My fondest memory of Haapsalu is of breathing in the air there, feeling peaceful, and the friendly faces making feel as in paradise. I forgot my stresses and my problems. If you want to experience what it’s like to live in an Estonian town, then you must visit and stay in Haapsalu.
Why Haapsalu looks like Bullerby: Ilon Wikland
Fans of the Swedish children’s author Astrid Lindgren will find Haapsalu oddly familiar and this is no coincidence. The artist who illustrated most of Lindgren’s books, Ilon Wikland, lived in Haapsalu with her grandparents as a child. She never forgot her hometown and the houses in her drawings look like the wooden houses of Haapsalu.
Iloni Imedermaa (Ilon’s Wonderland). In 2004, Ilon Wikland decided to donate her original drawings to the state of Estonia. The museum in Haapsalu contains the gallery of the illustrations and a theme park with several activities for kids, centered around the Lindgren stories.