Journey to Prangli Island: Sausages on Natural Gas and Stone-Assisted Husband Hunting

Prangli Island, located not far from Tallinn, is a unique place. It is the only inhabited island in Estonia with a natural gas field and the northernmost inhabited island in the country.

A small ferry from Viimsi takes one hour to reach the island and can accommodate only 65 passengers. Tourists must leave their cars in a parking lot on the mainland, as there is no room for them on the ferry. According to Elena Matoyan, head of the Tallinn Guide Club, the ferry is the only means of transporting goods to the island, so locals use it for their needs – mostly for service vehicles or deliveries.

Endel Linholm, a native of several generations whose family name can be seen on ancient tombstones, is a retired fisherman now working as a guide, showing tourists the beauty of his home island. His favorite spot is St. Lawrence Church, whose wooden building was manufactured in Finland in 1848, then brought as logs to Prangli and assembled. From Finland came an unusual church tradition – a bag on a stick from 1752. If someone dozed off during the service, they were poked with the bag and woken by the bell, and the sleeper had to pay a fine by throwing alms into the bag.

The island has 70 permanent residents, but in summer the population triples thanks to tourists, some of whom stay for several days. There is also a beach with fine sand and a gentle slope.

Prangli also has a mystical place – the Red Stone, over three meters high. According to legend, if a girl wants to have a child, she must climb the stone from one side and slide down the other. Simply climbing it, however, is said to help her get married.

The main reason tourists flock to the island is to see Estonia's only natural gas field. Although too small for industrial extraction, gas seeps from the ground through a small pipe. It can be ignited with an ordinary match. A correspondent for "Summer Horizon" tried frying sausages on it and was pleased with the result. To extinguish the flame, one simply blows hard.