| Saaremaa island | ||
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| Island | ||
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| Country | Estonia | |
| State | Saare County | |
| Region | Western Estonia | |
| Municipality | Saare maakond | |
| Area | 2,673 km² (1,032 sq mi) | |
| Center | ||
| - coordinates | Coordinates: | |
| Population | 39,231 (2008) | |
| Density | 13. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Saare County ( Estonian: Saare maakond) or Saaremaa, ( Latin: Osilia or Oesel) is one of 15 counties Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. 5 /km² (35 /sq mi) | |
| Municipality | 1918 | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| - summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
 Saaremaa island
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| Website : www.saaremaa.ee | ||
Saaremaa is the largest island belonging to Estonia. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Central European Time ( CET) is one of the names of the Time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+1 is used in the following locations Central European Time West Africa Time Western European Summer Time Central European Summer Time ( CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 Time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+2 corresponds to the following Time zones Eastern European Time Egypt Standard Time Central Africa Time An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the west Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago). Saare County ( Estonian: Saare maakond) or Saaremaa, ( Latin: Osilia or Oesel) is one of 15 counties The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Hiiumaa is the second largest Island (989 km² belonging to Estonia. An archipelago (ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ is a chain or cluster of Islands The word archipelago literally means "chief Sea " from Italian Moonsund archipelago (sometimes called Estonian archipelago) is a group of Islands located in Baltic Sea. The capital of Saaremaa is Kuressaare, which has about 15,000 inhabitants; the whole island has over 39,000 inhabitants. Kuressaare (Arensburg is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia.
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Etymology
The island is called Saaremaa in Estonian, and in Finnish Saarenmaa — literally "isle's land". Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside In old Scandinavian sagas, Saarema is called Eysysla, which means exactly the same as the name of the island in Estonian: "the district (land) of island". This is the origin of the island's name in German and Swedish, Ösel, Danish, Øsel, Gutnish Oysl, and in Latin, Osilia. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Modern Gutnish is the old language of the island of Gotland (in present day Sweden) Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The name Eysysla appears sometimes together with Adalsysla, "the big land", perhaps 'Suuremaa' or 'Suur Maa' in Estonian, which refers to mainland Estonia.
History
According to archaeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between islanders and Vikings. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Saaremaa was the wealthiest county of ancient Estonia and the home of notorious Estonian pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Oeselians (or Osilians) were a historical Finnic people inhabiting Saaremaa ( Latin: Oesel or Osilia) in Estonia The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred Osilians ravaging the area that is now southern Sweden, then belonging to Denmark. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia ( Latin: Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) is a historic document describing the history of Livonia and surrounding areas from This region should not be confused with Skånland in Norway Official status When Skåneland was an official entity in its original Danish The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe In 1206, the King Valdemar II of Denmark built a fortress on the island but they found no volunteers to man it. "Valdemar the Victorious" redirects here For the novel by Bernhard Severin Ingemann, see Valdemar the Victorious (novel. They burned it themselves and left.
In 1227, Saaremaa was conquered by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword during the Livonian Crusade, but remained a hotbed of Estonian resistance. Bishop Albert of Riga founded the Military order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae Schwertbrüderorden in 1202 The Livonian Crusade refers to the German and Danish conquest and colonization of medieval Livonia, the territory constituting modern Latvia The crusaders founded the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek there. The Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek (Saare-Lääne piiskopkond Bistum Ösel-Wiek Low German: Bisdom Ösel-Wiek; contemporary Ecclesia Osiliensis was a semi-independent When the Order was defeated by the Lithuanian army in the Battle of Saule in 1236, the Saaremaa islanders rebelled. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje The Battle of Saule (Schlacht von Schaulen Saules kauja Saulės mūšis or Šiaulių mūšis was fought on September 22 1236 between the Livonian The conflict was ended by a treaty that was signed by the Osilians and the Master of the Order. In the following year, the Sword-Brothers were absorbed into the Teutonic Order. The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order.
Most of Saaremaa was ruled directly by the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, while some parts were enfeoffed to the Livonian Order. In 1559, the bishopric and Saaremaa were sold to Denmark, becoming part of Danish Estonia. The Duchy of Estonia was a dominion of Denmark during the Middle Ages. From 1570 until 1645 the entire island was under Danish possession.
