Paldiski

Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port located on the Pakri Peninsula in northwestern Estonia. Originally established as a small Swedish port known as Rågervik, it evolved into an important ice-free port upon being incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 18th century.

Following Estonia's independence in 1918, the port experienced a decline in significance, only to regain importance during the Soviet occupation. However, upon Estonia's restoration of independence, it subsequently diminished in significance once again.

The town is home to the terminus of the Tallinn-Paldiski railway line and serves as the administrative center of Lääne-Harju Parish in Harju County.

As of 1 January 2021, the town had a population of 3542.

Etymology
The first known name of Paldiski Bay is Rågervik, meaning "rye island bay" in Swedish, and is derived from the Swedish name for the Pakri islands, Rågöarna. A small port, also named Rågervik, was established on the southern coast of the Pakri Peninsula sometime during the 17th century. This port has also been referred to as Rudewa and Ragövik.

When Estonia was conquered by Peter the Great of Russia in 1710s, a new port was built approximately one kilometer north of the old Swedish port, but the name remained virtually unchanged, except for being transliterated into Russian as Ро́гервик. Additionally, it was known as Rogerwiek in German.

On 20 August 1762, Catherine the Great of Russia gave orders to rename Rågervik to Baltiiski Port (Балтійскій Порт, Baltiski sadam Baltisch-Port, Port Baltique). This name is directly derived from the name of the Baltic Sea, on which the port resides. The name of the bay, however, remained unchanged as Рогэвикъ.

The modern, phonetically spelled Estonian name Paldiski first appeared in literature during the first half of the 19th century. However, it only became the official name on 19 June 1933. Prior to that, the official name of the town in Estonian was Baltiski. The bay was also renamed Paldiski Bay around the same time.

Early History
Laoküla village, situated just south-east of Paldiski, was first mentioned in the Danish Census Book in 1241 as Laiduscæ. It was a part of the ancient Keila parish and had a size of 18 oxgangs.

The Pakri Islands, situated just off the coast of the current town, were first mentioned in 1283 as insula Rogoy, meaning "the rye island", but it is unknown if the islands had any inhabitants at the time or which island was referred to. However, in 1345, Suur-Pakri Island, belonging to Padise Monastery, and some territories in Laoküla, belonging to Keila Manor, were sold to Swedish settlers. It is speculated that the sales happened as a result of the Saint George's Night Uprising of 1343, to shield the coast from rebellious Estonians. It is also speculated that some of the settlers were from Uusimaa, as Padise Monastery owned territories there.

The first written records of human activity on the territory of modern mainland Paldiski are about Pakri village from 1377, which was situated on the eastern edge of the modern administrative border of Paldiski, in the middle of the peninsula. In Estonian, Pakri Peninsula and Pakri Islands are named after this village.

Väike-Pakri was first mentioned in 1425. The island was likely settled by Laoküla Swedes, as both were a part of Keila Manor. Pakri Peninsula also belonged to Keila Manor.

On the north-eastern coast of the peninsula, Leetse village was first mentioned in 1561, and the manor was established in 1677. Sometime during the 19th century, the village directly to the west of the manor, in the interior of the peninsula, that previously had been referred to as Perraste, Paresta and Pärast, was renamed Leetse village.

Pallaste village was first mentioned in 1582, with the manor being established in 1802. The manor was located 1.5 kilometers north-east of the port. Ohtra village, just south of Pakri village, had existed since at least the end of the 17th century.

There are reports of severe Russian raids and looting in the area from around 1576–1580, which were repeated by the Polish around the years 1601 and 1611. This led to a significant loss of population in the area.

In 1622, Gustav II Adolf of Sweden granted the lands of the Padise monastery, including Suur-Pakri Island, to Thomas von Ramm, the former bürgermeister of Riga. Additionally, Thomas von Ramm purchased Väike-Pakri Island from Keila Manor in 1628. Von Ramms kept the ownership of both islands and the Padise Manor until Estonia became independent.

The Swedish port of Rågervik was established sometime during the 17th century, being located approximately one kilometer south of where Peter the Great was later going to establish his port by the same name.

