Bird's Eye Views of Estonia

Top contributor vitality.karpovich brings us this DVOW nominated video of the old town of Tallinn, Estonia.  Located on the Gulf of Finland inlet of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn is one of the cultural gems of Eastern Europe.  The video features footage of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, St. Olaf's Church, St. Mary's Cathedral (the Dome Church), St. Nicholas Church, and more. Founded in the 13th century, Tallinn was the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League, a powerful group of northern European port cities during the Middle Ages.  

Top AirVuz contributor SKY DIRECTOR brings us this outstanding drone video from the historic seaside town of Haapsalu, Estonia.  The town is located in Lääne County, the northwesternmost county in this small Baltic Sea country.  Founded in the 13th century, the town has long been associated with its curative mud baths, which were used by the ruling Romanov Family during the time when Estonia was part of the Russiam Empire.  It's the site of an annual Blues festival which takes place in August.  

Take an aerial tour of Estonia with this beautiful piece by Eneko Garcia-Amezag, who spent 11 days traveling through this Baltic republic.  The video features footage of some of the top sights of the country, including  Estonia: the capital city of Tallinn, Paldiski, Haapsalu, Hiiumaa and Saaremaa Islands, Matsalu National Park, Pärnu, Soomaa National Park, Viljandi, Põltsamaa, Võrtsjärv lake, Otepää, Sangaste, Valga, Võru, Rõuge, Suur Munamägi, and more.

Check out this fantastic drone video of the Estonian capital city Tallinn by new AirVuz contributor and pilot SKY DIRECTOR.  The video opens with a shot of a Soviet era apartment building, followed by a view looking towards the much more modern skyline which has grown up since the country became independent again following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.  Starting at about the :45 mark, you'll see the city's Old Town.  Other featured locations include Kadriorg Palace (1:25), the Russalka Memorial statue (2:13), and more.  

Despite being located along the Baltic Sea, the republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are known for their highly temperate climates.  Whatever time of year, one can tell in an instant what the season is.  Fall is perhaps the most distinctive, when the region's large deciduous forests turn to all manner of brilliant colors.  Witness this rather stunning aerial video from Estonia by new AirVuz contributor and pilot SKY DIRECTOR, which beautifully captures the changing of the seasons on this section of the East European Plain.  

Like its fellow countries around the Baltic Sea, Estonia is still heavily wooded.  Its extensive pine forests become seas of white and dark green in the winter months, interspersed with  frozen lakes and streams.  In this drone video by brand-new AirVuz contributor and pilot SKY DIRECTOR, you'll get a beautiful bird's eye view of this winter wonderland.  The video was shot over the winter of 2021-22.  Estonia is the northernmost of the three former Soviet republics on the Baltic Sea, along with Latvia and Lithuania.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist SKY DIRECTOR brings us this excellent drone video from the island of Saaremaa in the Baltic republic of Estonia.  Estonia's largest island forms the northwestern boundary of the Gulf of Riga, an inlet of the Baltic Sea which is shared with Estonia's southern neighbor, Latvia.  Inhabited for 7,000 years, the island became known during medieval times for the pirates which conducted raids throughout the region.  In the mid-1900's, Saaremaa became a spa destination for wealthy Russians and Germans.  

Blizzardfoto created this beautiful drone video of a nature preserve in the Baltic Sea republic of Estonia.  Puhtu-Laelatu Nature Reserve is situated in Lääne County, the westernmost of the 15 counties into which this small nation is divided.  The reserve is located on the Suur Strait, a body of water which connects the Gulf of Riga to the south with the open Baltic Sea to the north.  The preserve is home to many rare and semi-rare species of flora, such as the Traunstein's dactylorhiza, or narrow-leaved marsh orchid.

If you've ever wondered what happens to (some) old trains, check out this FPV video from FPV pilot and contributor Slavachrome.  He took on a "train dump" near the Estonian capital of Tallinn.  What is a "train dump" exactly?  As you'll see from the video, it's several tracks worth of seemingly abandoned rolling stock - locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, hundred of them in all.  We don't know how they got there or if this is their "final" resting place but it makes for some great FPV content!  

