The village of Vahtrepa

The village of Vahtrepa is a typical Eastern Hiiumaa town, located on moraine formations with just a thin layer of soil and is interspersed by beach dunes. The soil is mostly limestone rubble with sparse greenery: twisted shrubs, open wastelands and small clumps of forests. To the north of the village is a noteworthy terraced base rock – Kallaste’s steep limestone shoreline is also an environmentally protected area.

The earliest indication of the village was in 1564 as Wachterpä by; a name consisting of two words: ‘wachter’ and ‘by’ – ‘Watchman’s village’ and probably a middle ages observation of the sounds made the waters of the Hari Strait.

Vahtrepa was an important harbour village until the middle of the 19th century. It was the shortest connection to Haapsalu and Vormsi from here. The importance of the village decreased in the second quarter of the 19th century when the harbour became too shallow due to rising ground levels and the building of a new harbour in the next village of Heltermaa.

In the 20th century, there were 16 farms, 14 cottagers, 3 ships and 9 windmills in the village.

On the terraced shoreline of Kallaste there are many unique and rare plants like northern oak fern, rock hutchinsia, wall-rue, rock wormwood, brittle bladder-fern, hairy St John’s-wort, dark-red helleborine, etc.

There are many legends and folktales about the terraces of Kallaste – including those of evil spirits, the building of the Church and aspects of village life.