Raasiku is a borough ( et, alevik) in Raasiku Parish,

Harju County Harju County ( et, Harju maakond or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in Northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the so ...

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 ...

, with a population of 1,372 (2020). Although situated in a parish with the same name, Raasiku is not the official administrative centre of the municipality (which is Aruküla, located some kilometres or one railway station closer to

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 settlement started to grow in the 19th century around the railway station. The Raasiku manor (first mentioned in 1497) was established on the grounds of the earlier Kaemla (Keamol) village and in the middle ages it belonged to Padise Abbey. There is a primary school (since 1717), community centre, library, health care centre, pharmacy, kindergarten and three grocery stores in Raasiku. Also, some industrial manufacturers operate there: ''AS Mistra-Autex'' produces car carpets and wall finishing materials; ''AS Raasiku Elekter'' makes electrical equipment and metal products. Harju-Jaani John the Baptist Lutheran Church is in Raasiku. The current church building was built in 1863, but there are preserved foundations of the old chapel. There is the churchyard, the old and the new cemetery and a manor park.

Transport

Raasiku is split by the Tallinn- Tapa railway. The railway station was opened in 1870. In Soviet times a building for the

goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...

and

signalling control On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetab ...

was built. The old wooden passenger station was demolished in 2000, but the ancillary buildings and water tower have been preserved. All suburban trains stop there and also trains heading in the direction of Tartu and Narva (except for express trains). A ride to Tallinn takes about 35 minutes (30 minutes with the express suburban train). Raasiku also has a bus connection to Tallinn (generally much slower than the train due to the length of the lines and a large number of stops). There are four bus stops in Raasiku. The Jägala– Aruvalla road passes through Raasiku and local roads to Kostivere,

Kehra Kehra is a town in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia, most known for its pulp and paper mill. The town is situated on the banks of the Jägala river, and has a station on the Tallinn-Narva railway. As of January 1, 2021, the town had a popu ...

, Anija and Aruaru emerge from it.

Sports

There's a football club Raasiku FC Joker based in Raasiku, currently playing in the Estonian fourth division

II liiga II liiga is the fourth level of football league competition in Estonia arranged by the Estonian Football Association. It consists of 28 teams, divided geographically into two divisions with 14 teams respectively in group North/East and South/Wes ...

. 2018 opened Raasiku Sports Centre, located Kooli 1

Notable people

Tõnu Õim Tõnu Õim (born 16 June 1941) is an Estonian grandmaster of correspondence chess, most famous for being the first to have won the ICCF World Championship twice, in 1983 and 1999. In 1991 he won the Axelson Memorial.world champion of correspondence chess, was born in Raasiku.

References

{{Authority control Boroughs and small boroughs in Estonia Kreis Harrien Holocaust locations in Estonia de:Raasiku