremaa

Sitting in a chair directly in front of me, but without asking permission for this, Karaffa made it clear that he was the master here, and I was just a defendant in a beautiful cage ...
- I hope you easily moved the road, Madonna Isidora? He said in a deliberately polite tone. - How are your rooms? Do you need anything?
- Oh yeah! I would like to go home! - playing along with his tone, I jokingly answered.
I knew that I had practically nothing to lose, since I had almost lost my life. So, deciding not to give Karaffe the pleasure of breaking me, I tried my best not to show him how scared I was ...
This is not death, which is what I most feared. I was even afraid of the thought that I would never see those whom I loved so much and selflessly - my family. That, most likely, I will never again hug my little Anna ... I will not teach her what my mother taught me, and what I could do myself ... That I leave her completely defenseless against evil and pain ... And what already I won't tell her what I wanted and what I had to say.
I felt sorry for my wonderful husband, whom, I knew, it would be very difficult to bear the loss of me. How cold and empty it will be in his soul! .. And I can never even say the last goodbye to him ...
And most of all I felt sorry for my father, for whom I was the meaning of his life, his guiding "star", illuminating his difficult thorny path ... After the "departure" of my mother, I became everything for him that still remained to teach and hope that one day I will become what he so persistently tried to "blind" me ...
That's what I was afraid of. My soul was crying, thinking about everyone I love so much. About those whom I now left behind ... But that was not enough. I knew that Caraffa would not let me leave so easily. I knew that he would certainly make me suffer a lot ... Only I still had no idea how inhuman this suffering would be ...
- This is the only thing that I cannot provide you, Madonna Isidora - forgetting his secular tone, the cardinal answered sharply.
- Well, well, then at least let me see my little daughter - cold inside with impossible hope, I asked.
- But we will definitely organize this for you! Only a little later, I think - thinking about something of his own, Caraffa said contentedly.
The news stunned me! He and about my little Anna, apparently, had his own plan! ..
I was ready to endure all the horrors myself, but I was not ready to even think that my family might suffer.
- I have a question for you, Madonna Isidora. And how you answer it will depend on whether you will see your daughter soon, or whether you have to forget about how she looks. Therefore, I advise you to think carefully before answering, - Karaffa's gaze became sharp as a steel blade ... - I want to know where your grandfather's famous library is?
So this is what the crazy inquisitor was looking for! .. As it turned out, he was not that crazy either ... Yes, he was absolutely right - my grandfather's old library kept a wonderful collection of spiritual and mental wealth! She was one of the oldest and rarest in all of Europe, and the great Medici himself envied her, who, as you know, was ready to sell even his soul for rare books. But why did Caraffe need this ?!
- Grandfather's library, as you know, was always in Florence, but I don't know what became of it after his death, Your Eminence, since I never saw it again.
It was a childish lie, and I understood how naive it sounded ... But I just couldn't find another answer right away. I could not allow the world's rarest works of philosophers, scientists and poets, the works of great Teachers, to fall into the dirty clutches of the church or Karaffa. I had no right to allow this! But, for now, not having time to come up with anything better to somehow protect all this, I answered him the first thing that at that moment came into my head, inflamed from wild tension. Karaffa's demand was so unexpected that I needed time to figure out what to do next. As if overhearing my thoughts, Karaffa said:
- Well, well, Madonna, I leave you time to think. And I strongly advise you not to be mistaken ...
He left. And night fell on my little world ...
All this terrible time, I mentally communicated with my beloved, exhausted father, who, unfortunately, could not tell me anything reassuring, except for only one positive news - Anna was still in Florence, and at least there was nothing to fear for her. ...
But my unfortunate husband, my poor Girolamo, returned to Venice with a desire to help me, and only there he learned that it was already too late - that I had been taken to Rome ... His despair knew no bounds! .. He wrote long letters to the Pope. I sent notes of protest to the "powerful of this world", whom I once helped. Nothing worked. Karaffa was deaf to any requests and entreaties ...
- And couldn't you just disappear ?! Or "fly away", for that matter? .. Why didn't you use something? !!! - unable to bear further, exclaimed Stella, upset by the story. - We must always fight to the end! .. This is how my grandmother taught me.
I was very happy - Stella was coming to life. Her fighting spirit took over again as soon as there was an urgent need for it.