Top contributor NGreyTravels created this amazing drone video of an abandoned limestone prison quarry in the Baltic republic of Estonia.  It's near a village of the same name in Harju County, in the northwestern part of the country.  The quarry was created in the 1930's to mine a particular type of marble, and during the time when Estonia was under control of the Soviet Union it also became a prison.  Since being flooded and abandoned, the site now attracts the attention of artists, movie makers, and...drone pilots!  

Check out this drone video of a well-known castle in the Baltic republic of Estonia, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot slaks travel.  It's called Alatskivi Castle, and it's located in its namesake town in Tartu County, which covers a portion of eastern Estonia.   The Neo-Gothic structure was built on the site of an earlier manor in the late 19th century by a local baron, who wanted a smaller version of Balmoral Castle in Scotland.  The castle was restored in 1911 and is now open to the public as a museum.  

Take an aerial tour of the largest island of the Baltic republic of Estonia, compliments of AirVuz contributor slaks_travel.  Saaremaa serves as the northern boundary of the Gulf of Riga, a large inlet of the eastern Baltic Sea, southwest of Estonia's capital city, Tallinn.  The island covers a bit over 1k square mi. (around 2.7k square km), making it the second-largest island of the Baltic Sea by that measure.  However, Saaremaa is relatively lightly populated, with only about 13k permanent residents. 

In this drone video by Blizzardfoto, you'll get a beautiful look at the wetlands for which Estonia is so well known.  Soomaa National Park is located in the southwestern quadrant of the Baltic country, a bit east of the Gulf of Riga and north of the border with Lithuania.  The park was created in 1993 (shortly after Estonia became an independent country following the dissolution of the USSR) as a means to protect the country's once-extensive wetland areas which had shrunk dramatically over the course of the 20th century.

The Baltic Sea republic of Estonia is home to over 2.3k islands.  This includes some larger islands like Saaremaa, which covers 2.7k square km or around 1k square miles.  It's second-largest island (Hiiumaa) is perhaps a third the size.  After that though, the islands become quite small - the next-largest is only about a fifth as large as Hiumaa.  In this drone video by top contributor Jurgis Kreilis / Film Day, you'll get aerial views of some of the country's smaller islands, most of which are uninhabited.  

Sangaste Castle is an important landmark in the Baltic republic of Estonia.  It's located in its namesake town in Valga County, one of the southernmost of the country's 15 counties.  The original castle on the site was built in the early 16th century, when the area was part of the  Bishopric of Dorpat, an entity which ruled over much of what is now southern Estonia in the late Middle Ages.  The current manor house structure was completed in 1883.  It's considered one of the finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in the Baltic States.    

Check out these aerial views of a well-known folk music festival in Estonia, compliments of contributor Blizzardfoto.  It's called the Viljandi Folk Music Festival, and it's held the last weekend in July in the festival's namesake town. With a population of about 17k, Viljandi is one of the larger towns in south-central Estonia.  The festival generally draws about 25k spectators, and it's one of the largest folk festivals in Europe.  Musical act headliners include some of the top folk groups in Europe.  

Take an aerial tour of the Baltic seaport city of Tallinn, Estonia in this excellent drone video by slaks_travel.  At the :14 mark, you'll rise over the Old City, with St. Nicholas Church on the left and the Dome Church in the center.  At about the :32 mark, you'll glide past the Toompea Castle, which largely dates to the 13th century.  Starting at the 1:09 mark, you'll fly over the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and at around the 1:29 mark, there's a great shot of St. Olaf Church with the port in the background.  

Check out this excellent drone videos from one of the largest islands in the Baltic Sea, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot BAYGOT.  Estonia's Saaremaa Island forms the northern side of the Gulf of Riga, an important Baltic inlet, just west of the Estonian mainland.  The island covers just over 1k square mi. (about 2.7k square km) and has a full-time population of about 31k as of 2022; only Sweden's Gotland Island has more land area.  The video was shot with a DJI Air 2S during the Autumn color season.