Location
State: Estonia
Region: Muhu Parish
County: Saare
Parish: Muhu
Other references to the location
On the border of Võlla and Hellamaa villages, at the North edge of the Kuivastu-Kuressaare road.
Coordinates
lat=58.593879836549, lon=23.330494394077
58° 35′ 37″ N, 23° 19′ 49″ E
Description
7,4 m long, 4,4 m wide, 2,1 m high, dark grey.
Narrative
The stone fell into its current location from the apron of Vanapagan’s wife. The grooves or tracks pressed into the stone by the aprons can still be seen. People danced and lit bonfires of piles of juniper boughs here. Later on farmers broke off the gateposts and signposts. Vanapagan is one of the best-known mythological creatures in Estonian folklore, transforming landscapes, leaving prints on stones and competing with Vanajumal, the thunder god. He is a cross between the Christian version of Satan and a simple-minded nature spirit. The writer Jaan Kaplinski has noted that the traditional indigenous Vanapagan was not absolute evil as was the foreign Satan.
Attraction
Conspicuously large.
Availability
Directly by the side of the road.
Infrastructure, management, facilities
Parking for cars or bus by the side of the road.
Local info
Nature conservation marker.
Capacity
41 and more
Publicity
Popular
Legal Status
Private land, nature conservation