__NOTOC__ Paluküla Church is in

Hiiumaa Parish Hiiumaa Parish ( Estonian: ''Hiiumaa vald'') is a rural municipality of Estonia on the island of Hiiumaa. Hiiumaa Parish was established by merging Emmaste Parish, Hiiu Parish, Käina Parish and Pühalepa Parish after the municipal elections h ...

Hiiu County Hiiu County ( or ''Hiiumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia, being the smallest county both in terms of area and population. It consists of Hiiumaa (German language, German and ), the second largest island of Estonia, and several smaller isl ...

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 ...

in a woodland close to the road. The church was founded by the baronial family of

Ungern-Sternberg The Ungern-Sternberg family or von Ungern-Sternberg is an old and influential Baltic-German nobility, with branches belonging to the German, Finnish, Swedish and Russian nobility. Notable members * Mattias Alexander von Ungern-Sternberg (16 ...

in 1820. Until 1939, it was as branch church of the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Kärdla Kärdla (; ; ) is the only town on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia. It is the capital of Hiiu County and the administrative center of Hiiumaa Parish. The Chairman of the District Council of Kärdla is Tõnis Paljasma. Geography Kärdla is located ...

. Paluküla church has been registered in the list of cultural monuments of Estonia since 1999 under number 23605.

History

There was no

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

at Paluküla Church, it had 100 seats. The church was built in 1820 for the family of Baron

as a cemetery church, however, due to the high

groundwater level The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

, it was not possible to build a burial

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

s below ground level, so there is no

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

near the church. In 1939, after the annexation of

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa ( , ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

island by the

Soviet Union 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 ...

and its transformation into a

military zone A military exclusion zone (MEZ) is an area in the immediate vicinity of a military action established by a country to prevent the unauthorized entry of civilian personnel/equipment for their own safety or to protect natural assets already in place ...

, the church was used as a warehouse for military equipment. The church tower was used as a lookout position. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the building again served as a warehouse and the tower as an observation post. Over time it was gradually abandoned until, in 1989, the tower was ruined by a fire.Paluküla church
''hiiumaa.ee''

''7is7.com'' The tower was repaired in 1994 and a roof was built in 1996.

Nautical navigation point

The church tower served as a daily nautical navigation point. It was a rear

sea mark A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage that identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard, or administrative area to allow boats, ships, and seaplanes to navigate safely. ...

in range with . The distance between these points is 2580 meters with a target azimuth of 229.6°. It is listed under the number 626 in the Estonian lighthouse number list.

References

Former churches in Estonia Cultural heritage of Estonia Hiiumaa Parish Lighthouses in Estonia Buildings and structures in Hiiu County Tourist attractions in Hiiu County {{Estonia-struct-stub