Kuressaare
Encyclopedia
Kuressaare is a town
and a municipality
on Saaremaa
island in Estonia
. It is the capital of Saare County
. The current population is about 14,706 (1. January 2011).
The city is situated on the coast of Gulf of Riga
and is served by Kuressaare Airport
.
a(a)r: eagle
, raptor) renders the Latin
denotation arx aquilae for the city's castle. The fortress and the eagle, tetramorph
symbol of Saint John the Evangelist
, are also the depicted on Kuressaare's coat of arms.
The name was replaced by Kuressaare (probably from Estonian
kurg: crane
) in 1918 after Estonia had declared its independence
from Bolshevist Russia
. Under Soviet
rule the town from 1952 to 1988 was called Kingissepa after the Bolshevik
Kuressaare-native Viktor Kingissepp
killed in 1922 (not to be confused with the Russia
n town Kingisepp
, formerly Jamburg).
) was conquered by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
under Volkwin of Naumburg in 1227, who merged with the Teutonic Knights
shortly afterwards. The first documentation about the castle (arx aquilae) has been found in Latin texts written in 1381 and 1422. The city around the fortress flourished and developed after it became the see of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
established by Albert of Riga in 1228, part of the Terra Mariana.
Johann von Münchhausen, bishop since 1542, had turned Protestant
. With the advance of the troops of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia
in the course of the Livonian War
, he sold his lands to King Frederick II of Denmark
in 1559 and returned to Germany. Frederick sent his younger brother Prince Magnus to Kuressaare where he was elected as bishop in the following year. From him the city obtained its civic charter
, modeled after that of Riga
in 1563. The bishopric was finally secularised
in 1572 and Kuressaare fell to the Danish crown.
In 1645 it passed to Swedish
control by the Treaty of Brömsebro after the Danish defeat in the Torstenson War. Queen Christina of Sweden
granted to her favourite Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie
the title of a Count of Arensburg, the German
and Swedish
name by which Kuressaare was known at that time. The city was burnt to the ground by Russian troops in 1710 during the Great Northern War
and suffered heavily from the plague. Abandoned by the Swedish it was incorporated into the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire
with the 1721 Treaty of Nystad
.
During the 19th century Kuressaare became a popular seaside resort
on the Baltic coast
. In October 1990, Kuressaare was the first town in Estonia to regain its self-governing status.
During I World War September-October 1917 German land and naval forces occupied Saaremaa with Operation Albion
.
During II World War was there Battle of Tehumardi
.
recitals are held in summer.
Kuressaare also hosts the FC Kuressaare
football
club.
with: Ekenäs (since 21 November 1988) Kuurne
(since 9 August 1998) Mariehamn
Finland (since 24 October 1991) Rønne
(since 3 October 1991) Skövde
(since 23 June 1993) Talsi
(since 27 May 1998) Turku
(since 30 May 1996) Vammala
(since 30 June 1994)
Populated places in Estonia
Populated places in Estonia are settlements or territorial units within a municipality. Populated places have no administrative functions. A group of populated places form a rural municipality with local administration...
and a municipality
Municipalities of Estonia
A Municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision of Estonia. Each municipality is a unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies. The municipalities in Estonia cover the entire territory of the country....
on Saaremaa
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
island in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. It is the capital of Saare County
Saare County
Saare County , or Saaremaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa , the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it. The county borders Lääne County to the east and Hiiu County to the north...
. The current population is about 14,706 (1. January 2011).
The city is situated on the coast of Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
and is served by Kuressaare Airport
Kuressaare Airport
Kuressaare Airport is an airport in Estonia. The airport is situated 3 km from the town of Kuressaare on Saaremaa island.The first runway was built in the last half of the 1930s. The airport was opened officially on 6 March 1945. The air traffic increased during the next years, and between...
.
Etymology
Its historic name Arensburg (from Middle High GermanMiddle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
a(a)r: eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
, raptor) renders the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
denotation arx aquilae for the city's castle. The fortress and the eagle, tetramorph
Tetramorph
A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek tetra, meaning four, and morph, shape....
symbol of Saint John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, are also the depicted on Kuressaare's coat of arms.
The name was replaced by Kuressaare (probably from Estonian
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
kurg: crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
) in 1918 after Estonia had declared its independence
Estonian Declaration of Independence
The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia , is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the National Day or Estonian Independence Day....
from Bolshevist Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. Under Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
rule the town from 1952 to 1988 was called Kingissepa after the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
Kuressaare-native Viktor Kingissepp
Viktor Kingissepp
Viktor Kingissepp was a Soviet Communist politician, and leader of the Estonian Communist Party.He was arrested by the Estonian Political Police on 1 May 1922 and executed for treason shortly afterwards....
killed in 1922 (not to be confused with the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n town Kingisepp
Kingisepp
Kingisepp , formerly Yamburg , Yam , and Yama , is an ancient town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the Luga Riverw west of St. Petersburg, east of Narva, and south of the Gulf of Finland...
, formerly Jamburg).
