Kesselaid (also Kessulaid, or diminutively Kessu. german: Schildau; sv, Sköld, Skölldo) is a

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, an ...

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

located between the mainland and the island of

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 Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Together with neighbouring smaller is ...

in the

Suur Strait Suur Strait ( et, Suur väin) is the strait in Estonia, lying between Muhu and Continental Estonia. The strait (being itself part of Väinameri) connects Väinameri and Gulf of Riga. Several islets are located in the strait: e.g. Papirahu, Ke ...

(''Big Strait'') which connects the Väinameri strait and the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main c ...

. There's only one village on the island Kesse, which is administratively part of

Muhu Parish Muhu Parish ( et, Muhu vald) is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Saare County. It has a population of 1876 (as of 1 January 2019) and an area of . Geography Muhu Parish is located on Muhu or Muhumaa and its neighbouring smaller islands of ...

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, A ...

. With the highest point 15.6 m above sea level it's the highest islet of Estonia. It is also considered to be the oldest islet, as it arose around 3000 BC. Since 1938, the 7 to 8 feet high cliffs of Kesselaid have been designated a nature reserve.Uudo, Timm. ''Kesselaiu maastikukaitseala – pool sajandit unustuses''
/ref> Kesselaid was first described in print in 1644 in the Swedish maritime book ''Een siö-book, som innehåller om siöfarten i Östersiön'' by . Kesselaid had been inhabited by ethnic

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to othe ...

for centuries but heavy colonization by German settlers began in the 16th Century. In 1807 Kesselaid was sold to the

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

noble Jacob Friedrich von Helwig. By the end of the 1930s there were still 35 permanent residents on the island. Today, in summer Kesselaid is partly used as pasture and grazing land for cattle and goats. It has also become an excursion destination for nature tourists. On the island, 16 species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...

s are counted. From the island of Muhu, wild boar and elk occasionally swim to Kesselaid. A lighthouse was first built Kesselaid in 1885. The current, fully automated lighthouse dates to 1994.

Gallery

File:Kesselaiu kaart.png, Map of Kesselaid File:Kesselaid, remains of a manor.JPG, Remains of the cattle manor founded in 1807. File:Kessu liitsihi ülemine tulepaak.JPG, Upper lighthouse File:Kesselaiu rannik.JPG, Coastline

References

External links

Eesti Saarte Kogu: Images of the Kesselaid and the Kesselaid Lighthouse
Estonian islands in the Baltic Muhu Parish Villages in Saare County {{Saare-geo-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links