- If only everything were so simple! .. - Isidora answered sadly, shaking her head. - It was not just me. I was completely unaware of Karaffa's plans for my family. And I was very scared that no matter how much I tried, I could not see anything. This was the first time in my life when no “vision”, none of my “witches' talents” helped ... I could look at any person or any event for a thousand years ahead! I could predict even future incarnations with absolute accuracy, which no Vidun on Earth could have done, but my Gift was silent when it came to Karaffa, and I could not understand this. Any my attempts to look at him were easily "sprayed", bumping into a very dense golden-red protection that constantly "curled" around his physical body, and I could not break it through. It was new and incomprehensible, which I had never encountered before ...
Naturally, everyone (even my little Anna!) In my family knew how to create excellent protection for themselves, and everyone did it in their own way, so that it was individual, in case trouble happened. But no matter how difficult the defense turned out, I knew perfectly well that at any moment I could "go through" the defense of any of the witch doctors I knew, if there was an urgent need for this, including the protection of my father, who knew and knew much more me. But it didn’t work with Caraffa ... He possessed some strange, very strong and very refined magic, which I had never encountered ... I knew all the Veduns of Europe - he was not one of them.
I, like everyone else, was well aware that he was a true "servant of the Lord" and a faithful "son of the church", and, according to general concepts, could in no way use what he called "devilish manifestation" and what they used we, Witches and Sages! .. Well, in that case, it was?! .. Was the most faithful servant of the church and the Grand Inquisitor, in fact, a black Sorcerer ?! Even though it was totally and absolutely incredible, it was the only explanation I could give with an honest hand on my heart. But how, then, did he combine his “holy” duties with the “devilish” (as he called it) teaching ?! Although what he did on Earth was really Devilish and black ...
Once again, mentally talking with my father, I asked him what he thinks about this?
- It's not him, dear ... It's just help him. But I don't know who. There is no such thing on Earth ...
Hour after hour it did not get easier! .. The world really got upside down ... But I promised myself to try to somehow find out what this strange "holy father" used, in parallel pursuing and burning his own kind ? ..
Since, if this was true and he used the "teaching of the Devil" (as he called it), then he himself, the Great Karaffa, had to end his "righteous" life at the stake, along with all the Weduns and Witches burned by him ! ..
But I was late ...
The next morning I waited for Karaffa, clearly determined to find out what this amazing "holy father" actually used. But Karaffa did not appear. He did not appear the next day, and the whole next week ... I could not understand if this was a simple respite, or was he up to something very scary, concerning someone from my family? But, to my great regret, as I later found out, it was neither one nor the other ... It was much more dangerous than any of his tricks ... Very soon, by the endless ringing of bells and sad singing in the streets, I understood - the Pope died ... This perfectly explained the long absence of my jailer. And the next day, a dumb servant, almost dancing with happiness, brought me an exquisite piece of paper, on which it was reported that Giovanni Pietro Caraffa had been declared the new Pope, Paul IV, - my most terrible and unpredictable enemy ...
Now all that was left was to wait ...
Two days later, blindfolded, I was transported to some kind of palace, stunning in its inner wealth and defiant beauty. As I found out later - Karaffa's personal palace. He appeared a week later, still the same fit and dangerous, in "the radiance of his unlimited power", and extended his well-groomed hand to me for a kiss, with a huge, sparkling Papal ring ... I bowed before him lower than before, as decency required , and also because I have not yet figured out for myself how I will continue to behave with him.
- How are you, Madonna Isidora? I hope you are satisfied with your chambers?
Caraffa was extremely secular and contented, knowing that I was in his complete power, and that now, for sure, no one could interfere with him in anything ...
- I congratulate you on your victory, Your Holiness! - Deliberately stressing the word "Holiness", I said calmly. - I'm afraid from now on I am too insignificant a figure to make the Pope worry ... Will you transfer my case to someone else?
Caraffa froze. He hated my calmness. He wanted to make me afraid ...
- You are right, Madonna Isidora, perhaps you will go to my best assistant ... everything will depend only on you. Have you thought about my question?
- What kind of books are you interested in, Your Holiness? Or do you want to find everything to destroy?
He was genuinely surprised.
- Who told you such nonsense? ..
- But you threw thousands of books into bonfires only here in Venice? Not to mention other cities ... Why else might you need them?
- My dearest sorceress, - smiled Karaffa, - there are "books" and BOOKS ... And what I burned, always belonged to the first category ... Come with me, I will show you something interesting.
Caraffa pushed open a heavy gilded door, and we found ourselves in a narrow, very long, dark corridor. He took with him a silver candlestick on which a single thick candle burned.
