Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The ruins of the Russian Orthodox Church lie to the right when heading towards the centre of Vormsi in Hullo from the harbour.
Mass conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy began on Vormsi in 1886. Rumours reached the island that peasants who converted to the emperor’s faith would also receive land. Thus, in September 1886, 162 people signed a paper to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy. Around 500 people converted to the emperor’s faith and formed their own congregation as a filiate congregation under the Haapsalu Orthodox Church, but Vormsi had its own priest, two sacristans and a school with one teacher.
A red brick church was built in Hullo, which was completed in 1890 and consecrated as the Orthodox Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Four Orthodox schools were also opened. The congregation also had its own cemetery, where only two graves have survived to date: those of sacristan-schoolteachers Jaan Spuhl and Konstantin Kreek. Both men also made a name for themselves in other areas.
But when it turned out that the hoped-for land would not be granted, many became disillusioned with Orthodoxy and wanted to return to their old beliefs. However, this was not allowed until the 1905 manifesto of religious freedom. After this, priest Vaarask, who had been working on Vormsi for a long time, found it difficult to maintain the congregation, although some activity continued. After the 1917 revolution, however, Orthodox priests no longer received their salaries, and Vaarask left the island taking the church keys with him.
The congregation dwindled to an estimated 30 people, including children. Worship services were held a few times a year. In 1938, there were only seven people in the congregation. Eventually, the congregation died out and the abandoned church began to degrade. During the Soviet occupation, the church was used as a warehouse and currently lies in ruin.
Jaan Spuhl-Rotalia
Jaan Spuhl-Rotalia, birth name Johann Gustav Spuhl, was born in 1859 in Ridala. Since Ridala’s Latin name is Rotalia, he took to using the pseudonym Rotalia for his writings.
Having studied languages and developing a love of literature from an early age, Spuhl-Rotalia first worked as a teacher in Sinalepa, but in 1891 he became a teacher at Vormsi Orthodox school and worked on the island as a sacristan and parish secretary until 1902. He was also active as a translator and journalist.
Spuhl-Rotalia is more widely known as the founder of pomology in Estonia, i.e. he researched and selected fruit and berry varieties. He was one of the first to publish horticultural and natural literature in Estonian. He also wrote books such as ‘Kodumaa seened’ (‘Local mushrooms’), ‘Kodumaa kalad’ (‘Local fishes’), as well as works on public health and local history. His books ‘Kodumaa marjad’ (‘Local berries’) and ‘Pomoloogia õperaamat’ (‘Textbook on pomology’) remained the most comprehensive Estonian-language gardening manuals of the first half of the 20th century for over thirty years. He published the first Estonian-language magazine Majapidaja (Housekeeper) at his own expense in Haapsalu, which covered horticultural and agricultural topics, but also delved deeper into philosophy, theology, biology (including Darwinism) and history.
His time on Vormsi was Spuhl’s most fruitful in the field of pomology. He built a plant nursery and an experimental orchard on Vormsi with about 3000 trees and shrubs of 500 varieties. Through his garden, various fruit trees and shrubs made their way to local farm gardens. While on Vormsi, Spuhl promoted the establishment of farm gardens and planted over 5,000 top grafts himself while constantly monitoring the growth of fruit trees and berry crops. Spuhl himself has said that the island of Vormsi formed an immense pomological garden where he could monitor and compare the progress of all the varieties.
Spuhl-Rotalia died in 1916 and was buried in the Orthodox cemetery on Vormsi.
Konstantin Kreek
Another man associated with the Orthodox Church on Vormsi was Konstantin Kreek, born Gustav Kreek (Kree). He too was from Ridala, born in Võnnu in 1852 as an illegitimate child. With the support of his biological father, he went to Kuuda Seminary to study to be a teacher. His first three jobs as a teacher were in Ridala, but in 1896 his large family moved to Vormsi, where he was offered a position as a teacher in an Orthodox school. However, this meant conversion to Russian Orthodoxy.
In addition to being a school teacher, Kreek, like Spuhl, was involved in gardening and beekeeping. Kreek established a school garden at Vormsi school, where he used the labour of the pupils, teaching them how to sow, plant and care for trees and shrubs, as well as vegetables and flowers.
Konstantin Kreek died on Vormsi in 1916 and was buried in the Orthodox cemetery of Vormsi.
Less is known about the life and work of Konstantin Kreek while his son Cyrillus Kreek, a composer and collector of folk tunes, became more widely known. He also recorded a lot of folk chorale melodies of the Estonian Swedes. Cyrillus Kreek studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and later became a teacher in Haapsalu, like his father. He was a music teacher and also helped to develop the musical life of Haapsalu.
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.