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Highlights of the Baltic SeaKuressaare on Saaremaa - wellness and eventful history

Christian Tiedt

 · 03.06.2026

Highlights of the Baltic Sea: Kuressaare on Saaremaa - wellness and eventful historyPhoto: Adobe Stock / dudlajzov
The fortress of Arensburg Castle, in the background the town harbour of Kuressaare with the guest berths.
Highlights of the Baltic Sea: Kuressaare is the capital of Saaremaa, Estonia's largest island. It's hard to imagine a more relaxed spot. But history has left exciting traces.

Estonia is a small country, but it has the fourth largest island in the Baltic Sea: Saaremaa. It separates the Gulf of Riga from the rest of the Baltic Sea and is flat, just like the sea around it. To the south lies Kuressaare, its capital, which has had many masters and whose traces can still be found today. Today, despite so much chequered history, it is hard to imagine a more relaxed place.

  • Name: Kuressaare, Saaremaa Island, Estonia
  • Location: Gulf of Riga, central Baltic Sea
  • Position: 58° 14' 42.1" N; 22° 28' 16.1" E
  • Distance from Kiel lighthouse: 560 nautical miles

Highlights: the Arensburg

Arensburg - the old German name for Kuressaare is used for marketing purposes. It can also be found in the pretty historic town centre with the Kurhaus, Waage and Laurentius Church. The imposing bishop's castle itself is also in impeccable condition and impresses with its sheer size alone. The walls and ramparts look freshly restored, almost new - like the deliberately modern main gate. Rowboats are out and about in the moat.

The Museum inside leafs through the various chapters of Saaremaa's past, painful ones such as the Second World War, and leaden ones such as the decades of Soviet rule afterwards, when Kuressaare became Kingisepa, named after a model Estonian communist. But also the proud chapter of the "singing revolution", which restored Estonia's freedom and independence in the course of perestroika in 1991. A lot of history for a single island!

For guests: Kuressaare town harbour

Guest sailors can look forward to one of the most beautiful harbours in the Baltic: the Kuressaare city harbour (Kuressaare Jahisadam) is home to the local yacht club and offers a restaurant, bar and sauna as well as the usual service in beautiful surroundings.

The city centre, beach and castle can be reached in ten minutes. Three nearby wellness hotels offer additional options for well-being. A canal-like channel leads to the harbour, the flat embankments on either side are populated by seagulls. The upper sign of the leading light line stands on the roof of one of the hotels.

Further tips for the Baltic Sea

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Christian Tiedt

Christian Tiedt

Editor Travel

Christian Tiedt was born in Hamburg in 1975, but grew up in the northern suburbs of the city - except for numerous visits to the harbor, North Sea and Baltic Sea, but without direct access to water sports for a long time. His first adventures then took place on dry land: With the classics from Chichester, Slocum and Co. After completing his vocational training, his studies finally gave him the opportunity (in terms of time) to get active on the water - and to obtain the relevant licenses. First with cruising and then, when he joined BOOTE in 2004, with motorboats of all kinds. In the meantime, Christian has been able to get to know almost all of Europe (and some more distant destinations) on his own keel and prefers to share his adventures and experiences as head of the travel department for YACHT and BOOTE in cruise reports.

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