On the night of 8 October 1944 a gruesome battle took place in the coastal village of Tehumardi between retreating German troops and a Soviet Estonian Rifle Division. The horror defies belief: both armies fought blindly, firing on intuition or finding the enemy by touch. This large Soviet-era monument takes the form of a sword with the stylised reliefs of faces set into it. The Estonian dead lie buried in double graves nearby.
Tehumardi Night Battle Monument
Western Estonia & the Islands
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
9.54 MILES
Majestic Kuressaare Castle stands facing the sea at the southern end of the town, on an artificial island defended by stone-faced earth bastions and…
-
25.62 MILES
Much of the beautiful and rarely visited western coast of the Tagamõisa Peninsula is protected as part of Vilsandi National Park, including the Harilaid…
-
13.54 MILES
In a pretty setting southeast of Kihelkonna, this early-18th-century farm has been preserved in its entirety, complete with thatched-roof wooden…
-
9.33 MILES
Kuressaare's jauntiest statue, created in 2002, features Saaremaa's legendary gigantic hero, Suur (meaning 'the great') Töll and his wife, Piret, carrying…
-
9.52 MILES
Occupying the keep of Kuressaare Castle since the late 19th century, this museum is devoted to Saaremaa’s nature and history. A large part of the fun is…
-
10.08 MILES
Founded in 1957, this reserve covers an area of 26 sq km, with a 26m observation tower at Saaremaa’s highest point, Raunamägi (a vertigo-inducing 54m)…
-
29.05 MILES
Charge up those camera batteries: this is the site of the largest and most photogenic grouping of wooden windmills on the islands. By the early 16th…
-
St Catherine's Lutheran Church, Karja
29.6 MILES
The pagan and Christian meet in this fortress-like 14th-century church. Outside there’s an interesting panel about pre-Christian symbols with particular…
Nearby Western Estonia & the Islands attractions
9.33 MILES
Kuressaare's jauntiest statue, created in 2002, features Saaremaa's legendary gigantic hero, Suur (meaning 'the great') Töll and his wife, Piret, carrying…
9.38 MILES
Although the best beaches are out of town, this small sandy bay behind Kuressaare Castle fills up with sunbathers, paddlers and volleyball players during…
9.52 MILES
Occupying the keep of Kuressaare Castle since the late 19th century, this museum is devoted to Saaremaa’s nature and history. A large part of the fun is…
4. Memorial to Victims of the Red Army
9.53 MILES
On the eastern wall of Kuressaare Castle there's a memorial to 90 people killed within the castle grounds by the Red Army in 1941.
5. Kuressaare Episcopal Castle
9.54 MILES
Majestic Kuressaare Castle stands facing the sea at the southern end of the town, on an artificial island defended by stone-faced earth bastions and…
6. Memorial to Victims of the Nazis
9.57 MILES
This touching memorial is inscribed with the names of around 300 local people killed during the German occupation.
7. St Nicholas' Orthodox Church
9.79 MILES
Built by Catherine the Great in 1790, Saaremaa's oldest Orthodox church has twin steeples and an impressive dolomite and wrought-iron gate. A faint image…
8. St Lawrence's Lutheran Church
10 MILES
Although this large, single-naved, dolomite church was rebuilt in its present form in 1836, its prized feature is considerably older: a medieval stone…