Aegna is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the Bay of Tallinn in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Administratively it is part of the city of

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, the capital of

and is a sub district of the Kesklinn (City center) district.

Geography

Aegna island has an area of 3 km², and can be found off the Viimsi peninsula, around 1.5 km NW of Rohuneeme and 14 km north of

. It has a 10 km coastline which includes two sandy beaches. The island's highest point is about 13 m above sea level. , Aegna had 16 permanent residents.

Attractions

Aegna is a popular destination for day and camping trips, and has around 15 km of walking routes. There is also a WDS Aegna Meditation and Development Centre, opened in the summer time. On the island stands the Eerikukivi, a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

declared '' Protected Natural Monument''.

History

Aegna's history dates back thousands of years, but the first written accounts of the island go back to 1297, when Danish king Erik Menved prohibited forestry on the islands of Naissaar and Aegna. Northern Estonia or Estland was also part of Denmark over a century, including Aegna. Historically, the population of Aegna has been mixed with predominantly Estonian and Swedish inhabitants. Inhabitants of the island were mostly fishermen. Aegna has been used for military purposes during the Imperial Russia, Republic of Estonia and Soviet occupation time of Estonia. Military remains that can still be seen include those of a military watchtower, a large gun battery with tunnels, and the light railway used in its construction. On 10 August 2005 a Copterline helicopter on

–

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

route crashed 3 km south of the island. All 14 people on the helicopter died.

Transport

The small ferry Juku operates to and from the island during the summer months, with support from the city of Tallinn. In the summer of 2010 the Juku was operated by

Kihnu Veeteed Kihnu Veeteed ("Kihnu Waterways") is a ferry company which operates six scheduled routes in Estonia. It is registered on the island of Kihnu in the Gulf of Riga, and runs a fleet of seven passenger ferries.Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively large area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relatively small. ...

Harbour In 2022 a new ferry was introduced, reducing the journey time to Aegna to 30 minutes. The ''Vegtind'' can accommodate 100 passengers and 20 bicycles, and is operated by the company Spinnaker.

Port

The Port of Aegna (port code EE AEN,Aegna Sadam
/ref> ) is a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

situated on the southern coast of Aegna.

References

External links

Island information
{{Authority control Islands of Estonia Subdistricts of Tallinn Landforms of Tallinn Kesklinn, Tallinn Tourist attractions in Tallinn