Vormsi Parish - panoramio.jpg

Vormsi, also Ormsö ( sv, Ormsö, german: Worms) is the fourth-largest island of Estonia. It is located between Hiiumaa and the mainland and has a total area of . It is part of Vormsi Parish, a rural municipality.

Etymology

Ormsö in Swedish means "Orm's Island", and can be translated also as "Snake Island". The island's Estonian name Vormsi is derived from its German name Worms or its Swedish name Ormsö.

History

Vormsi's history dates back as far as the 13th century. During most of this time, the island was inhabited by Estonian Swedes ("rannarootslased" in Estonian or "coastal Swedes" in English), whose population reached 3,000 before World War II. During the war, nearly all of Vormsi's population, along with other Swedes living in Estonia, forming the larger region of Aiboland, were evacuated, or fled, to Sweden. The island's current registered population is about 400.

Villages

The villages on the island include: Hullo (the administrative center), Sviby (the main port), Söderby, Norrby, Diby, Rälby, Förby, Borrby, Kärrslätt, Saxby, Suuremõisa (Magnushof, formerly Busby), Rumpo (the main beach area) and Hosby.

Economy

Vormsi is the per capita wealthiest island and region in Estonia outside of the Tallinn metro area, with incomes on the same level as inner Tallinn. This is attributed to the fact that many comparatively wealthy people own summer homes on the island and are registered as residents, so their yearly income tax is forwarded to the island's budget.

Vormsi has no industrial activity. The island earns the majority of its revenues from the taxation of the mainland and overseas income of residents.

Residents

The island of Vormsi has homeowners from several countries and regions: Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Ã…land.

Literature

* Kanarbik, Madis, ''Ormsö. De estlandssvenska böndernas kamp mot godsägarna under 1700- och 1800-talet'' ordistica Tartuensia; 9(Tartu, 2003)

Beyer, Jürgen, 'Whom should one thank for a narrow escape? Lessons drawn from a perilous journey from Vormsi and Noarootsi to Finland in 1796', ''Pro Ethnologia'' 17 (2004), 175-95

Gallery

File:Vormsi sadam 2015.jpg, Vormsi harbor
File:Vormsi tuletorn 29-03-2013.jpg, Saxby lighthouse
File:Lehmihaka.jpg, Paddock, Rälby
File:Vormsi-tuulimylly.jpg, Old windmill, Rälby
File:Metsänvartijanmökki1.jpg, Woodsman's cottage, Hullo
File:Vormsi-Ormso-Rumpo-muul.jpg, Beach area in Rumpo
File:Vormsi-Rumpo.jpg, Viewing platform in Rumpo peninsula, looking towards Sviby harbor
File:Rookatusega maja Vormsil.jpg, Thatched roof house
File:Vormsi kalmistu 02.jpg, Vormsi cemetery
File:Huitbergi_korallriff.jpg, The Huitberg Coral Reef
File:Suvine_loojang_Saxbys.jpg, Sunset in Saxby
File:Aurora Borealis in Vormsi, Estonia.jpg, Aurora Borealis in Saxby
File:Vormsi_Hullo_tuulikud.jpg, Windmills in Hullo, 1930s
File:Toomas_Hendrik_Ilves_at_Ormsö.JPG, The President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves in Vormsi in 2010
File:Klagomännen_från_Ormsö_1861.jpg, Estonian Swedes in the 19th century
File:Estlandssvenska flyktingar.jpg, Fleeing the Soviet occupation to Sweden, 1944
File:Vormsi_Parish_-_panoramio.jpg, Road signs in Hullo
File:Vormsi_kirik_2011.jpg, The Swedish Lutheran Church on the island
File:Vormsi-cottage.JPG, Traditional island architecture
File:Vormsi_-_panoramio_(1).jpg, Round crosses in the cemetery are unique to Vormsi and Gotland
File:Highland Cattle on Ormsö.jpg, Scottish Highland Cattle on the island in Rumpo

References

External links

Vormsi vald
(Vormsi municipality)

{{Authority control

Estonian islands in the Baltic
Landforms of Lääne County
Vormsi