Vaindloo (alternatively: Vaindloo saar,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Stenskär'') is a small island located in 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 ...

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 from ...

. It belongs 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 ...

, and is the northernmost land point of the country. Vaindloo has an area of and marks the northernmost point of the nation of Estonia, situated north of the Estonian mainland. The island is administratively part of Vainupea village in

Haljala Parish Haljala Parish ( et, Haljala vald) is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. It has a population of 4297 (2021) and an area of 549 km². Populated places Small borough Haljala - Võsu Villages Aaspere - Aasu - Aasume ...

Lääne-Viru County Lääne-Viru County ( et, Lääne-Viru maakond or ''Lääne-Virumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, ''lääne'' means western and ''ida'' means east or eastern ...

and is an important breeding sanctuary for such birds as the

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory ...

Arctic tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south a ...

Tengmalm's owl The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (''Aegolius funereus'') is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more ra ...

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Af ...

purple sandpiper The purple sandpiper (''Calidris maritima'') is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America and winters further south on the Atlant ...

shore lark The horned lark or shore lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America and "shore lark" in Europe. Taxonomy, evolution and systema ...

great grey shrike The great grey shrike (''Lanius excubitor'') is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike (''L. meridionalis''), the Chinese ...

yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern ...

and others. The island is depicted on the Estonian two euro coin. Vaindloo is also notable for its functioning lighthouse, called the Vaindloo tuletorn, it was built in 1871 and is managed by the

Estonian Maritime Administration The Estonian Maritime Administration ( et, Veeteede Amet) was a governmental agency that operated within the area of government of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. It was mainly tasked with implementing national economic polici ...

. A previous lighthouse constructed of timber was erected on Vaindloo in 1718.Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society
/ref> In addition to the lighthouse, there is a station of the

Estonian Border Guard The Estonian Border Guard ( et, Eesti Piirivalve) was the national security agency responsible for the border security of Estonia. It was subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The Border Guard also assisted with Search and Rescue missions ...

with a observation tower and a radar on the island. 02 Vaidloo saar (2023).jpg Vaindloo tuletorn (2023) (01).jpg Vaindloo saare lõunatipp tuletornist, (2023).jpg Vaindloo hiidrahn (2023) (04).jpg 05 Vaidloo saar (Juuni 2023).jpg

References

Estonian islands in the Baltic Haljala Parish Gulf of Finland Tourist attractions in Lääne-Viru County Extreme points of Estonia {{Estonia-geo-stub

See also

References