Ruhnu
Encyclopedia
Ruhnu is an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 situated in the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....

 in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. It belongs to Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 and is an administrative part of Saare County
Saare County
Saare County , or Saaremaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa , the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it. The county borders Lääne County to the east and Hiiu County to the north...

. At 11.9 km2 it has currently less than 100, mostly ethnic Estonian
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...

 permanent inhabitants. Prior to 1944 it was for centuries populated by ethnic Swedes
Estonian Swedes
The Estonian Swedes, Estonia-Swedes, or Coastal Swedes are a Swedish-speaking linguistic minority traditionally residing in the coastal areas and islands of what is now western and northern Estonia...

 and traditional Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 law was used.

History

The first archaeological artifacts of human activity in Ruhnu, assumed to be related to seasonal seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

 hunting, date back to around 5000 BC. The time of arrival of the first ancient Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

ns in Ruhnu and the beginning of a permanent Swedish-speaking settlement
Estonian Swedes
The Estonian Swedes, Estonia-Swedes, or Coastal Swedes are a Swedish-speaking linguistic minority traditionally residing in the coastal areas and islands of what is now western and northern Estonia...

 is not known. It probably did not precede the Northern Crusades
Northern Crusades
The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were crusades undertaken by the Christian kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian and Teutonic military orders, and their allies against the pagan peoples of Northern Europe around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea...

 in the beginning of the 13th century, when the indigenous peoples of all the lands surrounding the Gulf of Riga were converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 and subjugated to the Teutonic Order. The first documented record of the island of Ruhnu, and of its Swedish population, is a 1341 letter sent by the Bishop of Courland
Courland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

 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
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 (1621–1708, formally until 1721) and after that by Imperial Russia until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, when it was occupied by Imperial Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 (1915–1918). After the war, despite some local initiatives to rejoin Sweden, and territorial claims by Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, the islanders agreed to become part of newly independent Estonia in 1919. 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
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Ruhnu, along with the rest of Estonia, was first occupied
Occupation of Baltic Republics
The occupation of the Baltic states refers to the military occupation of the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union under the auspices of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 14 June 1940 followed by their incorporation into the USSR as constituent republics, unrecognised...

 by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 (1940–1941) and then by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 (1941–1944). In November 1943, a first group of about 75 islanders relocated to Sweden. In August 1944, shortly before the beginning of the second Soviet occupation, the entire remaining population of the island, with the exception of just two families, fled by ship to Sweden.

During the period of Soviet occupation after 1944, the island was repopulated by Estonian civilians and also served as a basis of a small Soviet military garrison. The number of inhabitants never exceeded 400, and in the 1970s, after a storm hit Ruhnu, most people were relocated.

Life on Ruhnu today

After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, buildings, land, and other property on Ruhnu Island were returned to those with ownership claims that went back to prior to the Soviet occupation of Estonia, or to their descendants. In case of Ruhnu, those descendants were mostly resident in Sweden. While most of them did not return to Ruhnu, they still occasionally visit the land of their forefathers.

Ruhnu is served by the Ruhnu Airfield
Ruhnu Airfield
Ruhnu Airfield is an airfield on Ruhnu island in Estonia. The airfield is situated to the south of the island, near the village of Ringsu. Its ICAO airport code is EERU. It has no IATA airport code....

 which has weekly flights from Pärnu
Pärnu
Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...

 and Kuressaare
Kuressaare
Kuressaare is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the capital of Saare County. The current population is about 14,706 Kuressaare is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the capital of Saare County. The current population is about 14,706...

 in winter, twice weekly in summer, as well as by ferry service.

The island has a quadripod tower lighthouse, which stands atop highest point of the island, Haubjerre hill. It was prefabricated in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and shipped to Ruhnu for assembly in 1877. The structure was designed by Gustave Eiffel
Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French structural engineer from the École Centrale Paris, an architect, an entrepreneur and a specialist of metallic structures...

.

The Runhu wooden church, built in 1644, is one of the oldest wood constructed buildings in Estonia. The church's baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

-style tower was finished in 1755. The stone Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 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.

Ruhnu is home to a somewhat rare native breed of sheep called the Estonian Ruhnu
Estonian Ruhnu sheep
Estonian Ruhnu sheep are a breed of native domesticated sheep found on the small Estonian island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea....

 . The breed numbers approximately 33 individuals and are used primarily for wool.

In the spring of 2006, a 150 kilogram brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

 arrived on Ruhnu via an ice floe across the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....

 from the mainland of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, some 40 km (24.9 mi) 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 had outnumbered permanent residents. The bear is believed by authorities to have since returned to Latvia.

In April 2007, Latvian chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 producer "Laima
Laima (confectioner)
Laima is the largest producer of confectionery in Latvia. Its headquarters are in Riga. It is named for Laima, the feminine deity of fate in Latvian mythology.- Company history :...

" presented Ruhnu islanders with a 40 kg (88 lbs.) chocolate statue of the bear to go on display before being eaten by islanders. This chocolate bear was finally eaten on 20 December 2007.

Further reading

  • Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Rußwurm: Eibofolke oder die Schweden an der Küste Esthlands und auf Runö, eine ethnographische Untersuchung mit Urkunden, Tabellen und lithographirten Beilagen. Reval 1855
  • There is an account of life on Ruhnu in the 1920s in Arthur Ransome
    Arthur Ransome
    Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...

    's book Racundra's First Cruise (republished in 2003 by Fernhurst Books).
  • A useful short article on Ruhnu appeared in Hidden Europe Magazine, 15 (July 2007), pp.20-1.
  • Taylor, N. with Karin T (2008). Saaremaa: a History and Travel Guide. Tallinn: OÜ Greif. ISBN 978 9985 3 1606 1, pp 78-83 Hedman, Jörgen & Åhlander, Lars. 2006: Runö. Historien om svenskön i Rigabukten. Stockholm: Dialogos, ISBN 9175041847

See also

  • Estonian Swedes
    Estonian Swedes
    The Estonian Swedes, Estonia-Swedes, or Coastal Swedes are a Swedish-speaking linguistic minority traditionally residing in the coastal areas and islands of what is now western and northern Estonia...

  • Municipalities of Estonia
    Municipalities of Estonia
    A Municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision of Estonia. Each municipality is a unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies. The municipalities in Estonia cover the entire territory of the country....

  • List of islands of Estonia
  • Estonian Ruhnu sheep
    Estonian Ruhnu sheep
    Estonian Ruhnu sheep are a breed of native domesticated sheep found on the small Estonian island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea....


External links

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