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Estonia is a small country with a surprisingly long coastline. Surrounded on 2-1/2 sides by water, it faces the Gulf of Riga on the southwest, the Baltic Sea on the west, and the Gulf of Finland on the north. There are two large islands in the Baltic, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and countless small islands. To guard these coasts, Estonia has more than 60 lighthouses and a well-developed lighthouse administration. Estonia was part of the Russian Empire until the end of World War I in 1918, and then it was incorporated into the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1990. Thus the older lighthouses are from the Russian Imperial period, and some of the newer ones are of Soviet construction. Two examples from the imperial period appear at right: the old Suurupi lighthouse, built in 1760, and the Vormsi lighthouse, prefabricated in Lithuania in 1871. Lighthouses in Estonia are operated by the Estonian Maritime Administration. In Estonian, a lighthouse is a tuletorn (fire tower) or a majakas. Names in curly brackets {} are non-Estonian former names (Swedish or German). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. EMA numbers are from the web site of the Estonian Maritime Administration. Admiralty numbers are from volume C of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 116. What's Hot:
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![]() Virtsu Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
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![]() Sõrve Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
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![]() Ristna Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
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![]() Pakri Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
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![]() Tallinnamadal Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
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![]() Keri Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
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![]() Narva Light Estonian Maritime Administration photo |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
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Posted May 1, 2005; checked and revised May 4, 2007. Lighthouses: 73. Site copyright 2007 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.