Anijala: Windmill and Local History

The windmill and the historical place names give Anijala two tangible points of reference for its cultural history. If you also choose a place to stay based on local history, you’ll find here a dated series of name forms, the connection to Kaarmise Manor, and the Perete or Pereti farmstead group. There is also the windmill: its design and year of construction are concrete points of reference, as is its role as a landmark on a route toward Kandla. Names, historical affiliations, and route references relate to different aspects of the place and are best considered separately.

Place names in historical context

Anijala was recorded as Hanjelle in 1645, Hanny Jalg in 1654, and Hanjalck in 1670. The three forms can be arranged chronologically by their years; 25 years separate the first and last entries. This makes the history of the place tangible through specific spellings. For historical context, each form should be paired with its corresponding year.

The historical manor name Hannijall is also associated with Anijala in Saare County and Kaarma Municipality. It belongs to a different category from the three dated forms: Hannijall is a manor name, while Hanjelle, Hanny Jalg, and Hanjalck were recorded as historical forms of Anijala. This distinction helps you understand different names in their proper context, rather than treating a manor name and a place-name form as the same thing.

Manor, village, and farmstead group

Anijala also belonged to Kaarmise Manor. A farmstead group called Perete or Pereti is located in the western part of Anijala; the farmsteads in this group formerly belonged to Kaarmise village. Kaarmise therefore appears in two different contexts: once as the manor to which Anijala belonged, and once as the village to which the farmsteads in the named group formerly belonged. These statements concern different entities and different time references. When considering the local history, you can distinguish Anijala’s connection to the manor from the farmsteads’ former affiliation with the village.

The windmill: design, year of construction, and route reference

The Anijala tuulik is a stone Dutch windmill. Anijala is home to the Anijala Veski tuulik windmill; the Anijala Windmill was built in 1901. This adds specific information about a mill, its design, and its year of construction to the history of the place. The windmill also serves as a landmark on a route that continues toward Kandla.

This gives you two different points of reference for planning your trip: the dates and names help put Anijala in its historical context, while the mill provides a directional reference on the route to Kandla. If you’d like to consider local history and named buildings when choosing a destination, these topics can guide your interest in Anijala. Which of them matters most for your stay depends on whether you are more interested in historical connections to the place or in the windmill as a landmark.

Discover more destinations: Aula-Vintri, Keskranna, Tahula, Kaarma

Return to the broader travel overview: Kaarma Parish.