History
Haapsalu Town that is surrounded by the sea from three sides has found recognition primarily as a quiet seaside resort town and a mud therapy resort. Due to its shallowness the Haapsalu Bay gets warmer in summers than other bays of Estonian coast; in the summer the average seawater temperature is +21º C. Although the air humidity in Haapsalu is higher than in inland, Haapsalu is considered as the sunniest resort in Estonia. www.haapsalu.ee
The history of Haapsalu as a seaside resort started in the 19th century. The first bathhouse was built in Haapsalu in 1805. Haapsalu owed its growing popularity to its therapeutic mud. The first mud resort was built in Haapsalu in 1925 and owning to numerous visitors three more were soon opened. Rumours of the healing effect of sea mud reached the high society of St. Petersburg and thus Haapsalu became the beloved summer resort of the of St. Petersburg court. By the beginning of the 20th century, Haapsalu was a much-visited resort town. As a summer resort of the tsarist court Haapsalu got a railway connection with St. Petersburg in 1905. Also the seaside promenade in the present day town – the Promenade – and the wooden lace Kursaal located on it remind of the golden age of Haapsalu as a health resort. Many legends are known of Haapsalu, the most well known being the legend of the White Lady who appears during the full moon nights in August on the window of the sacristy of the cathedral as a symbol of eternal love.
Legend of the Walking-Stick Breaker
... there is a sculpture standing in front of the Spa Hotel Laine that characterises well Haapsalu as a resort town. This is the Walking-Stick Breaker made by sculptor Juhan Raudsepp in 1933 that symbolizes the man who has regained his health thanks to therapeutic mud and is breaking his walking stick that has become useless for him.
