About 2km from Kõrgessaare, on the left, is Reigi Church, isolated in the countryside but once serving a largely Swedish-speaking parish of which now only a few houses remain. This church was built around 1800 to replace an earlier wooden one and little has been altered since then. Many members of the Ungern-Sternberg family are buried in the churchyard and the family coat of arms can be seen over the entrance. To show the contrast between Hiiumaa's international links in the 19th century and its isolation during much of the 20th century, it is worth noting in the churchyard the gravestone of Heinrich Eduard who lived in Reigi but met his Italian wife in Cheltenham, England. The allegedly colourful private lives of early pastors in the village have provided material for a novel by Aino Kallas and an opera by the contemporary composer Eduard Tubin.
