Top Historic Sights in Kihnu, Estonia
Explore the historic highlights of Kihnu
Kihnu Lighthouse
The lighthouse was transported in parts from England and put together on the island in 1864. The height of the lighthouse from sea level and from ground is respectively 31 and 29 m.Kihnu Museum
The museum of Kihnu was established in 1974 into the old schoolhouse. Expositions are divided between four rooms. Two of them are dedicated to the everyday life of the island through centuries: tools, clothes, handicrafts, furniture. The other two are dedicated to the local representatives of naïve art and to other famous men from Kihnu: Theodor Saar, a researcher in the studies of local lore; Enn Uuetoa, a captain a ...St. Nicholas Church
Kihnu Church, built in 1784, is one of the few orthodox churches converted from a Lutheran sacral building. Almost all Kihnu people converted to orthodoxy from 1846 to 1847, the Lutheran church was given to the orthodox congregation by order of Tsar Nicholas I and an onion dome was built on the bell tower. Inside the church, you can admire a simple but beautiful iconostasis that covers almost the entire width of the room. ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Externsteine Stones
The Externsteine (Extern stones) is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. Archaeological excavations have yielded some Upper Paleolithic stone tools dating to about 10,700 BC from 9,600 BC.
In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul (sacral pillar-like object in German paganism) idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there is however no archaeological evidence that would confirm the site's use during the relevant period.
The stones were used as the site of a hermitage in the Middle Ages, and by at least the high medieval period were the site of a Christian chapel. The Externsteine relief is a medieval depiction of the Descent from the Cross. It remains controversial whether the site was already used for Christian worship in the 8th to early 10th centuries.
The Externsteine gained prominence when Völkisch and nationalistic scholars took an interest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This interest peaked under the Nazi regime, when the Externsteine became a focus of nazi propaganda. Today, they remain a popular tourist destination and also continue to attract Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis.