Raasiku () is a borough () in Raasiku Parish,

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 ...

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 ...

, with a population of 1,372 (2020). Although situated in a parish with the same name, Raasiku is not the official administrative centre of the municipality (which is Aruküla, located some kilometres or one railway station closer to

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 settlement started to grow in the 19th century around the railway station. The Raasiku manor (first mentioned in 1497) was established on the grounds of the earlier Kaemla (Keamol) village and in the

middle age Middle age (or middle adulthood) is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to public debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from 45 to 65 years. Overall This time span ...

s it belonged to

Padise Abbey Padise Abbey () was a former Cistercian monastery in Padise Parish, Padise in Harju County, Estonia, settled in 1310 by the dispossessed monks of Dünamünde Abbey in Latvia. It was converted into a fortress after its dissolution in 1559 and la ...

. There is a primary school (since 1717), community centre, library, health care centre, pharmacy, kindergarten and two grocery stores in Raasiku. Also, some industrial manufacturers operate there: ''AS Mistra-Autex'' produces car carpets and wall finishing materials; ''AS Raasiku Elekter'' makes electrical equipment and metal products. Harju-Jaani John the Baptist Lutheran Church is in Raasiku. The current church building was built in 1863, but there are preserved foundations of the old chapel. There is the churchyard, the old and the new cemetery and a manor park.

History

World War II 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 ...

, Raasiku was one of the destinations to which German Jews were transported for extermination from Moabitenstrasse station. In 1942, during the German occupation, around 1,200 people from Frankfurt am Main and the Theresienstadt concentration camp were transported to Raasiku station and murdered in nearby dunes.

Transport

Raasiku is split by the Tallinn-

Tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

railway. The railway station was opened in 1870. In Soviet times a building for the

goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

and

signalling control On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timeta ...

was built. The old wooden passenger station was demolished in 2000, but the ancillary buildings and water tower have been preserved. All suburban trains stop there and also trains heading in the direction of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

(except for express trains). A ride to Tallinn takes about 35 minutes (30 minutes with the express suburban train). Raasiku also has a bus connection to Tallinn (generally much slower than the train due to the length of the lines and a large number of stops). There are four bus stops in Raasiku. The Jägala– Aruvalla road passes through Raasiku and local roads to Kostivere,

Kehra Kehra is a town in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia, best known for its Kehra pulp and paper mill, pulp and paper mill. The town stands on the banks of the Jägala (river), Jägala River, and it has a station on the Tallinn–Narva railway. A ...

Anija Anija () is a village in Anija 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 ...

and Aruaru emerge from it.

Sports

There's a football club Raasiku FC Joker based in Raasiku, currently playing in the Estonian fourth division II liiga. 2018 opened Raasiku Sports Centre, located Kooli 1

Notable people

* Tõnu Õim (born 1941), the double world champion of correspondence chess, was born in Raasiku. * Bomb man of Pae street Lived in Raasiku

References

{{Authority control Boroughs and small boroughs in Estonia Kreis Harrien Holocaust locations in Estonia de:Raasiku