Haapsalu is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 …Haapsalu is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. The name "Haapsalu" derives from the Estonian words haab 'aspen' and salu 'island'. Until the first half of the 20th century, in Swedish and German the town was called Hapsal. Haapsalu and the surrounding area was the center for the Estonian Swedes from the 13th century until the evacuation of almost all ethnic Swedes from Estonia prior to the Soviet invasion of Estonia during World War II in 1944.