Emmaste village

Emmaste, which in its earliest days was spelled as Emeste, was recorded as the name of a farmstead as early as in 1564. Even though the local people believe that  the name points to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the villagers were  women – as the men were at sea – the name of the village probably still originates  from the name of a man who was called Emme or Emmo. The name ‘Emmaste’ was  also given to a manor that was founded in the 18th century and became an independent entity after separating from the Suuremõisa manor. The main building of the  Emmaste manor now houses a school. The area around the crossroads that is nowadays known as the village centre as well as the centre of the rural municipality district was previously called Nõmmeküla (i.e., Nõmme village – first mentioned in  records in 1811). Nõmmeküla had a tavern by the same name, as well as a school. At  the beginning of the 20th century, there were also a community centre and a post office in Nõmmeküla. A stone church was built in the Nõmme pine forest in 1867; and a cemetery was founded in the other end of the village. In 1920, the manor  centre became Emmaste hamlet, later evolving into the centre of Emmaste village, which also comprised Viiterna and Nõmmeküla. In 1925, a creamery was founded in the former distillery of the manor. A dozen years later, the Piik family opened a small  guesthouse and beer shop in the village centre. The local people could go to the  store of the consumers’ cooperative and to a doctor’s office. A public library and a kindergarten were opened; several companies emerged. Nowadays, the former post office has become the centre of the rural municipality district. The store of the Hiiumaa Consumers’ Cooperative and a privately-owned restaurant are now operated in the former guesthouse. The building of the former store of the consumers’ cooperative has been sold to a private owner. The tavern building has been demolished. A family doctor centre has been opened in the old parsonage building; and the  local youth centre and Emmaste Päevatuba (an activity centre for the elderly) are nearby.