Kärdla (; ; ) is the only town on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia. It is the capital of Hiiu County and the administrative center of Hiiumaa Parish. The Chairman of the District Council of Kärdla is Tõnis Paljasma.
Geography Kärdla is located on the northeastern coast of Hiiumaa, by the Tareste Bay; to the southeast of the town lies the 455 million year old Kärdla meteorite crater. Several small rivers flow through the town. There are also artesian wells in Kärdla. The Swedish name Kärrdal means "marsh valley"; the town is located in a lowlands valley.
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 Hiiumaa Parish, therefore Kärdla lost its municipality status.
Demographics +Ethnic composition 1922-2021Ethnicity1922193419411959197019791989200020112021amount%amount%amount%amount%amount%amount%amount%amount%amount%amount%Estonians150395.1139095.6117298.5215680.2676696.7316792.4386693.4368497.6299498.2298898.1Russians100.63271.86131.09 - -1722.461875.461844.45531.40270.89240.79Ukrainians - -10.07 - - - -250.36270.79300.7270.1960.2060.20Belarusians - - - - - - - -110.16140.41160.3950.1360.2030.10Finns - -00.0010.08 - -60.0920.0630.0740.1140.1370.23Jews00.0000.0000.00 - -00.0000.0000.0000.0000.0000.00Latvians - -10.0710.08 - -30.04110.3250.1250.1350.1640.13Germans291.84241.65 - - - - - -10.0340.1020.0520.0700.00Tatars - -00.00 - - - - - -50.1550.1200.0000.0000.00Poles - -10.0700.00 - - - -20.0630.0720.0510.0300.00Lithuanians - -00.0000.00 - -20.0300.0020.0500.0000.0000.00unknown10.0610.0710.0800.0000.0000.0000.0070.1910.0360.20other372.3490.6220.1753219.8130.19100.29210.5140.1140.1380.26Total1580100145410011901002688100699810034261004139100377310030501003046100
Transport Road transport from Estonian mainland to Hiiumaa involves a 90-minute () ferry crossing from Rohuküla to Heltermaa, which is by road from Kärdla. There are up to 10 ferry departures a day operated by TS Laevad.Praamid.ee. Ferry schedules and booking. 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.
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 the first week of August, the 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.Hiiumaa kohvikutepäevad
Notable people Benno Richard Ottow (1884–1975), a Baltic German surgeon, gynecologist and naturalist. Elmar Tampõld (1920–2013), Estonian-Canadian architect Theodor Kolobow (1931-2018), an American physician, scientist, physiologist and inventor of medical devices Hillar Eller (1939–2010), politician and long distance runner Erkki-Sven Tüür (born 1959), composer Ene Kaups (born 1963), politician, Mayor of Kärdla, 2005-2007 Eveli Saue (born 1984), biathlete and orienteer Marianna Liik (born 1992), composer
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities The former municipality of Kärdla (until 2013) was twinned with: - Georgioupoli, Greece
Gallery
References
External links