Kuressaare

Kuressaare
Kuressaare Castle
Flag Coat of arms
Kuressaare Location of Kuressaare in Estonia
Coordinates: 58°15′N 22°29′E / 58.25°N 22.483°E / 58.25; 22.483
Country	Estonia
County	Saare County
First appeared on map	1154
Government
- Mayor	Urve Tiidus
Area
- Total	14.95 km2 (5.77 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- Total	14,898
- Density	996.52/km2 (2,581.98/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	www.kuressaare.ee

Kuressaare (German: Arensburg) is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the capital of Saare County. The current population is about 15,300.

The town is situated on the coast of Gulf of Riga and is served by Kuressaare Airport.

Kuressaare castle towers over the moat at dusk

Etymology

Its historic name Arensburg (from Middle High German a(a)r: eagle, raptor) renders the Latin denotation arx aquilae for the town'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 Russian town Kingisepp, formerly Jamburg).

History

Kuressaare first appeared on maps around 1154. The island of Saaremaa (German, Swedish: Ösel) 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 town 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.

Town hall

Johann von Münchhausen, bishop since 1542, had turned Protestant. With the advancement 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 town 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 town 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.

The castle in spring

Culture

The medieval episcopal castle today houses the Saaremaa Regional Museum. Annual chamber music recitals are held in summer.

Kuressaare is a safe and healthy town, open for international cooperation and communication. It also hosts the FC Kuressaare football club.

Born in Kuressaare

• Richard Maack (1825-1886), naturalist
• Eugen Dücker (1841-1916), romantic painter
• Louis Kahn (1901-1974), Estonian-American architect
• Voldemar Väli (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 Ugi (1930-2005), chemist

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kuressaare is twinned with: Ekenäs, Finland since 21 November 1988
Rønne, Denmark since 3 October 1991
Mariehamn, Finland since 24 October 1991
Skövde, Sweden since 23 June 1993
Vammala, Finland since 30 June 1994
Turku, Finland since 30 May 1996
Talsi, Latvia since 27 May 1998
Kuurne, Belgium since 9 August 1998

See also

• Municipalities of Estonia
• List of cities and towns in Estonia

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kuressaare

• Kuressaare.ee - Official Website
• Information and history about the town
• Saaremaa museum
• Kuressaare Airport homepage
• Kuressaare Live Webcam
• Kuressaare travel information
• Kuressaare at the Open Directory Project

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