Muhu (also called Muhumaa in

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

), is an island in the

West Estonian archipelago West Estonian archipelago ( et, Lääne-Eesti saarestik, also Moonsund archipelago) is a group of Estonian islands located in the Baltic Sea around Väinameri. The total area is about . The archipelago is composed of the islands Saaremaa, Hiium ...

of 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 from ...

. With an area of it is the third largest island belonging to

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 ...

, after

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...

and

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within H ...

. Together with neighbouring smaller islands of

Kesselaid Kesselaid (also Kessulaid, or diminutively Kessu. german: Schildau; sv, Sköld, Skölldo) is a Estonian islet located between the mainland and the island of Muhu in the Suur Strait (''Big Strait'') which connects the Väinameri strait and the ...

Viirelaid Viirelaid, previously also known as Paternoster, is a small island in the Baltic Sea belonging to the country of Estonia. Viirelaid lies southeast of the island of Muhu. Together with Muhu and neighbouring small islands of Kesselaid, Võilaid ...

Võilaid Võilaid is a small, uninhabited island in the Baltic Sea belonging to the country of Estonia. Its coordinates are . Võilaid lies southeast of the Estonian island of Muhu in the Gulf of Riga. The island is 2.5 km² and uninhabited. In the s ...

and

Suurlaid Suurlaid ( en, Big Islet) is a small island in the Baltic Sea belonging to the country of Estonia. Its coordinates are Suurlaid lies just off south coast of the Estonian island of Muhu. Together Muhu and neighbouring islands Viirelaid, Võilaid ...

it forms

Muhu Parish , leader_title = , leader_party = , seat = Liiva , subdivision_name1 = Saare County , subdivision_name = Estonia , subdivision_type ...

( et, Muhu vald), the rural

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

within

Saare County Saare County ( et, Saare maakond or ''Saaremaa''; la, Oesel; german: Ösel; sv, Ösel) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abru ...

. The municipality has a population of 1,697 (as of 19 April 2010) and covers an area of . The population density is .

History and geography

The German names for the island are Mohn and Moon. Moon is also the Swedish name for the island. The most important villages in Muhu are

Kuivastu Kuivastu is a village on the eastern coast of the Estonian island Muhu Muhu (also called Muhumaa in Estonian), is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of it is the third largest island belonging to Es ...

, Liiva (where the school can be found) and

Koguva Koguva is a village on the Estonian island of Muhu. (retrieved 28 July 2021) Administratively it belongs to the Muhu Parish, Saare County. Koguva is located on the western top of the island, small Kõinastu islet is located just northwest in th ...

. In

Pädaste Pädaste (german: Peddast) is a village on the Estonian island Muhu. It is located on the southern coast of the island by the Gulf of Riga. Administratively, Pädaste belongs to Muhu Parish, Saare County Saare County ( et, Saare maakond or ''S ...

, an internationally renowned luxury hotel and spa operates in the restored manor house. The island is divided from mainland Estonia by the Suur Strait (''Moonsund'') and from

by the Väike Strait. It is linked by ferry to

Virtsu Virtsu is a small borough (') in Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia. It lies on the western coast of continental Estonia, and is a location of the main port for traffic to and from Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia. The Virtsu fe ...

in the mainland, and to Saaremaa by a causeway, the

Väinatamm Väinatamm is the name of the largest causeway in Estonia on the Estonian national road 10. The causeway, opened in 1896, connects the island of Muhu, located between Saaremaa and the continent, with Saaremaa. Construction of the causeway cut the ...

. In winter an

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Inte ...

connects the island to the mainland. In January 1227, an army of the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword german: Schwertbrüderordenfrench: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive , image= , caption= , dates=1204–1237 , country= Terra Mariana , allegiance= Catholic Church , garrison= Wenden (Cēsis), Fellin (Viljandi), Segewold (Sigulda). Aschera ...

with Letts, Germans of Riga and native Livonians (20,000 men commanded by

William of Modena William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat.

) crossed on sea ice from the mainland and attacked the island of Saaremaa to reduce the last holdout of pagan Estonians. The Estonians surrendered on Muhu at a circular stronghold called Mona, the earthworks of which are still preserved near the causeway between the islands. This ended the

Estonian Crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was co ...

. The Battle of Karuse or Battle on the Ice was fought on 16 February 1270 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Livonian Order on the frozen Baltic Sea between the Muhu Island and the mainland. The Lithuanians achieved a decisive victory. The battle, named after the Karuse village, was the fifth-largest defeat of the Livonian or Teutonic Orders in the 13th century. The same waters saw the

Battle of Moon Sound The Battle of Moon Sound was a naval battle fought between the forces of the German Empire, and the then Russian Republic (and three British submarines) in the Baltic Sea during Operation Albion from 16 October 1917 until 3 November 1917 durin ...

in September–October 1917 between Russian and German naval forces. Muhu is also famous for having the only still-working traditional

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

s in Estonia. Muhu is the home of Estonia's first wine tourism farm – Luscher & Matiesen Muhu Winehouse.

Gallery

File:NorthMuhuCoast.JPG, Northern coast of Muhu File:MuhuStronghold.JPG, Muhu Stronghold, site of the native Estonian surrender to crusaders in 1227 File:Muhu stronghold memorial stone2.JPG, Monument in the center of the Muhu Stronghold File:Üügu Cliff.jpg, Üügu cliffs File:Muhu Katariina kirik Liiva külas.JPG, Muhu St. Catherine's Church File:Pädaste mõisa peahoone.JPG, Pädaste Manor File:Muhumuseum.jpg, Tooma farm, part of Muhu museum and birthplace of writer

Juhan Smuul Juhan Smuul (18 February 1922 – 13 April 1971) was an Estonian writer. Until 1954 he used the given name Johannes Schmuul. Career Smuul was born in Koguva village on the island of Muhu to Jüri and Ruudu Schmuul (née Tuulik). He had three ...

File:Rongkäik, Muhu Põhikool.IMG 5102.JPG, Students and teachers in traditional clothing march in a procession in Liiva File:In classroom of village school.JPG, Old village school File:Old village.JPG, In

Mõega Mõega is a village on the Estonian island Muhu. (retrieved 28 July 2021) It is located in the eastern part of the island by the main road in Muhu (segment of the Risti–Kuressaare road, nr 10, the "Saaremaa road"), just between Kuivastu (the ...

village File:Koguva sadam 2015.jpg, Koguva harbour File:Windmill in Koguva(Estonia).jpg, Windmill in

File:EE Muhu fl.png, Flag of Muhu Parish File:Muhu Valla vapp.svg, Coat of Arms of Muhu Parish

External links

*
Official websiteMuhu Tourism AssociationMuhu Island in Jetsetter Top10Photos about Muhu.
{{Authority control Muhu Estonian islands in the Baltic Gulf of Riga