Kärdla: Coast, Culture and Hiking Trail
Accommodation in Kärdla
Kärdla combines a manageable nature outing with coastline, urban history and cultural sites. For planning your trip, it is particularly interesting that a hiking trail, a gently sloping sandy beach and several reminders of the history of the cloth factory and harbour come together here with events and museum offerings.
Key facts about Kärdla
On the Kärdla hiking trail, forest communities alternate with small areas of bog. Four boardwalks cross drainage ditches. At a leisurely pace, the route takes about an hour. Kärdla’s bathing beach is shallow and gently sloping, with a sandy seabed. In the southern part of the beach there is also a 4.3-hectare protected beach park.
What nature experiences does Kärdla offer?
On the beach, the protected Kärdla rannakivi adds a historical detail to the landscape. The protected Kärdla rannakivi bears water-level markings with the years 1893 and 1967. Together with the sandy seabed and the beach park to the south, this creates a coastal area where nature observation and local history stand closely side by side, without requiring any particular usage or bathing season to be inferred.
Where can you see the history of the cloth factory?
One of Kärdla’s focal points is the history of the cloth factory. In 1830, the Ungern-Sternberg barons founded a cloth factory in Kärdla; today’s Vabrikuväljak formed the core of the former factory complex. Since 1982, a monument to the cloth factory designed by Mati Karmin has stood in the centre of the square. The square thus makes an industrial past visible, a past that continues in several places throughout the town.
At the harbour there is a preserved wool warehouse, built in 1849 and used to store large bales of wool from Australia and New Zealand. Another harbour warehouse building was also constructed in 1849 and is popularly known as Viinaladu. Many former workers, foremen and officials of the cloth factory are buried in Kärdla Cemetery, including its first director, Baron Robert Eginhard von Ungern-Sternberg.
Which cultural sites can you include in your plans?
Since 1998, Pikk Maja has been the main building of the Hiiumaa Museum. The museum also offers a workshop there on making Pulmatuti wedding decorations. For a broader programme of events, Kärdla’s cultural centre is the place to go: concerts, theatre performances and other events are held there. Hiiumaa’s first general Song Festival was held in Kärdla in 1926.
Kärdla Church, dedicated to John the Baptist and built in 1863, is part of the town’s architectural and ecclesiastical history. Its open bell tower is considered unique in Estonia. Kärdla City Park covers 5.2 hectares and was first laid out in the 1860s. Kärdla therefore brings together different historical layers: factory history, harbour warehouses, religious architecture, a park and a museum.
How can you find your way around Kärdla in practical terms?
A regional bus runs from the bus station in Kärdla to the airport before flights. For further information on sights, accommodation, restaurants and cafés, active holiday opportunities, cultural events and transport, contact the Hiiumaa Tourist Information Centre. The Kärdla power plant complex on the banks of the Nuutri River can be viewed from the outside by anyone interested. These notes help you plan cultural, nature and transport topics separately, without presupposing a particular accommodation location or a specific itinerary.
If you would like to compare other places in addition to Kärdla, you can also visit Kassari Village, Orjaku, Tubala, Emmaste and Jõeranna.
FAQ
What in Kärdla commemorates the brig “Ellen”?
The graves of the crew members and captain of the brig “Ellen” are located in Kärdla Cemetery. The ship was wrecked in a storm on 6 May 1884.
When was Hiiumaa’s first general Song Festival held?
Hiiumaa’s first general Song Festival was held in Kärdla in 1926.
Can the Kärdla power plant complex be visited?
The Kärdla power plant complex can be viewed from the outside by anyone interested.
What information is available at the Tourist Information Centre?
The Hiiumaa Tourist Information Centre provides information on sights, accommodation, restaurants and cafés, active holiday opportunities, cultural events and transport.
To the main travel overview: Hiiumaa.
