Estonian Swedes

The Estonian Swedes, or Coastal Swedes as they have been called over time, have lived on the Estonian coast and islands since the 13th century. In the context of Haapsalu, Swedes are first mentioned in the second town privileges issued for Haapsalu in 1294. It says that rural Swedes have the right to inherit property from any relatives they may have living in the city, and vice versa. Estonians had no such right.

It is not known where Swedes used to live in the town or what kind of work they did in the Middle Ages. We come to know more about the Swedes and their settlement in Haapsalu  later on. It is known that at the end of the 18th century, when rittmaster von Knorring repudiated the peasants of Vööla and Väike-Hara after repeated quarrels, four or five of the peasants who had to leave their posts ended up moving to Pikkholm in Haapsalu, which is located along what is now known as Sadama Street. The first settlers were three fishermen, brothers by the name of Johann, Matz and Peter Christianson and another fisherman called Christian Hindrichson. They were soon followed by Matz the mason. The newcomers built themselves houses and a windmill.  In the early part of the next century they were joined by Swedes from Kärdla.

Russwurm writes that the Swedes who settled on the islets took to cultivating the barren land, which yielded next to nothing despite their zealous efforts, and managed to somehow make an honest living from fishing and payment as day labourers. Some also Germanised, achieving prosperity and better education.

In the middle of the 19th century, when Russwurm wrote his ‘Eibofolke’, a few Swedes, most of whom had become Estonians or Germans, lived in other parts of Haapsalu as well, such as Kastinina (presently the area around Suur-Liiva and Väike-Liiva Streets), Loemäe (between Õhtu kallas, Lahe and Kalda Streets), Kopli (presently the area around Kopli and Potissepa Streets) and by the cemetery.

At that time (mid-19th century) Russwurm estimated the number of Swedes in Haapsalu to be four to five families, plus another 80 or so people with Swedish ancestry, some of whom had become Estonians.  

Holmidepealne was also important for Estonian Swedes later on, when a boat left from Vana-Sadama harbour in Holmidepealne to take mail to Vormsi and Noarootsi. So it was fairly common to see Swedes from Noarootsi or Vormsi arrive at Vana-Sadama pier and make their way to the market  along Sadama Street, and then head back to the harbour along the same road to return home.   

Estonian Swedes carry on

The village names on Vormsi are Swedish to this day and visitors to Noarootsi are greeted by signs in both Swedish and Estonian. The Swedes had a Swedish name for each place, which was different from the Estonian name. For example, Swedes call Hiiumaa Dagö, Vormsi Ormsö, Ruhnu Runö, Noarootsi Nuckö, with islands marked by the letter ‘ö’ in Swedish. However, the suffix ‘-by’ in place names refers to a village.

Estonian Swedes are united by several associations and societies in their home area. They even publish their own magazines. The preservation of the language and culture of the Swedish national minority is protected by the Estonian-Swedish Cultural Government (Eestirootslaste Kultuuriomavalitsus). More than 500 people are on the nationality list of national minorities, continuing the tradition of Swedishness in Estonia. Several books have been published on the cultural history of the Estonian Swedes. Among the most prominent works is Carl Russwurm’s ‘Eibofolke oder die Schweden an den Küsten Ehstlands und auf Runö’ (title in English: ‘Eibofolke or The Swedes On the Coast of Estonia and Ruhnu’) which was first published in German in 1855. There are numerous other publications that also provide a good insight, such as ‘Raamat Eestimaa rootslastest’ (title in English: ‘A Book about the Swedes of Estonia’), ‘Kuldrannake’ (original title in Swedish: ‘Guldstrand’, English title: ‘Golden Beach’) and ‘Hans Pöhl’.

You can learn more about the life and culture of the Estonia-Swedes in the Museum of the Coastal Swedes in Haapsalu, Sadama 32 or at  www.aiboland.ee. The museum has a branch on the island of Ruhnu, in the Korsi Farm longhouse with a curved roof, one of the last surviving complete Ruhnu-Swedish farm complexes in the world.