“Follow me,” the newly minted Pope ordered shortly.
We walked for a long time, passing many small doors, beyond which not a sound could be heard. But Karaffa went on, and I had no choice but to follow him in silence. Finally we found ourselves at a strange "blank" door, which had no doorknobs. He imperceptibly pressed something, and the heavy door easily moved from its place, opening the entrance to the stunning hall ... It was a library! .. The largest I have ever seen !!! A huge space from floor to ceiling was filled with books! .. They were everywhere - on soft sofas, on window sills, on solid shelves, and even on the floor ... There were thousands of them here! .. I took my breath away - it was much more than a library Medici.
- What is it?! - having forgotten with whom I am here, I exclaimed stunned.
- This is BOOKS, Madonna Isidora. - Caraffa answered calmly. - And if you want, they will be yours ... Everything depends only on you.
His burning gaze riveted me to the spot, which immediately made me remember where and with whom I was at that moment. Having played magnificently on my selfless and immeasurable love for books, Caraffa made me for a moment forget the terrible reality, which, as it turned out now, was about to become even more terrible ...
Caraffe was more than seventy years old at the time, although he looked surprisingly youthful. Once upon a time, at the very beginning of our acquaintance, I even thought, whether some of the wizards helped him by revealing our secret of longevity ?! But then he suddenly began to age sharply, and I completely forgot about all this. Now, I could not believe that this powerful and insidious man, in whose hands was unlimited power over kings and princes, had just made me a very "veiled" and vague proposal ... in which one could suspect some inhuman a strange drop of very dangerous love ?! ...
Inside me, everything literally froze with horror! .. Since, be it true, no earthly power could save me from his wounded pride, and from his vengeful in his malice, black soul! ...
- Forgive my immodesty, Your Holiness, but, in order to avoid a mistake on my part, would you deign to explain to me more precisely what you wanted to say by this? I replied very carefully.
Caraffa smiled softly and, taking my trembling hand in his graceful, thin fingers, said very quietly:
- You are the first woman on earth, Madonna Isidora, who, in my opinion, is worthy of true love ... And you are a very interesting conversationalist. Don't you think that your place is more on the throne than in the prison of the Inquisition? .. Think about it, Isidora. I offer you my friendship, nothing more. But my friendship is worth a lot, believe me ... And I would very much like to prove it to you. But everything will depend on your decision, of course ... - and, to my great surprise, he added: - You can stay here until evening if you want to read something; I think you will find a lot of interesting things here for yourself. Ring the bell when you're done and your maid will show you the way back.
Caraffa was calm and restrained, which indicated his complete confidence in his victory ... He even for a moment did not admit the thought that I could refuse such an "interesting" offer ... And especially in my desperate situation. But this was exactly what was most frightening ... Since, of course, I was going to refuse him. Just how to do it, I still had no idea ...
I looked around - the room was amazing! .. Starting from hand-sewn bindings of the oldest books, to papyri and manuscripts on bovine skin, and up to later, already printed books, this library was a treasure trove of world wisdom, a real triumph of genius human Thought !!! It was, apparently, the most valuable library that a person has ever seen! .. I stood completely stunned, bewitched by the thousands of volumes that "spoke" with me, and could not understand in any way how this wealth could coexist here with those curses , which the Inquisition poured so fiercely and “sincerely” on them like that? ... After all, for real inquisitors, all these books were supposed to be the purest HERESY, for which people burned at the stake, and which was categorically forbidden as a terrible crime against the church! .. How, then, here, in the cellars of the Pope, were all these most valuable books preserved, which, allegedly in the name of “redemption and cleansing of souls,” were burned to the last leaf in the squares?! .. So, everything that the “fathers inquisitors ”, everything they did was just a terrible veiled LIE! And this merciless lie deeply and firmly sat in simple and open, naive and believing human hearts! .. Just think that I was once absolutely sure that the church was sincere in its faith! .. Since any faith, whatever she did not seem strange, for me she always embodied the sincere spirit and faith of a person in something pure and high, to which, in the name of salvation, his soul aspired. I have never been a "believer" since I believed exclusively in Knowledge. But I have always respected the convictions of others, because, in my understanding, a person had the right to choose himself where to direct his destiny, and someone else's will should not forcefully indicate how he should live his life. Now I clearly saw that I was mistaken ... The Church lied, killed and raped, disregarding such a "trifle" as a wounded and warped human soul ...

