Best Aerial Views of the Baltic Sea Region

Top contributor vitality.karpovich brings us this DVOW nominated video of the old town of Tallinn, Estonia.  Located on the Gulf of Finland inlet of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn is one of the cultural gems of Eastern Europe.  The video features footage of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, St. Olaf's Church, St. Mary's Cathedral (the Dome Church), St. Nicholas Church, and more. Founded in the 13th century, Tallinn was the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League, a powerful group of northern European port cities during the Middle Ages.  

Top contributor Nathan Jermy put together this wonderful video record of his travels through the Baltic States of Eastern Europe: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all of which became independent nations following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's.  Shot with a DJI Mavic Air, the video opens with some beautiful shots of the Latvian capital city of Riga, one of Europe's best-preserved medieval cities.  Then it's on to Lithuania's Trokai island-castle, the Baltic Sea coast, and more. 

Take an aerial tour of Estonia with this beautiful piece by Eneko Garcia-Amezag, who spent 11 days traveling through this Baltic republic.  The video features footage of some of the top sights of the country, including  Estonia: the capital city of Tallinn, Paldiski, Haapsalu, Hiiumaa and Saaremaa Islands, Matsalu National Park, Pärnu, Soomaa National Park, Viljandi, Põltsamaa, Võrtsjärv lake, Otepää, Sangaste, Valga, Võru, Rõuge, Suur Munamägi, and more.

For a first upload to the AirVuz community, contributor Ivars Utinans brings us this marvelous aerial tour of the Baltic Sea republic of Latvia. The video features footage of the following locations in this fascinating Eastern European country: the capital city of Riga, the largest city of the three Baltic republics; Sigulda, a town in the country's Videme region; Daugavpils, the country's second-largest city; Liepāja, the largest city of the Kurzeme Region; and more. This video was a Drone Video of the Week finalist in December, 2019.

What does Lithuania look like?  This drone video from Danulis, who calls this Baltic country home, will answer it.  This film takes you over misty forests, clear lakes, vast marshland, beautiful Baltic Sea villages, and some of the country's many rivers.  With shots of the spectacularly well preserved medieval cities of Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipedia, you'll get a glimpse of this country's fascinating and complex history.    You'll also be treated to some excellent aerial shots of the country's famous lakes and wetlands.

The Central European nation of Poland has a long Baltic Sea coast, which includes seaport city of Gdansk, Poland's fourth largest.  Parts of the coastline are much less densely inhabited and include spits or sand dune islands which run parallel to the mainland for great distances.  Contributor XL Creations traveled along the Polish Baltic Sea coast with his DJI Inspire 1 drone and caught these amazing aerial views of some of the coastline's most beautiful spots around Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot, and Hel. 

The island of Mon, Denmark sits at the far easten end of the Scandinavian country, in the Baltic Sea.  With white chalk cliffs, small market towns, and white sand beaches, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Denmark.  Due to some of its unique natural features, the island has been designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.  Content creator and pilot Morten used a drone to create a stunning video of his home island, providing a brilliant aerial view of this Danish island outpost.  

Turku is a Finnish city on the southwestern coast of the country, near where the Aura River empties into the Baltic Sea.  Turku has a storied history; it is the oldest city in Finland, was its capital until 1812, and remained its largest city for decades after that.  While it has since been surpassed by Helsinki and other cities, Turku remains a significant center for Finnish culture.  Contributor and pilot Nikkelodeon used a DJI Phantom 4 drone to create this amazing aerial view of his hometown.

Contributor and pilot Splendid Films used a drone to give us a bird's eye view of one of the more notable geographic features of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe.  Hel is an narrow sand bar which juts out about 35 km (20 mi) in a southeastern direction from Puck County to the town of Puck at the tip.  Due to its military significance, Hel heavily fortified by Germany during its Polish occupation in World War II, and the troops stationed there were amongst the last to surrender, several days after VE Day.

Contributor and drone pilot Passenger21 created this beautiful aerial video of two towns in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (province) of northern Poland.  Fromborg is a small town on the Vistula Lagoon, a lagoon on the Baltic Sea which is demarcated by the Vistula Spit.  Elblag is a considerably larger town, with a population of over 120,000.  It lies on the Elblag River, which flows into the Vistula Lagoon.  Elblag is one of the oldest cities in northern Poland, and was a member of the Hanseatic League.  

Check out this stunning drone's eye view of Germany's Baltic Sea coastline, compliments of contributor and pilot Marten Kählert.  It was filmed near the town of Trassenheide, a coastal resort town on the island of Usedom.  Usedom is part of the historical region of Pomerania and is one of the largest islands of the southern Baltic Sea; since World War II it's been split between Poland and Germany.  The German (western) portion of the island is part of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  

Gdansk, once part of Germany and known as Danzig, is Poland's most important seaport and its fourth largest city.  Situated on the country's northern (Baltic Sea) coastline, Gdansk was the site of the Solidarity Movement, which brought on martial law in Poland in 1979 but was ultimately responsible for the fall of the Berlin Wall ten years later.  Contributor Castenoid brought a drone on a family trip, and the video he created gives a marvelous aerial view of this amazing city, now one of Poland's top tourist destinations.

