The Baltic Sea has been an important route of communication for centuries and thus a long stretch of land on its eastern shores developed characteristic features similar to those of the western coast. The influences of the local Swedish population are noticeable in Western Estonia and on the islands. Swedes did not come to live here in one wave of immigration; they arrived at different times and from many different places, mostly via Finland.

A typical example of the coastal Swedish culture are the colourful boxes, in other areas of Estonia, pyrography was more widely spread.