Dating from 1874, this 43m lighthouse watches over Tahkuna Peninsula’s northwest tip. Beyond the lighthouse stands an eerie memorial to the victims of the Estonia ferry disaster. Facing out to sea, the 12m-tall metal frame encases a cross from the bottom of which a bell with sculpted children’s faces is suspended; it only rings when the wind blows with the same force and in the same direction as that fatal night in September 1994, when the Estonia went down.
Between the memorial and the lighthouse is a curious low stone labyrinth , a replica of an ancient one found on the island. The idea is that you follow the path between the stones as a form of meditation.
According to Soviet military lore concerning the battle that raged in this vicinity during the Nazi invasion of 1941, the Red Army fought to the bitter end, their last man climbing to the top of the lighthouse and flinging himself off while still firing at the Germans.