Stockholm, Sweden dates its rise to prominence dates to the Hanseatic League, an alliance of Baltic cities which dominated Northern Europe from the 12th-14th centuries.  Stockholm went on to become the capital of the Swedish Empire which controlled some of the most powerful military forces in Europe in the 17th century.  Since then, the city has been the capital of Sweden and in effect the capital of Scandinavia.  Here, Frame Hunters Media delivers a beautiful aerial view of the City of Vikings.  

Eaglewood Films put together this amazing drone video of the Latvian beach town of Jūrmala.  Situated about a half-hour drive west of the capital city Riga, it's essentially a narrow strip of land between the Lielupe River and the Gulf of Riga, a southern extension of the Baltic.  During the 40+ years when the country was part of the Soviet Union, Jūrmala was a favored getaway for Nikita Kruschev and Leonid Brezhnev, who ruled the USSR for most of this period, as well as for legions of other high CP officials.  

Top contributor and drone pilot brings us this beautiful aerial view of Rügen, Germany's largest island.  The video was shot at Kap Arkona, at the northern tip of the island.   Rügen is located in the Baltic Sea, towards the eastern end of the German coastline.  It's part of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the northeasternmost of the 16 which make up the German federation.   The island is a popular beach tourist destination, and is known for its long sandy beaches and open lagoons.  

LarsBülow created this impressive drone video of Hammershus Castle, probably the most famous castle in Scandinavia.  It's situated on the island of Bornholm, a Danish island lying to the east of the mainland in the Baltic Sea.  The castle was built in the 13th century, and played an important role in the struggles between Denmark and its rivals in the region.  Classified as a ruin (although partially restored in the early 1900's), it's believed to be the largest medieval-era castle in Europe.

If you looked at a map of the Baltic Sea region, you would think that the port city of Kaliningrad was part of Poland or Lithuania.  In fact, it's part of Russia, despite having no physical connection to the country.  Once known as Königsberg under centuries of German rule, the city was annexed by the USSR after the end of World War II, and it remained part of Russia following the Soviet Union's dissolution.  That is due in part to the fact that the city is the closest thing that Russia has to an ice-free Baltic port.  

Here's a great aerial video of a cruise ship on the Baltic Sea heading into the port of Riga, Latvia.  Operated by a German cruise ship line, the Aida has a displacement of about 38k tons and a length of just over 190 meters (around 630 ft.) and carries almost 1,200 passengers.  The port into which it's heading is called the Free Port of Riga, which is the Latvian capital city.  The port serves both cruise ships and cargo ships, and is one of the more important Baltic ports for both types of watercraft.  

Top contributor Timelab.pro's won a second annual Drone Video Award for this masterpiece of a drone video from St. Petersburg, Russia.  The video was shot during the long summer nights when the sun barely sets on this city created on the order of Peter the Great over three centuries ago.  Watch it to see some amazing aerial views of many of the city's top sights, including the St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Stock Exchange, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the Port of St. Petersburg, the Kazan Cathedral, and more.  

Top contributor DroneDirector created this stunning drone video of Bornholm, one of the most important islands of the Baltic Sea.  Fought over for centuries, it's a territory of Denmark, but it lies well to the east of the mainland and is actually closer to Poland.  It is perhaps best known for the enormous Hammershus Castle on its southern coast; seen in the video, it's the largest fortress in northern Europe and testament to the island's historical strategic importance covering the Baltic's sole outlet.  

Contributor Reinis Vilnis brings us this amazing video of an unusual phenomenon - mountains of ice which pile up in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia.  Using a drone combined with ground camera footage, he flies over and around these large, temporary hills that form in the Gulf of Riga.  In these semi-protected waters, the Baltic Sea will freeze in the depths of winter.  The shifting of ice near the shoreline causes massive breakups in which big chunks of broken form these amazing mini-mountains.

Copenhagen, Denmark is a city of the water: it's partially built on a series of islands on the Øresund, which connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.  Not surprisingly, bridges are critical to the city and were amongst the most important assets in propelling this Viking village into the ranks of Europe's most important cities.  In this drone video by AIRFLIX, you'll get a bird's eye views of some of the bridges (including pedestrian bridges) which grace this magnificent Scandinavian metropolis.     

Blizzardfoto created this beautiful drone video of a nature preserve in the Baltic Sea republic of Estonia.  Puhtu-Laelatu Nature Reserve is situated in Lääne County, the westernmost of the 15 counties into which this small nation is divided.  The reserve is located on the Suur Strait, a body of water which connects the Gulf of Riga to the south with the open Baltic Sea to the north.  The preserve is home to many rare and semi-rare species of flora, such as the Traunstein's dactylorhiza, or narrow-leaved marsh orchid.

AirVuz contributor and pilot Vadim_Danilov brings us this excellent drone video of the Curonian Spit is a long, narrow sand bar that separates the Baltic Sea from the Curonian Lagoon.  The video was filmed in the southern portion of the spit in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave which is surrounded by Polish and Lithuanian territory.  The northern part of the spit is in Lithuania.  Formed about 5,000 years ago, the spit runs for about 60 mi. (around 100 km) on a southwest-to-northeast axis.