I will not go deep into the history of the island. I will only say that in the summer of 1941, Soviet aircraft raided Berlin from here, and after the war and before the collapse of the Union, the territory was a border zone. It was difficult to get to the island. Ferries now run to Saaremaa from mainland Estonia and the neighboring island of Hiiumaa. I already wrote about the ferry and about the island in the winter, after my last visit here.

1. The capital of the island is the city of Kuressaare (in Soviet times Kingisepp). Quiet town, interesting in the center.
and more about him

2. Bishop's castle in Kuressaare. In my previous posts about the city, I talked about it

3. It turns out that Estonia is a country of meteorite craters. There are more of them here than anywhere else in the world. The most famous crater - Kaali - is 110 meters wide. 3000 years ago, a meteorite fragment the size of a 20-story building fell here. Whatever one thought about this crater before. It was considered the entrance to hell, the grave of the son of Apollo, and an anomalous zone.
By the way, by the standards of craters, Kaali's age is children: he is the youngest in Europe.

4. This is not a crater, but I don't want to leave the forests of Saaremaa

6. Ancient churches are one of Saaremaa's calling cards. St. Martin Lutheran Church

7. Built in the 13-14 centuries. One of the oldest in the country!

8. Church of St. Catherine in Kyarla about the same age

9. I will write separately about the local churches that I liked the most.

12. The Master of the Island met at one of the churchyards)

13. There are also Orthodox churches. Approximately all of the same age - mid to late 19th century

14. The handle on the door of one of the Orthodox churches

15. And this is how they live in Saaremaa. No fences, lawn, Swedish Falun color house

16. On the way, we notice an abandoned building

17. But it turned out that this is the territory of an Orthodox monastery

18. As soon as we entered the territory, a nun came out to us. She greeted very politely, took a tour of the monastery and treated them to plum juice and cookies. Of course, I never asked for money.
Then we talked a little. The nun asked about Russia and was very surprised to learn that in our monasteries, especially in the women's, there is nothing to count on such a reception. Unfortunately.
Having bought monastery jam from local flattering berries, herbal tea and donating for hospitality, we go further

23. There are strongholds in Saaremaa. It is located in the Kaarma locality. Archaeologists are interested in it as a place of ancient finds (somehow jewelry of the 12-13th centuries and charred logs of fortifications were found here), local residents - as a place for sledding in winter

24. In the summer they ride interesting swings, which I already came across in Setomaa

25. From the more serious military fortifications, you can see the ruins of the Order's castle Maasi (Zoneburg). The castle stood at the crossroads of important routes, controlled the strait between the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu. Built by the Master of the Livonian Order in the 14th century and named Soneburg, which means "a castle in retaliation" in German.
Later it was rebuilt and expanded, participated in wars, and was captured by the Swedes. In 1576, by order of the king, the Danes blew up the castle, after which it ceased to exist forever as a military facility.

Now partially restored and turned into a recreation area

27. The coast near the castle is decorated with such a boat. I just don’t know whether they brought her on purpose, or whether she lives out her life here from the very beginning. For greater aesthetics, there is not enough tree sprouted through the bottom

28. One of the usabed (manors) of the island

29. Shop in an old building

30. On the northern coast of Saaremaa, there is the Panga cliff, which rises to 21 meters.

31. Saaremaa - the island of windmills. The most famous are in the town of Angla. At first I thought it was something like a village where many mills have survived, but there was a museum in Angla

32. Moreover, the museum is small and uninteresting, unless of course you are an expert in windmills. The territory is fenced off, but due to the small area it is perfectly visible

