The Republic of Estonia (Eesti in Estonian) is a small country with a surprisingly long coastline. Surrounded on 2-1/2 sides by water, it faces the Gulf of Riga (Liivi Laht) on the southwest, the Baltic Sea (Läänemere) on the west, and the Gulf of Finland (Soome Lahe) on the north. The country includes two large islands in the Baltic, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and countless small islands. To guard these coasts, Estonia has more than 100 lighthouses and a well-developed lighthouse administration. Estonia's independence is recent. The country was part of the Swedish Empire from 1625 to 1710 and then part of the Russian Empire from 1710 until the end of World War I in 1918. After two decades of independence it was incorporated into the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1990. Thus the older lighthouses are from the Russian Imperial period and some of the newer ones are of Soviet construction. Estonia is divided into 15 counties (maakonnad) and the counties are subdivided into towns (linnad) and rural parishes (vallad). This page includes the lighthouses of eastern Estonia, including the counties of West and East Viru and the shores of Lake Peipsi. Known as Viru or Virumaa this is the region known historically as Vironia. In Estonian a lighthouse is a tuletorn (fire tower), a tulepaak (fire beacon), or a majakas (borrowed from the Finnish word majaka for a lighthouse). A daybeacon is called a päevamärk, saar is an island, poolsaar is a peninsula, madal or parv is shoal, kari is a reef, neem is a cape or headland, väin is a strait, jõgi is a river, and sadam is a port or harbor. Names in curly brackets {} are non-Estonian former names (Swedish or German). Lighthouses in Estonia were operated previously by the Estonian Maritime Administration (Veeteede Amet, or VTA). In 2021 the functions of VTA were folded into the Estonian Transport Administration (Transpordiamet). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. VTA numbers are from the web site of the Estonian Maritime Administration. Admiralty numbers are from volume C of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 116.
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Lääne-Viru (West Viru) County Lighthouses
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![]() Letipea Light, Kunda, May 2021 Instagram photo by 0010.1100 |
Ida-Viru (East Viru) County Lighthouses
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Lake Peipsi (Peipus) Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North and East: Ingria | West: Northern Estonia
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted May 1, 2005. Checked and revised August 31, 2024. Lighthouses: 17. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.