Risti, Hiiu County

59.01055622.645833Koordinaten: 59 ° 1 ' N, 22 ° 39' O

Risti is a village (Estonian küla ) in the rural community Kõrgessaare ( Kõrgessaare vald ). It is the second largest Estonian island of Hiiumaa ( German Dagö ).

Description and History

Risti today 6 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2011). It is located six kilometers from the village Kõrgessaare.

Ristimägi - Hill of Crosses

Is known mainly of hills Ristimägi ( in German " Kreuzberg " ) near the village. Especially young lovers or honeymooners there to make homemade crosses.

According to legend, the tradition goes back to an old, tragic story: two wedding trains are to be met each here. None of them wanted to deviate from the path. In the following fight many participants were killed, including a bride and a groom.

Another, no less tragic legend, the Estonian Swedes, who had to leave their homeland in 1781 to the Russian Empress Catherine II command to bow the first crosses stuck here in the sand. On August 20, 1991, a memorial was built of two intertwined mill stones commemorating the deportation of the island of Sweden in the southern Ukraine.