Rogerwiek
Peter the Great, on behalf of Russia, entered the Great Northern War against Sweden in 1700 with the aim of restoring Russia's access to the Baltic Sea, which it had previously lost. He began building a fleet on the Baltic Sea in 1702, established Saint Petersburg in 1703, and by 1710, he had gained full control over Estonia and Livonia. Upon assuming control, Peter ordered a survey of the coasts of the new territories to identify potential locations for building new ports. The survey determined that Rågervik Bay (modern Paldiski Bay) was the only suitable place on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland for constructing a new warship port, despite having major drawbacks. Due to this, it was decided to temporarily utilize the already existing port in Reval instead, which also had major drawbacks. Dissatisfied with the lack of a suitable warship port on the southern shore of the gulf and near the open sea, Peter the Great personally began searching for the ideal location of the port. On July 23, 1715, he decided that the new port was going to be built on the shores of Rågervik Bay. Preparatory work finally started on 20 July 1718, when Peter the Great of Russia ceremoniously initiated the construction of the fortress and the breakwater between the mainland and Väike-Pakri Island. As part of the preparations, among other things, church, barracks and two piers were built, but relatively little work was actually done.

Real work only started in 1723, when the Great Northern War had concluded. Many things were built, including bastions and central rampart for the fortress, an almost 300 meter long breakwater for the port, and a lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula. There were also plans to build a fortress on the Väike-Pakri Island, right across the bay from the mainland fortress, but these plans were ultimately abandoned, when Peter the Great died in January 1725. Works on the mainland slowed down significantly, and were completely halted by 1731. Two artillery batteries were finished on the mainland in 1726 and at least one on Väike-Pakri in 1731. Two additional batteries being built on the mainland during the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743. In 1746, Elizabeth of Russia ordered for works to be continued, but ultimately nothing came of it. Some works on the port and the breakwater continued in 1751 and 1753, respectively.

Baltiiski Port
On 20 August 1762, Catherine the Great of Russia gave orders to rename Rogerwiek to Baltiiski Port. She also tasked Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, a known fortification expert, with finishing the long-lasting project of fortifying the port. Münnich presented his plan in 1763, but it was deemed too grandiose and also less important than the port in Kronstadt. Ultimately, no new construction works began, only existing projects were to be worked on. Münnich died in 1767. On 18 November 1768, Catherine the Great ordered for works to be stopped. At this time, the breakwater on the mainland was 400 meters long, with the breakwater on Väike-Pakri being 100 meters long. The port was 447 meters by 1067 meters in size.

Baltiiski Port received town rights on 3 July 1783 being the center of the Baltiiski Kreis that existed between 1783 and 1796. Between 1787 and 1820, Baltiiski Port also held the status of a county town, which resulted in a court and other governmental institutions being established.

On 6 March 1790, during the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790, Swedish warships sailing under Dutch flags seized the port for a day and destroyed its artillery batteries. Rogerwiek Bay was blockaded by Swedish and English ships in the fall of 1808 as part of the Finnish War. When the blockade was lifted, Russian ships left for Kronstadt, leading to Baltiiski Port being bombarded by English ships, but little damage caused. As part of the Crimean War, English ships were in Rogerwiek Bay between 23 June and 25 June in 1854, and threatened to bombard the town.

By the end of the 18th century, after the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790, the fortress and garrison had lost their importance and were abandoned, but the garrison was temporarily reestablished several times after that. The town's civilian population had grown significantly, reaching around 500 inhabitants

The construction of the St. Petersburg-Tallinn-Paldiski railway was finished in 1870, with the intent to utilize the ice-free port of Baltiiski to transport goods to St. Petersburg. Due to this, a passenger station, a depot, a water tower, a fire station, a naval school, and warehouses were built. By around 1914, the town had reached around 1300 inhabitants.

On 22 June 1912, Russian emperor Nicholas II and German kaiser Wilhelm II met in Baltiiski for the last time before going to war with each other two years later, as part of World War I. Only one Russian warship was destroyed in the bay as part of the war. During one shelling by the Germans, 20 houses were destroyed and 10 people died. Germans also tried to bomb the town from a zeppelin but failed. Near the end of the war, Russia started building fortifications around the town and established artillery batteries at the tip of the peninsula. After the war, Russian and German prisoners of war were exchanged through the port.

