Hans Pöhl

Next to Vormsi church is a modest stone memorial to Hans Pöhl. This stone, erected by compatriots in 1994, is the only memorial to the man who was the greatest leader and champion of the Estonian Swedes of all time.

Hans Pöhl was born in 1876 in Suur-Nõmmküla in Noarootsi. He went to school in Sutlepa and Haapsalu, and was hired as a school teacher in Österby, Noarootsi, at the age of 16.

Pöhl, who spoke a Noarootsi dialect at home, did not have decent command of either official state Swedish, Estonian or Russian at the time. He studied Swedish under Johan Nymann, the sacristan of Noarootsi and seemed to have a real knack for languages, because in addition to Estonian and Russian, he studied English in Oxford and Cambridge and taught English and religion in Tallinn Business School and Commercial Upper Secondary School until his death. Pöhl could even be considered the pioneer of English-language teaching in Estonia, as he wrote English textbooks for upper secondary schools and published the first English-Estonian dictionary.

Pöhl’s greatest legacy, however, is as a champion of the Estonian Swedes. He started working together with Johan Nymann, the sacristan of Noarootsi. Together, they tried to establish a lending library in the sacristan’s farm (Köstritalu) in Noarootsi, which also housed the parish school (for peasants). However, they did not manage to get permission for this and instead founded a temperance organisation which also facilitated the running of a library. Pöhl then became the chairman of the organisation and was able to use it to promote the culture of the Estonian Swedes.  To get books, Pöhl turned to his Swedish acquaintances and sent an appeal to be published in Swedish newspapers. Together with Nymann, they published the first calendar of the Estonian Swedes in 1903.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was not a single important decision made by the Estonian Swedes that Pöhl was not involved in. He was also on the board of every organisation of the Estonian Swedes. He was active in the founding of the Estonian-Swedish organisation Svenska Odlingens Vänner (SOV or Friends of Swedish Education) in 1909 and in the publication of their newspaper Kustbon. On the initiative of the SOV (Svenska Odlingens Vänner), Swedish-language schools were established in the areas inhabited by Estonian Swedes, mainly in those with mixed settlements. As well as an agricultural and folk university in Pürksi and an upper secondary school in Haapsalu.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the Estonian Swedes also joined the demand for autonomy for minorities with Pöhl once again at the forefront. He also played a role in Estonian politics. In 1917, Pöhl spearheaded the founding of Rahvaliit (People’s Union), a party of the Estonian Swedes. He was a member of the Estonian Provincial Assembly (Maapäev), acted as the Swedish national minister in the Estonian Provisional Government, represented the Swedes in the Estonian Constituent Assembly and had a seat in the first and third Supreme Court of Estonia. As a politician, Pöhl fought for the rights of minorities to be enshrined in the constitution and for land reform to include land allocated for the Swedes.

Although Pöhl was born in Noarootsi in mainland Estonia and lived mainly in Tallinn, he is buried on the island of Vormsi. His wife Lydia Lindström hailed from Vormsi, and the Pöhl family spent most of their summers on Vormsi. They even built a house in Hullo. Pöhl always celebrated his birthday on 15 August on Vormsi.

Hans Pöhl died on 22 January 1930 in Tallinn after a severe attack of acute tonsilitis. His funeral service was held in St. Michael’s Swedish Church in Tallinn. The entire government and representatives of all the minorities came to see him off. After the funeral service, Pöhl’s coffin was sent to Haapsalu in a special wagon where pallbearers carried him to Haapsalu Vanasadama harbour to be taken to Vormsi by boat. On Vormsi, the pallbearers lifted his coffin onto their shoulders again and headed for the churchyard, where Pöhl was laid to rest.