Suurupi.Travel 
Whilst the Suurupi rear lighthouse was opened on 1 May 2017 and the Suurupi front lighthouse on 21 May 2018, this year both lighthouses could start the season together. The opening year is the time for learning and adapting, as the lighthouses are located in the courtyard of the lighthouse household and it is not possible to enter the lighthouses …
Continue reading
Lighthouse keeper Anne-Ly Gross-Mitt
Lighthouse keeper’s dynasty began with Elmar Kares, the great-uncle of Anne-Ly Gross-Mitt. After World War II, he was appointed superintendent of the Suurupi lighthouses and began to rebuild the war-torn upper lighthouse complex. Until then, he lived with his family in the lower lighthouse. In 1978, the great-uncle retired and was succeeded by stepfather Peet. Anne-Ly grew up in the …
Continue reading
Lighthouse keeper Peet Pajus
Peet Pajus was lighthouse keeper during 1978 – 1998. When Elmar and Indy Kares retired in 1978, they handed their position in the shipshape lighthouse over to their goddaughter Helle Kares, who came together with her husband to perform the responsible work as a keeper of the light. Peet Pajus was born on 14 March 1941 in Häädemeeste. Peet’s grandfather …
Continue reading
Lighthouse keeper Helle Kares
Helle Kares was born and raised in Suurupi, in Ranna Village. In the 1700s, her great-grandfather lived not far from here. Her father and uncle worked in Suurupi Lighthouse Rear from 1945. When Helle was a child, she used to spend a lot of time with her aunt and uncle in Suurupi lighthouse. Uncle Elmar Kares was in charge of …
Continue reading
Lighthouse keeper Elmar Kares
Elmar Kares (born in 1918) was a lighthouse keeper after World War II who restored the rear beacon of Suurupi. He worked at the front and rear beacons of Suurupi lighthouse between 1950 and 1978. Lighthouse lights The Baltic Sea is rough in winter. A thick night darkness descends on the bay early in the day. The winds blow freely …
Continue reading
Lighthouse keeper Hilda Oja
Hilda Oja was born in 1922. She became a lighthouse keeper in 1963 (being 41 at that time). After World War II, the keeper of the Suurupi lower lighthouse, Elmar Kares, became the keeper of the upper lighthouse. At that time the keeper of the lower lighthouse was the landlord Johannes Mänd. He left in 1963 and Hilda Oja, became …
Continue reading
Welcome to Suurupi!
Suurupi is a small round-shaped peninsula about 15 kilometers west of Tallinn, the capital. There are interesting buildings and coastal defence works on that peninsula: two old lighthouses, World War I era concrete installations for coastal artillery batteries that were updated before and after World War II, man-made underground passages and huge trenches, etc. Ships sailing to Tallinn were guided …
Continue reading