{
  "place_id": "khaapsalu#8274_11307",
  "wikidata": "Q191106",
  "country": "EE",
  "local_name": "Haapsalu",
  "names": {
    "en": {
      "main": "Haapsalu",
      "why": "Current official Estonian Latin-script name, retained in English with its local spelling; no Cyrillic romanization is required.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Hapsal",
          "why": "German and Swedish historical name used in English Baltic history."
        },
        {
          "name": "Gapsal",
          "why": "Russian-based historical English form, chiefly in imperial-period references."
        }
      ]
    },
    "fr": {
      "main": "Haapsalu",
      "why": "Same form as in English; retained in French reference usage, without a separate French exonym.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Hapsal",
          "why": "German and Swedish historical name used in French Baltic history."
        },
        {
          "name": "la Venise de la Baltique",
          "why": "French tourism nickname recorded in the French reference entry; the article la belongs to the nickname, not to Haapsalu. Not a unique official name."
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "about_en": "Haapsalu is a coastal town in western Estonia. Its episcopal castle, wooden villas and mud-bath traditions reflect its history as both a medieval centre and a seaside resort.",
  "about_fr": "",
  "certainty": "high",
  "notes": "The French tourism nickname la Venise de la Baltique is descriptive and non-unique; Haapsalu itself takes no fixed article. Reference pages checked 2026-11-15: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haapsalu ; https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haapsalu.",
  "rank": 990,
  "slug": "haapsalu"
}