Osmussaar
Limestone cliff on the east coast of Osmussaar
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Baltic Sea |
| Coordinates | 59°17′30″N 23°23′30″E / 59.29167°N 23.39167°ECoordinates: 59°17′30″N 23°23′30″E / 59.29167°N 23.39167°E |
| Area | 4.8 km2 (1.9 sq mi) |
| Length | 4.6 km (2.86 mi) |
| Width | 1.3 km (0.81 mi) |
| Coastline | 14 km (8.7 mi) |
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Estonia
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| County | Lääne County |
| Municipality | Noarootsi Parish |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 4 (2013) |
Osmussaar (Swedish: Odensholm) is an Estonian island situated in the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, 7.5 km off the Estonian mainland. Administratively the island is part of Noarootsi Parish in Lääne County. Its area is 4.8 km2 (1,200 acres).
Before the Soviet Union occupied Estonia during World War II, around 130 people, mainly Estonian Swedes, lived on the island. The continuous settlement of Swedes on Osmussaar had dated back for centuries. Currently Osmussaar has only two permanent inhabitants and the island is a nature reserve.
The island's Swedish name Odensholm (or Odinsholm) derives from the Vikings' chief god, Odin, who, according to a legend, is buried on the island. The origin of the Estonian name Osmussaar is not clear.
The continuous settlement of Estonian Swedes on Osmussaar, which lasted until World War II, goes back at least to the 14th century, though little is known of the island's history before the 18th century. The exact time of colonisation is also unknown and the island was possibly inhabited already in the Viking age. The island's population varied considerably with time, for example the plague epidemic of 1710 left according to popular stories only a few people alive. In the 20th century the island's population continued to rise and was the highest at the beginning of the 1930s. During the Estonian census of 1934 131 people lived on Osmussaar, all of them Swedes except for the lighthouse keeper and his family.
In 1765 the first lighthouse was built on the northern coast of Osmussaar. In 1850 it was replaced with a new one, which was demolished in 1941 by the retreating Soviet garrison. The current lighthouse was completed in 1954.
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Wikipedia