Facilities Today
Today the town has about 4300 inhabitants. Until recently, the amenities were limited to a single, small hotel (Valge Laev, with six guest bedrooms and a restaurant/bar) . Now there are also two grocery stores, an alcohol store, a bank, a tavern, and a bed & breakfast. The renovated train station also has a small cafe with hot food.
A great deal of investment has been put into the two ports and their facilities with a number of new berths having been created. From Paldiski Southern Port Transfennica run a number of ships into the port from Hanko (Finland) and Lübeck (Germany). From Paldiski Northern Port DFDS run 6 roundtrip operation to Kapellskär (Sweden) for passengers and Cargo and Navirail an operation to and from Hanko (Finland).
Construction of a receiving LNG terminal near the town is considered.
Pakri wind farm is located in Paldiski at the tip of the Pakri peninsula near the old light house. It consists of 8 wind turbines of type Nordex N-90 and generates 18.4 MW of clean electricity.
The old Soviet 'Pentagon' building has been demolished at some point between 2006 and 2009 to make way for a large and modern logistics park. .
The housing blocks in the town no longer appear dilapidated and abandoned and have been refitted and re-painted in recent years. There are also several new housing apartment buildings, plus the green areas and children's parks have been restored.
Paldiski has a terminus station on the Elektriraudtee rail line, providing a convenient link to the capital city. As part of the town's redevelopment this once near-derelict station has been overhauled and painted in bright yellow and white colours.
Paldiski has two schools: Paldiski Gümnaasium and Vene Gümnaasium (Russian Gymnasium).
There is one church, dedicated to St Nicholas, and part of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Although closed for some years, this church has now reopened, with services held every Sunday lunchtime. There is also a Pentecostal church, Methodist Church and Orthodox church.
The 2002 film Lilya 4-ever, set in an unnamed "former republic of the Soviet Union", was largely filmed in Paldiski.
Read more about this topic: Paldiski
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