In 1645, Saaremaa was ceded from Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Brömsebro. The Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated The Treaty of Brömsebro (or the Peace of Brömsebro) was signed on August 13, 1645, which ended the Torstenson War (a local conflict that In 1721, along with the rest of Swedish Livonia, Saaremaa (then known by its Swedish name of Ösel) was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Treaty of Nystad, becoming a part of the Governorate of Livonia. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The Treaty of Nystad (Ништадтский мир Uudenkaupungin rauha was signed in 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad (which is called Uusikaupunki The Governorate of Livonia (Vidzemes guberņa Liivimaa kubermang Лифляндская губерния Livländisches Gouvernement or Livland, also known as the
In World War I, the Estonian islands were conquered by Imperial German Army in October 1917 and occupied (Operation Albion) until the end of hostilities. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The German Army ( Deutsches Heer) was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Empire, also known as the Imperial Army ( Reichsheer) or Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation in September and October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa (Ösel Hiiumaa Estonia became independent after the October Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire. The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution As a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the new state was incorporated into the Soviet Union in June 1940 as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика Estonskaya The island was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941 (Operation Beowulf); German troops remained there until expelled by the Red Army in the Moonzund Landing Operation of November 1944. See also Estonia in World War II After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Wehrmacht reached Estonia Operation Beowulf refers to two German plans to occupy the islands of Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Muhu, off the Estonian west coast The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Moonzund Landing Operation, (Russian Моонзундская десантная операция was an amphibious operation and offensive by the Red Army during World
Estonian independence was regained on August 20, 1991, in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The Soviet Union 's collapse into independent nations began early in 1985
Geography
The island forms the main barrier between the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. To the south of it is the main passage out of the gulf, the Irbe Strait, next to Sõrve Peninsula, the southernmost portion of the island. Irbe Strait, also known as Irben Strait (Kura kurk Irbes jūras šaurums forms the main exit out of the Gulf of Riga to the Baltic Sea, between the Sõrve Peninsula (Sõrve poolsaar is a Peninsula which forms the southernmost section of the Estonian island Saaremaa. The highest point on the island is 54 m above sea level. One particularly interesting feature found on the island is the Kaali crater. Kaali is a small group of 9 Meteorite craters on Saaremaa, Estonia. The island has lots of forested terrain. One of the symbols of the island is the juniper. Junipers are Coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae.
Nature
More than 10,000 years ago the first parts of Saaremaa arose from the Baltic Ice Dam Lake. The uplift of the earth's crust is continuing even today - 2mm per year. The West - Estonian islands are lowlying plains resting on limestone, their average elevation being about 15 meters above sea level. Limestone has become denuded in a great number of places, resulting in cliffs, limestone pits and quarries at Mustjala, Ninase, Pulli, Uugu and Kaugatuma. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 Because of its mild maritime climate and a variety of soils, Saaremaa has a rich flora, illustrated by the fact that 80% of the plant species found in Estonia are represented here. In Botany, flora ( Plural: floras or florae has two meanings The first meaning flora of an area or of time period, refers to all Altogether 1200 species of vascular plants can be found in Saaremaa. About 120 of the local plant species are rare ones which have received special protection status. The most famous endemic species is Rhinanthus osiliensis - a rare little flower growing mostly in spring fens; rare and beautiful flowers are widespread - out of the 36 species found in Estonia, 35 of them are found on Saaremaa and neighbouring islands. Over 40% of Saaremaa is covered with forests. They are mostly mixed forests but in some areas one can also find broad - leaved (deciduous), which are relict plant communities of former milder climatic periods. Wooded meadows were still common in Saaremaa before World War II, but many of these unique natural complexes have gradually become overgrown and thus turned into the ordinary forest. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The same is true for alvars (limestone areas covered with thin soil and stunted vegetation). This article is about the landform For the Tamil saints see Alvars; for the village in Armenia see Alvar Armenia. Once a typical and exclusive landscape element in Saaremaa alvars are now in decline. Nature conservation planning for Saaremaa now includes protection of the largest and most unusual alvar areas.
