Kihnu Museum

Western Estonia & the Islands


You can learn more about Kihnu Jõnn (the locally famous skipper who sailed all the world's oceans) and the island's unique history and culture at this vividly decorated museum in a former schoolhouse in the western village of Linaküla. Workshops such as net-making and doll-making can be prearranged (€25 per person per hour).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Western Estonia & the Islands attractions

1. St Nicholas' Orthodox Church

0.02 MILES

The islanders are among the minority of ethnic Estonians who adhere to the Russian Orthodox religion. This pretty little church at the centre of the…

2. Kihnu Tuletorn

2.53 MILES

Constructed in parts shipped from England in 1864, this 29m-high lighthouse flashes at passing ships from the southern extremity of Pitkänä peninsula. In…

3. Pärnu Beach

25.11 MILES

Pärnu’s long, broad, sandy beach – sprinkled with volleyball courts, pop-up bars, cafes and changing cubicles – is the city’s main draw in summer. A…

4. Museum of New Art

25.49 MILES

Pärnu's former Communist Party headquarters now houses one of Estonia's edgiest cultural spaces, established in 1992 as the country's first museum of…

5. Tallinn Gate

25.49 MILES

The outline of the 17th-century, star-shaped Swedish ramparts that once surrounded old Pärnu can still be discerned on maps. The one remaining section and…

6. St Elizabeth’s Lutheran Church

25.63 MILES

Consecrated in 1750, this dignified, rust-coloured Lutheran church was named for Russian Empress Yelizaveta Petrovna, who gifted Pärnu's Lutherans 8000…

7. St Catherine’s Orthodox Church

25.64 MILES

Built in 1768, this superb baroque church is named after Russian empress Catherine the Great, while also name-checking the early Christian martyr. If it's…

8. Town Hall

25.68 MILES

This 1797 neoclassical building now houses the tourist office and a small gallery space. Also note the half-timbered 'Citizen's Residence', dating from…