Holmidepealne

The district of Haapsalu that stretches out to the sea as a peninsula and separates Eeslaht from Tagalaht (two parts of Haapsalu Bay) is known by the name Holmidepealne. Another part of Haapsalu Bay known as Suur Viik as well as Lake Väike Viik are both located in the same area. The words ‘holm’ and ‘viik’ are both Swedish, the first denoting a small island or islet and the second a sea bay. These place names in Haapsalu are a reminder of the Swedes who once lived here. While both Väike Viik and Suur Viik are remnants of what was once a larger bay, the prefix “holm” derives from the fact that the area is made up of seven larger islands that have been linked either as a result of post-glacial rebound or by manmade bridges.

In the context of Haapsalu, Swedes were 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 named Christian Hindrichson. They were soon followed by Matz the mason. The newcomers built themselves houses and a windmill.  At the start 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.