Saaremaa has a wide variety of rare wildlife species - ranging from insects to seals. The smallest protected wildlife species include Cloude Apolle butterflies and Roman snails.
The coastal areas of Saaremaa are famous seal habitats. The gray seal which is common here can be found in three large permanent resting areas on the islets off the coast in the western and southern parts of Saaremaa. The local population of grey seal is slightly increasing Ringed seals can also be encountered everywhere in the coastal waters of Saaremaa, but because of their timidity it has not been possible to make an estimation of their number. The islands lie within the East - Atlantic flyway, which is the migration path of waterfowl. This "bird - road" connects northeastern Europe with Arctic regions and each year hundreds of thousands of migratory birds visit Saaremaa in spring and autumn. The barnacle goose, mute swan, whooper swan, eider, shelduck and a great many other bird species have been given protection status. The Barnacle Goose ( Branta leucopsis) belongs to the Genus Branta of black geese, which contains Species with largely black The Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is a Eurasian member of the Duck, Goose and Swan family Anatidae. The Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus) is a large Northern Hemisphere Swan. For the river see Eider River. For other uses see Eider (disambiguation. The Shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. But on the whole, the islands are somewhat poorer in wildlife species than the mainland. Neither mole, mink, nor otter can be found here, the lynx and the brown bear are but infrequent guests. There are two living species of " mink," the American Mink and the European Mink. Otters are semi- aquatic (or in one case aquatic) fish-eating Mammals The otter subfamily Lutrinae forms part of the family A lynx is any of four medium-sized wild cats. All are members of the Genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify The Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos) is an Omnivorous Mammal of the family Ursidae, distributed across much of northern Eurasia and [1]
Kaali
Kaali is a small group of nine unique meteorite craters on Saaremaa. Kaali is a small group of 9 Meteorite craters on Saaremaa, Estonia. A meteorite is a natural object originating in Outer space that survives an impact with the Earth 's surface In the broadest sense the term impact crater can be applied to any depression natural or manmade resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with larger body The largest of the craters measures 110 meters in diameter and contains a small lake (known as Kaali järv (Lake Kaali)). The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Geometry, a diameter of a Circle is any straight Line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose Endpoints are on the The meteor cluster had an impact velocity of 10-20 km/s and a mass of 20-80 tons. At the altitude of 5-10 km the meteor broke into pieces. The largest fragment produced the main crater with a depth of 22 m. Eight smaller craters with diameters ranging from 12 to 40 m and depths varying from 1 to 4 m are all within 1 kilometer of the main crater. The explosion that caused the craters is estimated to have happened 660 ± 85 B.C. (Holocene). The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC The energy of the impact (about 80 TJ (20 kilotons of TNT), comparable with the Hiroshima bomb) burned forests within a radius of 6 km. The joule (written in lower case ˈdʒuːl or /ˈdʒaʊl/ (symbol J) is the SI unit of Energy measuring heat, Electricity Little Boy was the Codename of the Atomic bomb, developed via the "Manhattan Project" which was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6 1945 by the [2]
Resources
Dolomite, limestone, curative mud, mineral water, sand and gravel, ceramic clay are the major local minerals. Dolomite (ˈdɒləmaɪt is the name of a Sedimentary Carbonate rock and a Mineral, both composed Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 In many places mineral water is often colloquially used to mean Carbonated water (which is usually carbonated mineral water as opposed to tap water Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Gravel is rock that is of a specific Particle size range In Geology, gravel is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters (2mm Of these local resources the dolomite is perhaps the most famous above all. [3]
Characteristics
The majority of the population is Estonian (97%). Estonians ( Estonian: eestlased, previously maarahvas) are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting primarily the country The biggest minority nationality is Russian, equaling 2% of the inhabitants. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries Compared to the Republic of Estonia on the whole, the population of Saaremaa County and particularly of Kuressaare town is younger, whereas the number of the retired people is considerably smaller. Kuressaare (Arensburg is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. Saaremaa is located in the centre of the Baltic region with the most rapidly growing market in Europe containing 70 million consumers. Gates to the West include not only the newly reconstructed Kuressaare Airport and Roomassaare Port, the operation of modern ferries between Saaremaa and the mainland but also the rapid development of the telecommunications, highly important for the island. Kuressaare Airport is an Airport in Estonia. The airport is situated 3 km from the town of Kuressaare on Saaremaa island Saaremaa is a tourist destination, revisited by 35% of foreign and 95% of domestic tourists. Saaremaa has an entrepreneur-friendly, safe, and strain-free economic environment. [4]
