Kõpu, Hiiu County

58.91111122.212778Koordinaten: 58 ° 55 ' N, 22 ° 13' O

Kõpu 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

Kõpu ( German Köppo ) has 35 inhabitants ( 31 December 2011). The town is located on the peninsula ( Kõpu pool saar ).

1565 the village Koppoby was first mentioned.

On the so-called Kaplimägi ( Chapel Hill) was built according to a 1641 Evangelical Lutheran wooden chapel. She belonged to the parish of, 23 km away Kõrgessaare. From her no traces remain. 1887 a wooden church with 150 seats was built. The tin roof was her undoing when, on August 12, 1942 struck a bolt of lightning and a church burned down.

Orthodox Church

1907/1908 was in Kõpu dominated by the Russification of Estonia an Orthodox church. She served as a meeting house and school building. The farmer John Küttim donated to the church for the construction of the property after the project was threatened the opposition of the local Baltic German nobility.

The church was consecrated in June 1909. It served as a residence of the popes.

With the Soviet occupation of Estonia, the worship were banned in Kõpu 1941. The house then stood empty and fell into disrepair. Villagers want the church bell buried in the forest and have hidden the iconostasis. The two objects was not found until today.

In 1957 the building was converted into a cultural center of the village. The small onion tower was demolished.

With restoration of Estonian independence, the country parish was in 1996, the building of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church ( Eesti Apostlik - Õigeusu Kirik ) back. Since there are almost no more orthodox believers in Kõpu, joined the church and community in 2004 a contract. Then the EAÕK leaves the house free for cultural and community events. The neoclassical building is well preserved today. It is a listed building.

Boarding school

1873, the first school was founded in Kõpu. The building of 1868 is now home to a state boarding school for disabled children. The historic school house is complemented by a new building in 1998.

"Eiffel Tower "

On the Kaplimägi, the second highest with 63 meters elevation Hiiumaa, today located from a vernacular jokingly "Eiffel tower " called wood construction. It emerged in the 1990s as a private initiative. From the top platform offers a wide view over the peninsula and the Baltic Sea.

Nature

Between the villages Kõpu and Mägipe the established in 2007 in its present form nature reserve extends Kõpu ( Kõpu looduskaitseala ). It has an area of ​​3063.8 hectares.

In the area there are numerous boulders. Best known is the second largest boulder of Hiiumaa, the Kõpu Suurkivi or Lepistepao is rahn. It has a circumference of 28.4 meters and a height of 5.3 meters.

Archaeologists have uncovered during Kõpu since 1928, many graves from the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age.

Lighthouse Kõpu

North-west of the village center is already at the site of the village Mägipe, the landmark of the island of Hiiumaa: the mighty lighthouse Kõpu ( Kõpu tuletorn ). It was built in 1531 as the first lighthouse in the Baltic Sea region. He received its present appearance in 1845.