The distance between Fårö and the island of Saaremaa is only 150 km. Saaremaa is almost five-sixths of the area of Gotland, making it the second largest island in the Baltic Sea. Saaremaa is 7 km from the Estonian mainland. The population is roughly 40,000. Saaremaa has 15 municipalities and the main town is Kuressaare with roughly 17,000 inhabitants.

In January 1989 the district government of Saaremaa and Gotland signed a twinning agreement. In autumn the same year an agreement was signed about forms of cooperation. By that time journalists, choirs, sports clubs, etc. had already began to establish contacts across the Baltic Sea.