Sillamäe

A settlement named Sillamägi ("Bridge Hill") started growing in the mid-18th century, though a text from 1502 mentions a roadside tavern located here. It was a resort for the intelligentsia of the Russian imperial capital Saint Petersburg, for instance physiologist Ivan Pavlov spent some time here and a street is named after him.

In the 1920s the town was industrialized with an oil shale processing plant, a power plant and an industrial port being built. They were destroyed during WWII, but rebuilt afterwards together with a metallurgical plant for extracting uranium for the newly invented atomic bomb. As such, from 1947 onwards to the fall of the Soviet Union, Sillamäe was a closed secret military city that was even not marked on maps. Activities conducted there were mostly military industrial and included mining and refining uranium.

Sillamäe was opened up in 1991 when Estonia became independent, and the uranium plant was turned into a rare metals plant - one of the most important industries in this part of the country. The city retains a treasure trove of beautiful Stalinist architecture, and this is not the only thing Soviet about the city - indeed Sillamäe can be considered the most Soviet town in Estonia. Most of the inhabitants (88% as of 2011) are Russian speaking and even hold Russian citizenship, and even some price tags in shops are written like in the 1970s. Knowing some Russian can come in handy.

Bus and train schedules are easily available online – read more under Estonia#Get around.

By bus:

1 Sillamäe bus station, Tallinna mnt 9. The ticket office is open from 09:00-17:30 (with a lunch break between 12-12:30). The station has a small waiting room, ATM and currency exchange. The adjacent gas station has a small shop, open 24 hours. (updated Feb 2021)

There are frequent bus lines from/to Tallinn (~€10) (2.5-3h), and Narva (30-40 min). Some buses on the Tallinn-Saint Petersburg route also stop here.

By train:

2 Vaivara railway station (Vaivara raudteejaam). The train does not run through Sillamäe. However, there is a stop along the Tallinn-Narva route, called Vaivara, which is just 2 km from Sillamäe centre. From Tallinn and Narva there are three trains a day each stopping there. There are connecting buses (line 33B), but a taxi is your best bet, or you can walk. (updated Feb 2021)

By car:

Sillamäe is on Highway 1 connecting Tallinn (185 km) with Narva (30 km), which is at the Russian border - St. Petersburg is a further 150 km east of Narva.

By boat:

The port is mainly for freight. Car passengers could come in with a daily freight ferry from nearby Ust-Luga in Russia with less busier border controls, but the service is probably suspended because of the pandemic and Russian attack on Ukraine with subsequent embargoes.