Vohilaid (German: Wohhi) is a small, uninhabited Estonian island located in the Hari Strait of the Väinameri in the Baltic Sea. It lies approximately 0.5 kilometers east of Hiiumaa's coastline and is administratively part of the village of Vahtrepa, in Hiiu County.
Geography and Dimensions
Vohilaid covers an area of 4.48 km² (about 416 hectares), making it the largest laid (islet) in Estonia and the 15th largest island in the country by area. It has a length of 4.3 km, a maximum width of 2 km, and a coastline of approximately 13.91 km. The highest point reaches about 8.2 to 10 meters above sea level. The island is elongated in a northwest–southeast direction.
The shallow strait separating Vohilaid from Hiiumaa has a maximum depth of only 40 cm at mean water level, allowing off-road vehicles and trucks to cross at low water.
Name and Etymology
According to linguist Paul Ariste, the name Vohilaid derives from the Finnish word vuohi ("goat"). The island was first mentioned in 1586 under the name Killingeholm (Swedish for "goat islet"). An alternative theory suggests the name comes from the word vaht ("watchpost"), related to the nearby village of Vahtrepa.
Geology and Natural Features
Vohilaid began emerging from the sea approximately 3,500 years ago due to post-glacial land uplift. The island consists primarily of Ordovician and Silurian limestones, with coastal outcrops of the Pirgu stage. Due to land uplift, the island is composed of several parts that were once separate islets.
The island contains two small lakes that formed as a result of land uplift. The larger one, called Vohioja järv (0.4 hectares), is a publicly accessible water body. The smaller lake in the southern part is unnamed.
Flora
As of 2004, 268 species of vascular plants had been recorded on Vohilaid, with an additional 13 species added in 2007. The island features coniferous forests, coastal meadows in the south, reed beds along the western coast, and juniper thickets. A monitoring area for the orchid Dactylorhiza (lady's slipper orchid) is located on the island.
In 2004, researchers identified 101 species of lichens and lichenicolous fungi, including one lichen species (Micarea lutulata) and one lichenicolous fungus (Endococcus protoblasteniae) recorded for the first time in Estonia. By 2007, the total had reached 161 lichen species and 23 lichenicolous fungi. Additionally, 38 species of leafy mosses and 4 species of liverworts were recorded in 2004.
Fauna
A 2004 survey recorded 38 species of butterflies, with 125 species counted in 2006 and 57 in 2007. In 1999, 50 bird species were observed, 42 of which were breeding on the island. The most common non-breeding bird was the common scoter, while the most common breeding bird was the skylark. The white-tailed eagle also nests on the island.
The fauna of Vohilaid differs little from that of Hiiumaa, as the narrow, shallow strait is easily crossed by animals. Wolves have reportedly been sighted on the island. In September 2005, an unknown predator killed approximately 50 sheep on the island, suspected to be feral dogs or possibly wolves.
History
Vohilaid was first mentioned in 1586 as Killingeholm. The island was inhabited from at least 1780 (or earlier) until 1956–1957. Unlike other islets in the region, its inhabitants were temporary—families sent to tend livestock and crops.
In the late 18th or early 19th century, a manor farm (karjamõis) called Wohhi was established on the island, belonging to the Suuremõisa estate. A notable long-term resident was Vohi Mihkel (c. 1753 – 25 February 1838), who lived on the island with his wife Ingel and children. In 1835, he received his surname after the island.
In the 1920s, the northern part of the island (over 200 hectares) was allocated to the Estonian Horse Breeding Society, while the southern part was divided among settlers and farmers. The only permanent residents who remained were Andrus Mägi's family, who lived at the Vahi farmstead.
During World War II, in 1944, men serving in the German military used Vohilaid to prepare a boat for escape. On 12 November 1944, people from the villages of Kerema, Hagaste, Puliste, and Värssu sailed from the island to Sweden—the last refugee boat to leave Hiiumaa that autumn.
After the war, a temporary Soviet naval observation post was established at the northern tip of the island but was used only briefly.
The last inhabitants, the Rool family, left the island in 1956 (or 1957) when their eldest child needed to attend school, and they moved to Vahtrepa village.
Present Day
Today, Vohilaid has no permanent population. Sheep grazing continues on the island. The island has given its name to a ferry, the Vohilaid, and to the Vohilaid member of the Ärina formation of the Porkuni stage in Estonian geology.
