Estonian Destinations: Haapsalu Railway Station

VINCENT TEETSOV

It’s a pastime where having a good time supersedes formality or a sense of elegance. Put some flip flops, a swimsuit, sun screen, and snacks in a bag. Throw a towel over your shoulder. Provided the weather is suitable, it doesn’t take much planning. Hop on a bus or in your car and walk until you find a suitable place to set up on the sand and that’s it.

In the early 1900s, though, a trip to the seaside was brimming with grandeur. Especially if you were a Russian Tsar, sojourning in Haapsalu on Estonia’s west coast. Here, evidence of this grandeur is even built into the place where visitors arrived by train – Haapsalu raudteejaam.

Russian aristocrats had visited Haapsalu since the time of Peter I, seeking the healing properties of local mud treatments. Even beyond the aristocracy, Haapsalu became popular for its offerings of tranquility and rejuvenation. In 1867, Tchaikovsky spent his summer in Haapsalu. It’s a destination where visitors can sail around small islands, relax at spas, swim, and stroll around the Väike viik (a peculiar lake that stretches out into the sea). One can adopt a slower pace of life here.

In 1903, after nearly 200 years of Tsars vacationing in Haapsalu, construction began on the railway station that would become the face of this resort town. Tsar Nicholas II was in favour of the train station being constructed, and this explains the details put into the station. For instance, architect Karl Werheim designed a dedicated Imperial Pavilion as part of the complex.

Pulling into the station, the building curtsies to arriving trains with a 216 metre long row of columns. This colonnade supports the covered platform, which in turn protects arriving passengers from the sun or rain as they head to the passenger building.

The waiting room (ootetuba, as a wall sign once indicated) has ornamental stucco ceilings, crown moulding, and dark wooden side panelling. Look up as you enter this room and you will see a few scenic paintings; vignettes of the idyllic town you are about to set foot in.

Look beyond the structures and into the collection of the Raudtee ja Sidemuuseum (Railway and Communications Museum) and you’ll witness the progression of rail transit going back 150 years. In Estonia, it all started in 1870, with the first route going from Paldiski, through Tallinn and Narva, and finally ending in Gatchina, Russia. The museum writes, “By 1904, 650 km of widegauge and 373 km of narrow ­ gauge railways had been built in Estonia…”

The railway museum itself opened in 1970, and contains memorabilia from the station’s golden years: uniforms, a ticket machine, telegraphs and telephones, and signage. Mannequins are clothed in vintage uniforms. Photo panels and furniture create an image of what it would have been like to lounge there, newspaper and drink in hand, as you waited for your train. The museum has described how, in the 20s and 30s specifically, you would have heard “ärasõit!” yelled out on the platform as trains departed.

Outside are historic passenger and freight cars of different styles, Krauss-Maffei steam engines, and a Soviet-era diesel locomotive. Time and the weather has taken its toll on some of these vehicles. However, if you are a train buff, it’s an intriguing place for you to peruse.

Travelling exhibitions come through the museum, too. One recent exhibition was of illustrations inspired by the stories of Polish science fiction writer Stanisław Lem. Another exhibition has marked 150 years of railways in Estonia.

For families with young children, a road train called Peetrike takes passengers at regular intervals on a 40 minute guided tour, showing you points of interest around Haapsalu.

The museum is open on weekends; and throughout the summer months it’s open from Wednesday to Sunday, between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM. A standard ticket costs four euros.

Currently, you can’t travel to Haapsalu by train. It was 1995 when the last passenger train arrived at this station. Furthermore, in 2004, Haapsalu Raudtee OÜ started to remove rails from the Riisipere-Haapsalu railway. There is a bike trail at the station, where the rails once were.

However, in September 2020, ERR interviewed Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure, Taavi Aas, and reported that a railway that goes all the way from Tallinn to Rohuküla in Lääne County could be completed by 2026. Meanwhile, the Haapsalu and Lääne County Museums Foundation has plans to expand this particular museum’s facilities.

Should this old train station play a part in transportation developments, Estonians will be able to reach this famous beach town faster, and with more style, than ever.