Known as the Captains’ Village, from 1884 to 1931 tiny Käsmu was home to a marine school that churned out ship captains. At one stage it was said that every Käsmu family had at least one captain in their midst. In the 1920s a third of all boats in Estonia were registered to this village.
Käsmu lies in a stone field which boasts the largest number of erratic boulders in Estonia. They can be viewed on the walking trails that start at the very end of the road. The Käsmu Nature & Culture Trail is a 4.2km, 90-minute circuit, taking in the coast and pine forest. A longer trail starts by the chapel and stretches 15km to Lake Käsmu (Käsmu järv).