Interwar period
As Estonia became independent in 1918, the importance of Baltiiski Port significantly decreased, with the main economic activities now being fishing and fish processing. In the 1930s, marble from Vasalemma began to be transported to Sweden through the port. On 19 June 1933, the official name of the town became Paldiski. Before that, Baltiski and Paldiski were used in parallel.

In 1939, the Soviet Union built a naval base in Paldiski, under the Bases Treaty it forced on Estonia. In 1940, the whole population of Paldiski and the Pakri Islands were forcibly relocated and replaced by Soviet military personnel. Under the soviets, the settlement became a closed town and stayed that way until the early 1990s.

Soviet era
Soviet naval base headquarters was located in Paldiski. During World War II, Germans occupied town 28 August 1941 and left 1944. During the retreat, most of the town was burnt down, only 20 buildings survived. In 1962, Paldiski became a Soviet Navy nuclear submarine training centre. The training center had whole soviet nuclear submarine constructed by complete sections for naval personnel training purposes. The training center, known by locals as Pentagon, was demolished largely by 2007 Employing some 16,000 people, and with two land-based nuclear reactors (at 70 MW and 90 MW power, respectively), it was the largest such facility in the Soviet Union. In total Soviet navy used the facilities 27 years. Because of its importance, the whole city was closed off with barbed wire until the Russian military base was finally closed on 31 August 1994. Paldiski nuclear centre was handed by Russians to Estonian authorities on 30 September 1995.

This followed the events of 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Estonia regained independence. To house the stationing troops and those in training, many barracks buildings were built, which have since been left in disrepair. Russia relinquished control of reactor facilities in September 1995; the nuclear reactors were shut down in 1989, first on temporary basis because of Chernobyl accident and due to the collapse of Soviet union, it became permanent, and nuclear material was transported back to Russia in 1994. The reactors were thereafter decommissioned. The reactors were protected with sarcophagus, finished by 2006, in Paldiski as they were potentially dangerous due to the radioactivity.

Incidents, when Paldiski was a closed military town under Soviet/Russian jurisdiction, did happen rarely and if something happened, it was classified. At the time Jüri Liim, first member of Supreme council and later expert of Estonian Ministry of Defense and Estonian government special representative in Paldiski, had an undercover and secret access to the closed city. As per his testimony, the Pakri Islands just next to Paldiski were the practice bombing targets for Soviet air force, including the soviet nuclear bombers. There was no actual nuclear bombs used but bombs that were in similar weight and size category. Sometimes when the real combat bombs were used, the small earthquakes created from it could be felt in Paldiski and at the nuclear reactors.

The personnel working at the site were concerned about potential cracks or other issues with the reactor due to this shaking. When approaching the Pakri Islands or leaving from the target, the flight routes were often over Paldiski and this led to few incidents. Once a live bomb fell by accident to the local kindergartens cabbage field. Fortunately the bomb malfunctioned and caused no damage. On another occasion, a bomb fell by accident 15 meters from the working nuclear reactors. This bomb also malfunctioned and did not explode.

After Estonia regaining independence
After Estonia restored its independence, the city had Estonian citizens, and Paldiski was then subordinated to Keila until 30 October 1996. Located some 45 km west of Tallinn, Paldiski was then made a municipality within Harju County. Derelict Soviet-style apartment buildings made up much of the town, and the relics of military bases were widespread. The significant portion of the town's residents are ethnic Russians, originally from other parts of Soviet Union and were relocated to Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic by Soviet policy. The ferry company Tallink operates a regular connection with Kapellskär in Sweden. Danish ferry operator DFDS is also operates a regular connection on the same route.

