The Rummu quarry

Located 40 km West of Tallinn, on the way to Haapsalu, is one of the most surprising sites of Estonia: the Rummu quarry (Rummu karjäär). 

Last swim of the season

We discovered this place quite randomly. Mid August, we spent a sunny weekend in West Estonia and on the way back we drove through the little village of Rummu where there was an unusual congestion due to the amount of cars parked on both sides of the road. While Rummu is at a significant distance from the sea, people were in beachwear and that always indicates the proximity of a swimming spot. Once home, Katri investigated and found out the quarry of the old prison of Rummu had turned into a swimming spot. 

So, on this nice, early September Friday evening, we decide to head to Rummu and have a last (?) swim before the winter. And it will most certainly be the last swim of the season as the water was already on the chilly side, somewhere between 12 (my guess) and 15 (Katri's guess) degrees, even after a full day of sunshine. No surprise we were nearly alone on the site and there was only one other  enthusiastic swimmer. The swimming season is really getting to an end... mind you, according to locals it has been exceptionally long!

The Rummu site: on the left, the huge prison ; on the right, the quarry with the swimming spot

Site history

The Rummu quarry used to belong to the adjacent Soviet prison, which hosted up to 7 000 prisoners during its peak time. The prisoners spent most of their time extracting limestone from the soil until the quarry was abandoned in the 1970s and prisoners activities turned to wood and metal work instead. After the mining has stopped, the quarry naturally re-filled with water (no water pumping taking place anymore) and most of the site, including some buildings, is now underwater. 

The prison next-door continued operating until end 2012. The site was then put on sale (I don't think anyone bought it yet) and completely abandoned. 

Welcome to Rummu!

Rising popularity

I guess locals discovered the place in summer 2013 and since then the voice has spread. By now, thousands of people know about the Rummu quarry thanks also to this impressive video made with a drone:

As you can see in the video, it has become a popular swimming spot this summer. It is remarkable for  several reasons: the setting is impressive, a blue lagoon with abandoned buildings surrounded by sand mountains  shaped by the wind ; the water is deep and crystal clear, making it the best spot for scuba divers in Estonia. 

Crystal clear, deep waters and plenty of jumping opportunities: a heaven for divers of all sorts

At your own risk

I was personally amazed by the place and I was even more surprised by the lack of security measures. Indeed, the quarry is accessible to anyone thanks to an opening in the outer wall and there is merely a warning sign that the buildings are at risk of collapse. The water might be deep, but there are building rests all around, concrete and iron, including barbed wires. And as you saw in the video, people climb the buildings to jump in the water. And the sand mountain is a tempting but brittle climb to get a view of the whole site. 

I would not be surprised (or at least, that's what municipalities in Western countries would do) that by next year the place starts being managed, with either restricted access or some security measures. To my knowledge, some minor incidents have been reported, but no major injury so far. Fortunately. 

The scraps of the mining activity were accumulated in an artificial mountain rising a few tens of meters above the ground and visible from the road