Aegna is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Bay of Tallinn in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

. Administratively it is part of the city of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

, the capital of

and is a sub district of the Kesklinn (City center) district.

Geography

Aegna island has an area of 3 km², and can be found off the Viimsi peninsula, around 1.5 km NW of Rohuneeme and 14 km north of

. It has a 10 km coastline which includes two sandy beaches. The island's highest point is about 13 m above sea level. , Aegna had 16 permanent residents.

Attractions

Aegna is a popular destination for day and camping trips, and has around 15 km of walking routes. There is also a WDS Aegna Meditation and Development Centre, opened in the summer time. On the island stands the Eerikukivi, a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundre ...

declared '' Protected Natural Monument''.

History

Aegna's history dates back thousands of years, but the first written accounts of the island go back to 1297, when Danish king Erik Menved prohibited forestry on the islands of Naissaar and Aegna. Northern Estonia or Estland was also part of Denmark over a century, including Aegna. Historically, the population of Aegna has been mixed with predominantly Estonian and Swedish inhabitants. Inhabitants of the island were mostly fishermen. Aegna has been used for military purposes during the Imperial Russia, Republic of Estonia and Soviet occupation time of Estonia. Military remains that can still be seen include those of a military watchtower, a large gun battery with tunnels, and the light railway used in its construction. On 10 August 2005 a

Copterline Copterline Oy was Finland's largest helicopter airline established on 15 October 1990 as Copter Action and renamed to Copterline in 2000. In 2004 the company ferried over 75,000 passengers. On December 19, 2008, Copterline confirmed that it h ...

helicopter on

–

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

route

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

3 km south of the island. All 14 people on the helicopter died.

Transport

The small ferry Juku operates to and from the island during the summer months, with support from the city of Tallinn. In the summer of 2010 the Juku was operated by Kihnu Veeteed During the summer Tallinn-Cruises operate sightseeing tours to the island using the boat "Monica" The island can also be reached by boats or yachts chartered from

Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts ( et, linnaosa) of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively big area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relati ...

Harbour In 2022 a new ferry was introduced, reducing the journey time to Aegna to 30 minutes. The ''Vegtind'' can accommodate 100 passengers and 20 bicycles, and is operated by the company Spinnaker.

Port

The Port of Aegna (port code EE AEN,Aegna Sadam
/ref> et, Aegna sadam) is a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

situated on the southern coast of Aegna.

References

External links

Island information
Islands of Estonia Subdistricts of Tallinn Landforms of Tallinn Kesklinn, Tallinn Tourist attractions in Tallinn {{Tallinn-geo-stub