Aksi (also known as Väike-Prangli (Little Prangli) or Äksi) () 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

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

with an area of 59 hectares. Coordinates are It forms an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

with nearby islands of

Prangli Prangli () is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Finland. The earliest known written records of Prangli date from 1387, the island was then called Rango, and it had been settled by Swedes. The first Estonian-speaking inhabitants are known to hav ...

and Keri. Aksi belongs to

Idaotsa Idaotsa is a village in Viimsi Parish, Harju County in northern 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 B ...

village in

Viimsi Parish Viimsi Parish () is a rural municipality in Northern Estonia, located North-East and neighbouring the capital Tallinn. It occupies an area of with a population of 20 580 (). The municipality contains the Viimsi Peninsula and several islands, in ...

Harju County Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...

. Aksi is a part of the

Prangli Landscape Conservation Area Prangli Landscape Conservation Area () is a nature park which is located in Harju County, Estonia. The area of the nature park is 135 ha. The protected area was founded in 1981 to protect forest on Prangli island () and smaller nearby is ...

. The island's northern end is stony, its southern end is sandy and covered with

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

s and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

es. Aksi was inhabited from 1790 to 1953, when the last inhabitants were forced to leave by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

border guard. Many had fled already in 1944, mainly to Sweden. The family that lived there was Aksberg. There is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

which was built in 1986.

External links

Aksi lighthouse - official statistics and info from Estonian Maritime Administration
Islands of Estonia Viimsi Parish {{Harju-geo-stub

See also

External links