History
Kuressaare first appeared on maps around 1154. The island of Saaremaa (GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) was conquered by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were a military order founded by Bishop Albert of Riga in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...
under Volkwin of Naumburg in 1227, who merged with the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
shortly afterwards. The first documentation about the castle (arx aquilae) has been found in Latin texts written in 1381 and 1422. The city around the fortress flourished and developed after it became the see of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
The Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek was a semi-independent Roman Catholic prince-bishopric in what is now Saare, Hiiu and Lääne counties of Estonia.The bishopric was created as a state of Holy Roman Empire on 1 October 1228, by Henry, King of the Romans...
established by Albert of Riga in 1228, part of the Terra Mariana.
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
. With the advance of the troops of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
in the course of the Livonian War
Livonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...
, he sold his lands to King Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...
in 1559 and returned to Germany. Frederick sent his younger brother Prince Magnus to Kuressaare where he was elected as bishop in the following year. From him the city obtained its civic charter
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
, modeled after that of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in 1563. The bishopric was finally secularised
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
in 1572 and Kuressaare fell to the Danish crown.
In 1645 it passed to Swedish
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
control by the Treaty of Brömsebro after the Danish defeat in the Torstenson War. Queen Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
granted to her favourite Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie
Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie
Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was a Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three of the five offices counted as the Great Officers of the Realm, namely Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Chancellor and Lord High...
the title of a Count of Arensburg, the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
name by which Kuressaare was known at that time. The city was burnt to the ground by Russian troops in 1710 during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
and suffered heavily from the plague. Abandoned by the Swedish it was incorporated into the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
with the 1721 Treaty of Nystad
Treaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and Swedish Empire on 30 August / 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad , after Sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and Frederiksborg.During...
.
During the 19th century Kuressaare became a popular seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
on the Baltic coast
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. In October 1990, Kuressaare was the first town in Estonia to regain its self-governing status.
During I World War September-October 1917 German land and naval forces occupied Saaremaa with Operation Albion
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation in September-October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa , Hiiumaa and Muhu , then part of the Russian Republic...
.
During II World War was there Battle of Tehumardi
Battle of Tehumardi
The battle of Tehumardi was one of the most brutal engagements during the fighting on the Estonian island of Saaremaa in 1944.- Background :...
.
Culture
The medieval episcopal castle today houses the Saaremaa Regional Museum. Annual chamber musicChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
recitals are held in summer.
Kuressaare also hosts the FC Kuressaare
FC Kuressaare
FC Kuressaare is an Estonian football club based in Kuressaare. The club was founded in 1990, and plays at the Kuressaare linnastaadion. Due to their numerous promotions and relegations, they are considered as a yo-yo club...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club.
Born in Kuressaare
- Richard MaackRichard MaackRichard Otto Maack was a 19th century Russian naturalist, geographer, and anthropologist. He is most known for his exploration of the Russian Far East and Siberia, particularly the Ussuri and Amur River valleys...
(1825–1886), naturalist - Eugen DückerEugen DückerEugen Dücker or Eugène Gustav Dücker was a romanticist Baltic German painter.He was born in Kuressaare, Estonia, on 29 January 1841 in the Julian calendar and died on 6 December 1916 in Düsseldorf, where he developed almost all his career...
(1841–1916), romantic painter - Louis KahnLouis KahnLouis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
(1901–1974), Estonian-American architect - Voldemar VäliVoldemar VäliVoldemar Väli was a two-time Olympic medalist for Estonia in Greco-Roman wrestling.-External links:***...
(1903–1997), two-time Olympic medalist for Estonia in the sport of Men's Greco-Roman Featherweight Wrestling. - Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven (1914–2007), Bundeswehr Chief of Staff
- Ivar Karl UgiIvar Karl UgiIvar Karl Ugi was a German chemist who made major contributions to organic chemistry. He is known for the research on multicomponent reactions, yielding the Ugi reaction.-Biography:...
(1930–2005), chemist
Twin cities — Sister cities
Kuressaare is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Ekenäs (since 21 November 1988) Kuurne
Kuurne
Kuurne is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Kuurne proper. On January 1, 2006 Kuurne had a total population of 12,591. The total area is 10.01 km² which gives a population density of 1258 inhabitants per km².Inhabitants...
(since 9 August 1998) Mariehamn
Mariehamn
Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
Finland (since 24 October 1991) Rønne
Rønne
Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,904 . Once a municipality in its own right, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality....
(since 3 October 1991) Skövde
Skövde Municipality
Skövde Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Skövde....
(since 23 June 1993) Talsi
Talsi
Talsi is a town in Latvia. It is the center of Talsi municipality.-Talsi:Talsi - known as 'The Town of Nine Hills' - perches above two lakes...
(since 27 May 1998) Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
(since 30 May 1996) Vammala
Vammala
Vammala is a former town and municipality of southwestern Finland, chartered in 1907.On 1 January 2009 Vammala was consolidated with the municipalities of Mouhijärvi and Äetsä, to form a new city named Sastamala.-Geography:...
(since 30 June 1994)