Haapsalu shawl or Haapsalu scarf is a knitted lace shawl that originated in the

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

town of

Haapsalu Haapsalu () 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. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its ...

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 ...

during the early 19th century.

Description

A traditional Haapsalu shawl is a rectangle measuring 100x100 to 150 x150 cm square. It consists of three parts - a center section, a border and an edge, which is knit separately and sewn to the border. The shawls are knit from fine lamb's wool yarn using #3 or #4 knitting needles. The master artisans knit the shawls so fine that they can be pulled through a ladies'

wedding ring A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage, though the modern prac ...

History

Russian aristocrats, including the

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to ...

family, frequented Haapsalu to bathe in the healing mud salts. Those same spas are in operation today. Those early visitors recognized the trademarks of an

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

and bought the

shawls A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folde ...

as souvenirs and gifts. Later the Haapsalu shawl became known in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and were sometimes displayed at exhibitions.

Today

The Knitters Guild of Haapsalu has preserved the tradition of the knitted lace shawl. Their works are available at the museum in Haapsalu, Estonia. Examples of this art can be seen by virtual tour of th
Haapsalu Shawl Museum

References

Estonian culture Shawls and wraps Haapsalu {{Estonia-stub