Noarootsi Church in late-Gothic style was built around 1500. You will first notice the Falu red plank roof – the church is one of the three plank-roof churches in Estonia. In the medieval times the lime and rubble stone building also had the function of being a fortified church. Inside the church one should pay attention to the baptising stone, baroque pulpit, limestone baroque epitaph to Minister Martin Winter. Interesting facts: By the entrance there is a stone slab with royal autographs from the present King of Sweden – Carl XVI Gustav who visited Noarootsi in 1992. Across the road from the church you will see the oldest wooden building in Läänemaa – the parsonage originating from the 17th century.

The church erected in 1896–1897 on the site of the old graveyard in Haapsalu was dedicated to Alexander Nevsky. A Moscow style tent roof crowned with a small onion dome and a vestibule with a belfry were added according to the project by architect A. F. Krassovsky from St. Petersburg. The original iconostasis based on the drawings by academician Šaub is now at the orthodox church in Kiviõli, where it was transferred in 1962 after the church was closed. The church was used as a venue for funerals all year round. A stove was built in the church in the middle of the 20th century and then it was used as the winter church. At the moment the Haapsalu Mary Magdalene (Alexander Nevsky) parish of the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate uses the church.

This congregation is one of the fountains of awakening in Lääne County. The book “Ridala ärkamise ajalugu” (“History of the awakening of Ridala”) by M. Busch dates the breaking of bread in the midst of nature on 13 September 1882 as the first event of the congregation. P. Püssim is the architect of the new chapel, which was finished in 1988. The building follows the historical architecture of churches. The three south-north bound gable roofed sections of the building that rise and expand step by step make the building unique. Traditional ornamental church art and stained glass is used in the interior design. 

This resort town was a favourite summer spot of the Russian tsars. The railway station was built according to the original designs with the complex consisting of four parts –  the passenger terminal, imperial pavilion, a sheltered passage linking those, and a unique covered platform extending 216 m long. Good to know: the Russian Tsar himself was in favour of the idea of building the station and supported its construction. The first passenger train arrived in Haapsalu in 1904 and the last one left in 1995. Take advantage of a unique opportunity to travel from Haapsalu to Riisipere (50 km) by bike as the old railway bed has been turned into Lääne County health trail. Today, there is a bus stop in front of the railway station. The station belongs in the National Register of Cultural Monuments.  

The world-famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky stayed in Haapsalu in 1867. To commemorate him, a memorial bench was erected on the Šokolaadi Promenaad (Chocolate Promenade), where the maestro loved to watch the sunrise from the shore and marvel at the swans. Interesting to know: in Haapsalu, Tchaikovsky continued to work on his opera ‘Voyevoda’ and composed the cycle of piano pieces ‘Souvenir de Hapsal.’ After having heard the Estonian folk song “Dear Mary”, he later used the melody in his famous VI Symphony, the first notes of the tune were also carved into the dolomite memorial bench. Today, the bench is equipped with a technical solution with the aid of which you can listen to the composer’s music and information related to him.

The former terminal station of the railway was constructed between 1903 and 1905 to serve the resort town of Haapsalu. With its mysterious and grandiose station building, it invites you to discover the nearly century and a half of Estonian railways and out-of-commission trains. While travelling through time in the old station with an unusually long roofed platform and a royal pavilion, you can hear the sound of a locomotive and meet the courteous station master from the 1930s. In addition, we welcome you on a trip through the fascinating world of telecommunications and to explore the development and history of communication devices from telegraphy and crank telephone to mobile phones and computers.