Transportation
It is possible to reach Saaremaa by ferry from Virtsu on the Estonian mainland to Muhu island, which is itself connected to Saaremaa via a causeway. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Virtsu is a town in Western coast of continental Estonia, and a location of the main Port for traffic to and from Saaremaa, the largest Island Muhu (in German Moon or Mohn; in Estonian also called Muhumaa) is an Island in the Baltic Sea. In modern usage a causeway is a road or railway elevated by a bank usually across a broad Body of water or Wetland. Saaremaa can also be reached using a ferry from Sõru on the island of Hiiumaa. Hiiumaa is the second largest Island (989 km² belonging to Estonia. It is also possible to reach Saaremaa by ferry from Ventspils in Latvia. Ventspils (ventspils; Windau is a City in northwestern Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. This service started in 2005 and is run by SSC Ferries. There are regular bus services from Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu on the mainland. Tallinn (historically known by the German, Swedish and Danish name Reval or the Polish name Rewal, among other names Pärnu (Pernau Пярну formerly Пернов Parnawa is a City in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay an inlet of the Gulf of Riga Tartu is the second largest City of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual An airfield exists at Kuressaare Airport. Kuressaare Airport is an Airport in Estonia. The airport is situated 3 km from the town of Kuressaare on Saaremaa island It is possible to fly from Kuressaare to Tallinn, and there are also seasonal flights to Pärnu and Stockholm. airBaltic part of SAS Group as well as Finnair subsidiary Aero Airlines [1] operate seasonal flights to Riga and Helsinki respectively during the summer season. A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as airBaltic, is the Latvian national Airline, based in the capital of Latvia, Riga. SAS Group, formerly Scandinavian Airlines System, is a company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Finnair Plc is Finland 's largest Airline and the Flag carrier, with its headquarters in Vantaa, Finland and its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Aero Airlines was a regional Airline based in Tallinn, Estonia. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Helsinki (in Finnish;) or Helsingfors (in Swedish;) is the Capital and largest city of Finland. There was an airfield at Asta (air base) during the Cold War. Asta (Estonian Aste) was a Soviet air base in Estonia located 12 km north of Kuressaare. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the
Plans to connect Saaremaa to the mainland either by the Saaremaa Bridge or Saaremaa Tunnel are being studied. The project will cost at least 175 million euros and will be ready no sooner than 2014. The Latvian airline AirBaltic has launched a direct flight to from Riga to Kuressaare, directed mostly at health and spa tourists. A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as airBaltic, is the Latvian national Airline, based in the capital of Latvia, Riga. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. The airline Estonian Air has also a flight line from Tallinn to Kuressaare. AS Estonian Air is an airline based in Tallinn, Estonia. It is a regional airline feeding into the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS network via Stockholm Tallinn (historically known by the German, Swedish and Danish name Reval or the Polish name Rewal, among other names
Gallery
 The cliffs near the village Panga on the north coast of Saaremaa, Estonia. Aug 7, 2007. |
 Beach ridges on the northern coast of Saaremaa, Estonia. July 27, 2007. |
 Kuressaare Castle, Saaremaa, Estonia. July 27, 2007. |
 Soviet WWII memorial, Saaremaa, Estonia. July 27, 2007. |
 Soviet WWII graves, Saaremaa, Estonia. July 27, 2007. |
 Saaremaa countryside |
 Kaali meteorite crater |
See also
- List of islands of Estonia
- List of islands in the Baltic Sea
- Saare County
- Extreme points of Europe
- Pöide church
References
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External links
Wikimedia Atlas of Estonia- Saaremaa
- Neomobile provide local bus services across the island
- Avies fly daily between Tallinn and Kuressaare
- Watch Saaremaa online via webcam
Dictionary
Saaremaa
-proper noun
- The largest island of Estonia.
- Saare County in Estonia.
- Historical Estonian eldership.
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