The Mustjala Music Festival, two distinct church buildings and the song history of the historic parish offer different cultural perspectives on Mustjala. For planning your trip, timing is especially helpful: festival dates, church services and the seasonal summer café each provide different points of reference.
Music Festival and Song Tradition
The Mustjala Music Festival has been held since 1995. Its programme features classical music and jazz, with guest artists from Estonia and abroad. If you would like to plan your trip around the festival, check the specific event dates before arranging your stay. This will help you coordinate your planned travel dates with the music programme.
The historic parish of Mustjala offers a different musical perspective: it was particularly rich in Estonian regilaul folk songs, and the tradition of competitive singing continued there until the 1960s. The festival and folk song history thus lead to different themes—classical music and jazz on the one hand, and the parish’s older singing tradition on the other. If you are interested in music, you can consider these two experiences separately when planning, rather than treating them as a single programme.
Two Churches, Different Building Histories
The history of Mustjala Anna Church goes back further than its present building. A chapel was built near the Mustjala Manor (Mustelhof) in 1605. In 1646, it became the church of the independent parish of Mustjala; the present building was constructed in 1863. This timeline distinguishes the church’s early origins from the construction date of its present building.
Later works of art also form part of the history of Mustjala Church: Gustav Terkmann built its organ in 1903, and Rudolf Sepp created the new altarpiece in 1938. These dates provide two further chronological reference points in the building’s history, without confusing them with the origins of the church or its chapel.
Mustjala Prohvet Eeliase Church has a different history. The Mustjala Prohvet Eeliase Orthodox congregation was established on 24 October 1848 for Estonian Orthodox believers; the present church building was completed in 1873. The church on Saaremaa is dedicated to the Prophet Elijah. It is a stone cross-domed building with a central dome tower and four smaller corner towers. Its architectural form offers a clear contrast with the history of Mustjala Anna Church.
Sunday Service and Seasonal Stop
The Mustjala Anna congregation holds services on Sundays at 3 pm, alternating between its church, the rectory and Mustjala Guesthouse. If this service is important to your trip, check the details before you arrive and plan your Sunday accordingly.
The Mustjala Käsitöösahver summer café and craft shop is in Mustjala village on Saaremaa’s north coast, right next to Anna Church. As a summer café, it is a seasonal stop. Check in advance whether it will be open on your travel dates before including it as a fixed part of your itinerary.
Plan Your Stay Around Your Reason for Travelling
These themes have different focuses, and different dates may matter to you. If you want to include a specific festival or the congregation’s Sunday service, check the relevant dates first. For a stay focused more on history, the construction dates and development of the two churches provide a timeline. The summer café adds a seasonal option. This way, you can choose the length of your stay based on the themes and dates that actually matter to your trip.
Discover more destinations: Panga, Valjala, Kuralase, Pamma, Koguva, Haeska, Kuressaare, Pidula.
For the broader travel overview: Saaremaa.
