Discover Maardu

In Maardu, you will find a variety of options to consider when planning your trip: routes for exercise, a lake open to the public, and cultural and historical topics. Maardu Metsapark offers marked trail lengths and exercise facilities; church architecture, market tradition, and industrial history provide other perspectives. This way, you can get to know Maardu through both outdoor activities and the city’s history.

Trails and landscape in Maardu

Maardu Metsapark has trails that are 3 and 5 kilometres long. They are suitable for walking, running, Nordic walking, and cycling; in winters with heavy snowfall, cross-country skiing is also possible. If you use trail length as a selection criterion, the two trails differ by 2 kilometres. This gives you a concrete distance to use when planning the amount of exercise, without assuming any particular activity. The snow condition applies explicitly to the cross-country skiing option mentioned.

The park also has a low adventure course designed for children and an outdoor gym. These facilities complement the trails with two more forms of exercise. The trail lengths and activities listed give you a concrete overview when deciding what kind of exercise, if any, to include in your travel plans.

The natural Lake Maardu, also known as Liivakandi järv, is open to the public and covers 161.8 hectares. The lake adds another landscape feature to the picture of Maardu. Its size is given in hectares, while the Metsapark trails are described by their length in kilometres: Maardu therefore offers different ways to measure nature and exercise opportunities.

Church and historical connections

Maardu Peaingel Miikaeli kirik was completed in 1998. The red-brick building is classified as classical church architecture. Its construction year, building material, and architectural classification offer concrete points of reference if you are interested in Maardu’s built history.

The church grounds also contain a large bell dating from 1902. It was brought to Maardu from Plaani kirik in Võrumaa. The two dates tell different parts of the story: 1902 refers to the bell, while 1998 is the year the church was completed. Together, these details give the church site several historical points of reference, without conflating the building’s construction date with the bell’s earlier history.

The market tradition is also part of the city’s history. In 2001, a tradition of holding an autumn market began in Maardu; in recent years, it has been called Etnolaat. The start of the tradition and its later name refer to two different points in time: 2001 marks its beginning, while Etnolaat is the name used in recent years.

A planned nature and cultural history trail and Maardu’s industrial history

Maardu’s planned nature and cultural history trail is intended to introduce residents and visitors to the city’s main sights and history. A walk in 2022 covered the first section: from Lake Maardu, along the Kroodi oja to the former Maardu keemiakombinaat, and back. A specific sequence of stops is therefore recorded for this historical walk; it does not describe a regular current route.

The Maardu keemiakombinaat is described as the reason Maardu came into being as an industrial city. The former plant is therefore both a destination on the first section walked in 2022 and a point of reference for the city’s industrial history. This gives two perspectives on Maardu: the stops named along the walk and the plant’s importance in the city’s emergence as an industrial centre.

Discover more destinations: Tuhala, Kaberneeme, Rae, Saku, Salmistu, Laagri, Kaberla, Charlottenhof.

For the regional travel overview: Harju.