Kärdla

Kärdla
Town

The town square of Kärdla.

Flag

Coat of arms
Kärdla

Location in Estonia

Coordinates: 58°59′53″N 22°44′48″E / 58.99806°N 22.74667°E / 58.99806; 22.74667Coordinates: 58°59′53″N 22°44′48″E / 58.99806°N 22.74667°E / 58.99806; 22.74667
Country Estonia
County Hiiu County
Municipality Hiiu Parish
Established 1938
Government
  Mayor Georg Linkov
Area
  Total 4.5 km2 (1.7 sq mi)
Population (2014)
  Total 3,017
  Density 670/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Ethnicity
  Estonians 98.2%
  others 1.8%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 92401 to 92420
Area code(s) (+372) 46
Vehicle registration H
Website www.kardla.ee

Kärdla (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈkærˑ'dlɑ]) (Swedish: Kärrdal, German: Kertel) is the only town on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia. It is the capital of Hiiu County and the centre of Hiiu Parish.

Geography

Kärdla is located on the north-eastern coast of Hiiumaa, by the Tareste Bay. Southeast of the town is the Kärdla meteorite crater, which is 455 million years old. Several small rivers flow through the town. There are also artesian wells in Kärdla.

History

Kärdla was first mentioned in 1564 as a village inhabited by Swedes. Its growth was greatly influenced by the cloth factory founded in 1830. A port was built in 1849. Both the port and the factory were destroyed in World War II.

Kärdla officially became a borough in 1920 and a town in 1938. In 2013 the town was merged with Kõrgessaare Parish to establish Hiiu Parish, therefore Kärdla lost its municipality status.

Population

1897 1922 1934 1939 1959 1970 1979 1989 2000 2010
1718 1580 1454 1524 2688 2969 3426 4126 3672 3634

Transport

Road transport from Estonian mainland to Hiiumaa involves a 90-minute (28 km (17 mi)) ferry crossing from Rohuküla to Heltermaa, which is 25 kilometres (16 miles) by road from Kärdla. There are about 10 ferry departures a day.[1] In the summer weekends, getting car space on the ferry usually requires advance booking. There are about 2 scheduled buses a day between Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) and Kärdla.[2]

There are no scheduled passenger boats directly to Kärdla.

Kärdla is served by Kärdla Airport, with regular flights to Tallinn.

Kärdla town itself is small enough to get around on foot. Bicycle rental is available and there is a good bicycle path built from Kärdla towards Kõrgessaare.

Events

June's first weekend annual Hiiumaa Children's festival takes place.

In first week of August coffee-loving people of Kärdla expect visitors to Kärdla Cafés' Day celebrated just for one day in their own gardens, serving coffee and home-made pastry.

Famous people

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kärdla is twinned with:

References

  1. "Ferry schedules and booking". Tuulelaevad.
  2. "Bus schedules and booking". T pilet.
  3. "Twinnings" (PDF). Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
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