34. And one more mill, literally a kilometer from the museum

35. Some mills have been converted into such characters) Ninaze town in the north of the island

36. Make sure to visit Saaremaa!

You can stay in hotels and hostels in Kuressaare and in guest houses all over the island;
- it is better to come by car, since the island is large (about 88 by 90 km), interesting places are scattered throughout the territory;
- public transport: buses run from major Estonian cities to Kuressaare. Some of them go to settlements with attractions, but mostly follow the route from the ferry to Kuressaare, along which there is almost nothing interesting;
- there are also lighthouses here (we did not get to the most interesting, and even after Hiiumaa we already wanted to see something else), natural monuments, a farm-museum. In 2008, in the town of Salme, 200 meters from the sea, a Viking ship was discovered, which contained 7 skeletons. Analysis showed that the ship was built between 650-700. Two years later, another vessel was discovered in which 33 skeletons were neatly folded. According to the versions of historians, this may be the burial place of the Swedish king Ingvar the High who attacked these lands;
- a not very detailed inspection of the entire island takes at least 3 days.

The Estonian island of Saaremaa is rich in sights. Many of them are associated with the sea, but there are also those whose origin puzzles even scientists, not to mention ordinary tourists. Going on an excursion around Saaremaa, literally in a few hours you can make a journey through time and space: from a fishing village you can travel to the distant XIV century, and then suddenly find yourself in a much later Middle Ages.

Windmill Museum.

There are several museums in Saaremaa, but if you choose one to visit, this is certainly the windmill museum. Firstly, the only one of its kind throughout Estonia. Secondly, here you can get an idea about the life of the islanders and, along the way, learn interesting facts from history.
The exposition is located in the open air, on the windswept Angla Hill. This place looks exactly as it did many years ago - when the mill was the source of life for the whole village, and sometimes for several surrounding settlements. Today, visitors to the museum can see five exhibits - four one-legged mills, typical of Saaremaa, and one Dutch mill, the largest and with several floors. All of them were built at the beginning of the 20th century and remain in working order to this day. You can verify this by looking inside. Paid entrance. The price is only 3.5 euros per adult and 1.5 per child.
In addition to the mills, there is a tavern on the territory of the museum where you can taste local dishes (not Estonian, but local!) And a very unusual souvenir shop. In addition to the usual magnets and knickknacks, they sell freshly baked bread and unfiltered homemade beer with juniper. The Windmill Museum has no addresses - but it is enough to tell any taxi driver about Angla Hill and they will bring you exactly where you need to.

Episcopal castle.

The Bishop's Castle is a symbol and a visiting card of Saaremaa, and you can't go around it when you arrive on the island. After all, this is not just a fortress, but a “living” witness of the epochs that succeeded each other. In addition, in the Baltics, this is the only medieval building that has survived in its original form.
When the construction of the citadel began is unknown. The first official mention of it dates back to 1381, but historians agree that the castle was founded much earlier, in the XIII century. Initially, it was planned as an administrative center, where, if necessary, local residents could hide and withstand the attack of enemies. In peacetime, general meetings were held in the central square.
In addition, until the beginning of the Livonian War, the castle was the seat of the Ezel-Vik bishops, hence the current name. In 1559 the fortress was sold to the Danes, who modernized the system of fortifications and "strengthened" it with an impressive 30-meter wide ditch. In 1710 the citadel became the property of the Russian Empire and lost its defensive significance forever.
Today, the Bishop's Castle houses a museum where you can get acquainted with the history, traditions and culture of Saaremaa. It is located in the city of Kuressaare, at Lossihoov tn 1.

Pöide Castle Church.

The uniqueness of Pöide Castle is primarily in the fact that the complex was originally erected as a fortified church - until now in some guidebooks it is designated as the Temple of St. Maarja. Unfortunately, little has survived from the original building to this day - built in 1343, it has been changed and reconstructed several times. For example, the tower that made it recognizable appeared only in the 15th century. Later, the church survived many fires.
Today, tourists can admire both the external and internal decoration of the complex - it is being actively restored and every year it becomes more and more interesting activities in the temple, although it is adapted for this, has not been held since Soviet times. The castle-church of Pöide is located at the address: Pöide küla, Pöide vald, Saare maakond.

Kaali meteorite crater.

The field of meteorite craters, the largest of which is Kaali, is one of the most mysterious sights not only on Saaremaa, but throughout Estonia. For a long time it was believed that landscape formations are of volcanic origin, but in 1937 geologists found irrefutable evidence of another version - the craters were formed as a result of a meteorite fall.
It is not known exactly when this happened: some scientists claim that it was eight thousand years ago, others - four thousand. They agree only on one thing - the destruction caused by the celestial body was comparable to the effect of the explosion of an atomic bomb. And this despite the fact that at an altitude of 5-10 kilometers from the ground, the meteorite exploded, and only fragments fell to the ground.
The largest crater formed in the valley is Kaali. Its diameter is 110 meters, the depth in some places exceeds 20 meters. It looks really mesmerizing. Tourists can admire the "cosmic creation" from a special observation deck, and then go down to the lake along a stone staircase.
The Kaali crater is located near the village of the same name. Not far from it is the Museum of Meteorites, the exhibition of which presents "alien" finds made in the area of \u200b\u200bthe alleged fall of a celestial body. The entrance to the museum will cost 1.5 euros per adult and 0.7 euros per child.

Sõrve lighthouse.

The lighthouse is an integral part of life in Saaremaa, like any island surrounded by the sea. The oldest signal tower in Estonia is located on the Sõrve Spit and is named in her honor. The lighthouse has been providing safety of navigation in the Irbene Strait since the distant 1646.
Naturally, the building has been changed and modernized many times - it is unlikely that in the 21st century it would occur to someone to give signals from the shore, lighting fires, as they did in the 17th century. The current monolithic reinforced concrete structure, 48 meters high, was built in 1960.
Today, the Sõrve lighthouse, located at Sääre küla, Torgu vald, Saare maakond, can rightfully be considered not only a signal tower that perfectly copes with its functions, but also one of the main attractions of the island.

Other sights of Saaremaa.

Of course, the list of five points is not enough to mention even the most important sights of Saaremaa, not to mention all of them. So, for example, two more castles remained outside the “top”: Koluvere and Maassilinna. They are not as well preserved as the Episcopal, but, nevertheless, even in these ruins the spirit of the distant Middle Ages soars. And with a certain amount of imagination and no problem at all, you can draw a picture of its former greatness in your imagination.
If you are attracted not by architectural, but by natural attractions, then in addition to the Kaali volcanic crater, you should definitely see the Panga limestone cliff (pictured). It is a cliff 2 kilometers long and 20 meters high, with stunning views of the Baltic. At the top of the cliff there is an interesting structure, an altar. It is believed that it was here that many centuries ago the locals made sacrifices to the sea.

Saarema Island also has its own national park - Vilsandi. There are no rare plants and animals on its territory. But the atmosphere itself is remarkable, which is conducive to leisurely walks and thoughtful reflections.
Tourists who do not want to limit themselves to the "standard set" of attractions on the island of Saaremaa can look into the GoodKaarma soap factory. It belongs to a family in which more than one generation has been engaged in soap making. Guests are offered to undergo training "in production" and make unique soap souvenirs with their own hands.

Saaremaa is an amazing land that tells about itself to every guest. Therefore, going on a journey through this beautiful and mysterious land, it is not at all necessary to look for a guide - it is quite possible to do on your own, slowly and measuredly examining the architectural sights and enjoying nature.
When planning your trip, do not forget that Saaremaa is still an island, which will have to be reached from the mainland by ferry; it departs from Virtsu or by plane (the only airport is located in Roomassaare). There may be no seats available on weekends, so it's best to take care of buying tickets in advance. Holders of electronic tickets for the ferry pass loading and unloading without a queue.
One more point concerns movement around the island. Public transport is bad here. Therefore, in order to travel, you will have to rent a car or constantly use a taxi. It should be borne in mind that not all roads are asphalted - most of them are simply covered with gravel.
And finally, the most important thing. Some people think that one or two days are enough to visit Saaremaa. In fact, if there is an opportunity, then you can and should stay longer there - there will be enough local attractions for more than one week, and you can only feel the special atmosphere of the island by discovering it, step by step.

We wish you a pleasant stay!

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