Lahemaa National Park is a park in northern
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 ...
, 70 kilometers east from the capital
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
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
is to the north of the park and the Tallinn-Narva highway (E20) is to the south. Its area covers 747 km
2 (including 274.9 km
2 of sea).
[Estonica]
Lahemaa National Park: from coastal drumlins to Kõrvemaa
, Estonica, Encyclopedia About Estonia It was the first area to be designated a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
of the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. It is the largest park in Estonia and one of Europe's biggest national parks. Its charter calls for the preservation, research and promotion of North-Estonian landscapes, ecosystems,
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
and national heritage.
History
The name Lahemaa originates from the most thoroughly studied and visited part of the North Estonian coast, where four large peninsulas (
Juminda
Juminda is a village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. (retrieved 27 July 2021) It is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, on top of the Juminda Peninsula, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. Juminda has a popu ...
,
Pärispea
Pärispea is a village in Kuusalu Parish in Harju County in northern Estonia. The village has a population of 109 (as of 1 January 2009). ,
Käsmu
Käsmu (german: Kaspervik, ) is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, (retrieved 28 July 2021) on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It's located northwest of Võsu, on the Käsmu Peninsula in the Gulf of Fin ...
and
Vergi) are separated from each other by four bays (
Kolga
Kolga is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County, in northern Estonia, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It has a population of 490 ().
Kolga is best known for its classicist manor.
Wrestler Aleksander Aberg
Al ...
,
Hara,
Eru
Eru may refer to:
People
*Eru (singer) (born 1983), Korean singer
*Eru Potaka-Dewes (1939–2009), New Zealand actor
*Syd Eru (born 1971), New Zealand rugby player
Other uses
* Eru (soup), a Cameroonian soup
* Eru (vegetable), a tropical Afri ...
and
Käsmu
Käsmu (german: Kaspervik, ) is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, (retrieved 28 July 2021) on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It's located northwest of Võsu, on the Käsmu Peninsula in the Gulf of Fin ...
). Lahemaa translates roughly as "Land of Bays".
[
The national park, established in 1971, is one of the main tourism drawcards in Estonia. Several companies offer day tour packages from Tallinn, while many people drive themselves.
With forests covering more than 70 percent of Lahemaa, the area is rich in flora and fauna. The landscape has many raised bogs, including the 7,000-year-old Laukasoo Reserve. The park, marked by several trails, teems with wildlife, including a population of ]boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
, red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
, wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
, bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
and lynx. The coast is covered with rocks and boulders, used each year by cranes as a stopover on their way to the Bosphorus and Egypt.
There are four manors situated in the national park: Palmse manor, the picturesque Vihula
Vihula is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, within Lahemaa National Park.
Vihula manor
The earliest references to an estate go back to 1501. During much of its history, it has belonged to Baltic German arist ...
manor, Kolga
Kolga is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County, in northern Estonia, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It has a population of 490 ().
Kolga is best known for its classicist manor.
Wrestler Aleksander Aberg
Al ...
manor, and the baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
Sagadi
Sagadi is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, located within the territory of Lahemaa National Park.
Sagadi Manor
Sagadi Manor (german: Saggad) was first mentioned in written records in 1469. During its history ...
Manor,[Sagadi]
Sagadi Manor
Retrieved 7 August 2012 Estonia's most visited manor which together with the other three comprise one of the most unusual group of manors in the country.
Prior to 1991, the Soviet Union operated a large secret submarine base at Hara. The base was built in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.[ The ruins of this former Soviet submarine base is now located entirely in Lahemaa near the Lahemaa lighthouse.][
]
Gallery
File:Viru bog 0057.jpg, Viru Bog in autumn
File:Sunrise at viru bog.jpg, The swamp at sunrise
File:Hommik Viru rabas.jpg, Wooden walkway near the swamp
File:Altja jõgi Lahemaal.jpg, Altja river
File:Nõmmeveski juga Lahemaal.jpg, Nõmmeveski waterfall
File:Valgejõgi 2009.jpg, Valgejõgi
Valgejõgi (lit. ''White River'') is a river in Northern Estonia. Its source is in Lake Porkuni in Pandivere (Lääne-Viru County) and it drains into Hara Bay (part of Finnish Gulf) at Loksa (Harju County).
Geography
Valgejõgi lacks any major ...
river
File:Loobu near Porgaste.jpg, Loobu river
The Loobu is a river in Northern Estonia. Its source is about 12 km southwest from Rakvere in Lääne-Viru County and it drains into Eru Bay (part of Finnish Gulf) near the village of Vihasoo in Lahemaa National Park.
Its drainage basin is ...
near Porgaste
File:Hommikuses valguses Juminda tuletorn.jpg, Juminda lighthouse
__NOTOC__
Juminda Lighthouse ( et, Juminda tuletorn) is a lighthouse at the northern tip of the Juminda Peninsula, Kuusalu Parish, in the region of Harju, Estonia. It is located in the Lahemaa National Park.
The lighthouse was built in 1937 ...
File:Palmse manor, Parque Nacional Lahemaa, Estonia, 2012-08-12, DD 04.JPG, Palmse manor
File:Altja paadikuurid.jpg, Fishermen huts by the sea in Altja
Altja is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park.
Gallery
File:Altja.JPG, Altja Tavern
File:Altja, 2007.jpg,
File:Altja titekivi1.jpg,
File:Altja paadikuurid.jpg, Fish ...
fishermen village
File:Eesti põhjarannik.jpg, Glacial boulders in Pärispea peninsula
Pärispea is a village in Kuusalu Parish in Harju County in northern Estonia. The village has a population of 109 (as of 1 January 2009).
File:Mähu kivid II.jpg, Glacial boulders with Mohni
Mohni is an island of Estonia. It limits the Eru Bay from the north. The closest settlement at the mainland is Viinistu.
Mohni is part of Lahemaa National Park
Lahemaa National Park is a park in northern Estonia, 70 kilometers east from the capi ...
island appearing in the skyline
File:Hauaneeme laht 2013.jpg, Hauaneeme bay at the Pärispea village
See also
* Protected areas of Estonia
Protected areas of Estonia are regulated by the Nature Conservation Act (), which was passed by the Estonian parliament on April 21, 2004 and entered into force May 10, 2004.
Overall Estonia has 15403 Protected Areas covering 21.21% of the country ...
* List of national parks in the Baltics
This is a list of the national parks in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Estonia
There are 6 national parks in Estonia.
Latvia
There are 4 national parks in Latvia.
Lithuania
There are 5 national parks in Lithuania.< ...
References
External links
*
*
Lahemaa National Park in Estonica
{{authority control
National parks of Estonia
Geography of Harju County
Geography of Lääne-Viru County
Protected areas established in 1971
1971 establishments in Estonia
Tourist attractions in Harju County
Tourist attractions in Lääne-Viru County