The Republic of Estonia (Eesti in Estonian) is a small country with a surprisingly long coastline. Surrounded on 2-1/2 sides by water, it faces the Gulf of Riga (Liivi Laht) on the southwest, the Baltic Sea (Läänemere) on the west, and the Gulf of Finland (Soome Lahe) on the north. The country includes two large islands in the Baltic, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and countless small islands. To guard these coasts, Estonia has more than 100 lighthouses and a well-developed lighthouse administration. Estonia's independence is recent. The country was part of the Swedish Empire from 1625 to 1710 and then part of the Russian Empire from 1710 until the end of World War I in 1918. After two decades of independence 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. An example from the imperial period appears at right: the Vilsandi lighthouse built in 1809. Estonia is divided administratively into fifteen counties (maakonnad, singular maakon), and the counties are subdivided for local government into urban municipalities and rural municipalities called parishes (vallad). This page includes lighthouses of the southwestern coast including Pärnu and Saare counties. Names in curly brackets {} are non-Estonian former names (Swedish or German). In Estonian a lighthouse is a tuletorn (fire tower), a tulepaak (fire beacon), or a majakas (borrowed from the Finnish word majaka for a lighthouse). A daybeacon is called a päevamärk, saar is an island, poolsaar is a peninsula, parv is shoal, kari is a reef, neem is a cape or headland, väin is a strait, jõgi is a river, and sadam is a port or harbor. Lighthouses in Estonia were operated previously by the Estonian Maritime Administration (Veeteede Amet, or VTA). In 2021 the functions of VTA were folded into the Estonian Transport Administration (Transpordiamet). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. VTA numbers are from the List of Lights - Estonia published by VTA. Admiralty numbers are from volume C of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 116.
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Pärnu County Lighthouses
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Saare County Lighthouses
The large island of Saaremaa lies off the southwestern coast of mainland Estonia and borders the northwest side of the Gulf of Riga, separated from the mainland of Estonia by the Suur Strait and from the Courland peninsula of Latvia by the Irbe Strait. The island is readily accessible via ferry from Virtsu on the mainland to Kuivastu on Muhu Island and a bridge from Muhu to Saaremaa. Saaremaa was known historically as Osel in English and as Ösel in both German and Swedish. The permanent population of the island is about 30,000. In 2017 the 12 former parishes of Saaremaa were merged into a single Saaremaa Parish; Ruhnu and Muhu Parishes were not changed.
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![]() Kübassaare Light, Pöide, October 2023 Instagram photo by Nature of Estonia |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Northwestern Estonia | Southeast: Eastern Latvia | Southwest: Western Latvia
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted May 1, 2005. Checked and revised August 7, 2024. Lighthouses: 48. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.