Ruhnu (; ; ) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the Gulf of Riga in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Its territory of is administratively part of Saare ''maakond'' (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

than it is to any point in the rest of Estonia. With less than 150 official residents, the

Ruhnu Ruhnu (; ; ) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Its territory of is administratively part of Saare County, Saare ''maakond'' (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of Latvia ...

'' vald'' (parish) has the smallest population of Estonia's 79

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. Before 1944, it was for centuries populated by ethnic Swedes and traditional Swedish law was used.

Important Bird Area

The island has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant numbers of long-tailed ducks and velvet scoters, both wintering and on passage.

History

The first archaeological artifacts of human activity in Ruhnu, assumed to be related to seasonal seal hunting, date back to around 5000 BC. The time of arrival of the first ancient

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

ns in Ruhnu and the beginning of a permanent Swedish-speaking settlement is not known. It probably did not precede the

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the paganism, pagan Balts, Baltic, Baltic Finns, ...

at the beginning of the 13th century, when the indigenous peoples of all the lands surrounding the Gulf of Riga were converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and subjugated to the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. The first documented record of the island of Ruhnu, and of its Swedish population, is a 1341 letter sent by the Bishop of Courland which confirmed the islanders' right to reside and manage their property in accordance with Swedish law. Ruhnu was controlled by the Kingdom of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(1621–1708, formally until 1721) and after that by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when it was occupied by Imperial German armed forces (1915–1918). Under the tsarist Russian rule in the 18th–19th century the island had ''de facto'' independence in most affairs, though designated as crown land. The island's

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

clergyman served as ''gutsverwalter'' (estate custodian) in matters of state. In the middle of the 19th century, a majority of the islanders sought to leave Lutheranism and join the Russian Orthodox Church, and formal steps in this direction took place in 1866 with papers exchanged with the Orthodox dean of Saaremaa in anticipation of Orthodox chrismation. But the planned conversion did not proceed. After World War I, despite some local initiatives to rejoin Sweden, and territorial claims by Latvia, the islanders agreed to become part of newly independent Estonia in 1919 (possibly due to the existence of a Swedish minority in Estonia). According to a census taken in 1934, Ruhnu had a population of 282: 277 ethnic Swedes and 5 ethnic Estonians. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ruhnu, along with the rest of Estonia, was first occupied by Soviet Union (1940–1941) and then

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

(1941–1944). In November 1943, the first group of about 75 islanders relocated to Sweden. In August 1944, shortly before the Red Army of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

reoccupied Estonia, the remaining population of the island, except for two families, fled by ship to Sweden. The islanders in Sweden established an association, ''Runöbornas förening'', to preserve the history and culture of Ruhnu's original population. During the period of Soviet occupation after 1944, the island was repopulated by Estonian civilians and also hosted a unit of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The property of the former islanders was declared property of the state and a collective farm was established. In 1965 the first Ruhnu-

Kihnu Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of , it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. With a length of and width of , the island's highest point is above sea level. Kihnu belongs to P ...

Games were held, this cultural and sports festival attracting attention throughout Estonia. Following a severe storm in 1969 and the closure of the local fishery collective in 1970, the population declined from 222 to only 58.

Life on Ruhnu today

After Estonia regained independence in 1991, buildings, land, and other property on Ruhnu Island were returned to those with ownership claims that went back to before to the Soviet occupation of Estonia, or to their descendants. In case of Ruhnu, those descendants were mostly resident in Sweden. Most of them did not return to Ruhnu, but they still occasionally visit the land of their ancestors. Ruhnu is served by the Ruhnu Airfield which has scheduled flights from Pärnu and Kuressaare from October to April. Passenger ferries operate from May to October from Pärnu, Roomassaare and Munalaid. The island has a quadripod tower lighthouse, which stands on the highest point of the island, Haubjerre hill. It was prefabricated in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and shipped to Ruhnu for assembly in 1877. The structure is believed to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel. The Ruhnu wooden church, built in 1644, is one of the oldest wood constructed buildings in Estonia. The church's

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style tower was finished in 1755. The stone

church next to the wooden one was built in 1912 and is currently where services are held. Limo beach is one of the island's most popular and accessible beaches for tourists. Geologically the island is the higher part of a submarine drumlin-like ridge. Ruhnu is home to a rare native breed of sheep called the Estonian Ruhnu (). The breed numbers approximately 33 individuals and are used primarily for wool. A herd of fifty highland cattle were introduced to Ruhnu in 2013, in an attempt to restore the semi-natural coastal

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

s in the southwestern part of the island. In the spring of 2006, a brown bear arrived on Ruhnu via an ice floe across the Gulf of Riga from the mainland of

, some away. The bear's journey and resettlement on the island became a highly publicized media sensation in both the Estonian and Latvian press, as Ruhnu has been devoid of any large carnivores for many centuries. The bear continued to evade capture for months and environment ministry officials reported that tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive bear outnumbered permanent residents.Carnivore Conservation: ''Elusive bear wanders Ruhnu Island and makes its population double''. Friday, June 2, 2006
/ref> The bear is believed by authorities to have since returned to Latvia.BBC News: ''Latvia bears giant chocolate gift.'' April 6, 2007
/ref>

Micronation

In May 2025, a micronation called the Principality of Ruhnu was declared by an individual identifying as Prince Alvar I. The project describes itself as a semi-constitutional monarchy aimed at celebrating the island's cultural heritage while acknowledging Estonian sovereignty. The micronation exists purely as a symbolic cultural initiative.

References

External links

Ruhnu

DMOZ Ruhnu
- A list of English sites about Ruhnu.
Ruhnu marina.

Diamond Sky OÜ
- Airline providing services from Ruhnu Airfield {{Authority control Estonian islands in the Baltic Important Bird Areas of Baltic islands Important Bird Areas of Estonia Villages in Saare County Landforms of Saare County