Operation «Ämblik» (Spider) was conducted in Paldiski on 16 March 1993 by 33 Estonian police officers and 40 border guards to establish Estonian law in the area, including in the Russian military base. At the time in Paldiski, there was about 1,500 members of the Russian armed forces. The aim of the police operation was to contain illegal activities including weapons trade and to restrict the activities of thugs in Paldiski, who behaved like they ran the town. For example, on 9 March 1993, several Russian armed forces officers were detained by Estonian authorities in Tallinn due to an attempt to sell firearms. This operation was not agreed to with the Russian government beforehand and preparations were kept in secrecy. Confusion in Paldiski among Russian military personnel helped to achieve the goals of the operation. Operation had a shock effect on the criminal element as per Jüri Liim.

On 21 April 1993, there were half a dozen Estonian police officers and Estonian border service personnel.

Today


The amenities in Paldiski include three grocery stores, a pizza place, a tavern, and a café.

The housing blocks in the town do not all appear dilapidated and abandoned, and several have been refitted and re-painted in recent years. There are also several new apartment buildings, and the green areas along with children's parks have been restored.

The Logistics Battalion of the Estonian Defense Forces is stationed in Paldiski.

The Pakri Science and Industrial Park with its 60 hectare Pakri Smart Industrial City lies within the limits of the city.

Politics
On 20 July 1718, Peter the Great of Russia ceremoniously initiated the construction of the breakwater between Väike-Pakri island and the mainland, which was never fully completed. Nowadays, Paldiski commemorates this event by celebrating its birthday on July 20th.

Paldiski received town rights on 3 July 1783.

Education and community
Paldiski has two schools: Paldiski Gümnaasium and Vene Gümnaasium (Russian Gymnasium).

In addition, there is a private pre-school facility, called Paladski Beebi Maja.

There are several churches in town. The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church is dedicated to St Nicholas. Although closed for some years, this church has now reopened, with services held every Sunday at lunchtime. There are also a Pentecostal church, a Methodist church, and an Orthodox church.

Transport
Paldiski is served by Paldiski railway station, a terminus station on the Elron rail line between Tallinn and Paldiski, providing a convenient link to the capital city. As part of the town's redevelopment, this once near-derelict station has been renovated and painted in bright yellow and white colours.

A great deal of investment has been put into the two ports and their facilities with a number of new berths having been created. From Paldiski Southern Port, Transfennica runs a number of ships to the port from Hanko (Finland) and Lübeck (Germany). From Paldiski Northern Port, DFDS runs a six-roundtrip operation to Kapellskär (Sweden) for passengers, and a Cargo and Navirail operation to and from Hanko (Finland).

The old Soviet 'Pentagon' building has been demolished at some point between 2006 and 2009 to make way for a large and modern logistics park.

Energy
The Pakri wind farm is located in Paldiski at the tip of the Pakri peninsula near the old lighthouse. It consists of eight wind turbines of type Nordex N-90, and generates 18.4 MW of clean electricity, when the wind matches the parameters of the turbines.

Since 2007 Pakri Smart Industrial City is developing a 75MW renewable power network, combined with its own Pakri Smart Grid.

A 550 MW / 6 GWh (12-hour) pumped-storage hydroelectricity plant is scheduled for 2028.

The Balticconnector bi-directional natural gas pipeline between Ingå, Finland and Paldiski has operated since 2020. Construction of a receiving LNG terminal near the town is considered.

Estonia's long-term plans for nuclear power envisage the adjacent Pakri Islands as a potential site for the country's first power plant.

In popular culture
The 1999 film Screwed in Tallinn takes place at a hotel in Paldiski.

The 2002 film Lilya 4-ever, set in an unnamed "former republic of the Soviet Union", was largely filmed in Paldiski.

The 2015 music video for Alan Walker's popular song "Faded" was in part filmed in or around Paldiski.

Paldiski is featured in the video game Euro Truck Simulator 2.

YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt visited Paldiski in 2021 as part of his series on his adventures in Estonia.

The town and port feature prominently in Arthur Ransome's yacht cruising memoir Racundra's First Cruise

Notable people

 * Amandus Adamson (1855–1929), Estonian sculptor and painter; lived and worked in Paldiski
 * Balder Tomasberg (1897–1919), Estonian painter
 * Viire Valdma (born 1960), Estonian actress
 * Salawat Yulayev (1754–1800), Bashkir national hero
 * Wladimir Michailowitsch Worobjow (born 1969) Russian admiral