What is Saaremaa?

This article is about the island. For the county, see Saare County.

Saaremaa is the largest island (2,673 km²) belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the west Estonian archipelago. The capital of Saaremaa is Kuressaare, which has about 16,000 inhabitants; the whole island has about 40,000 inhabitants.

Saaremaa is the main island of Saare County, called Saaremaa or Saare maakond in Estonian, and in Finnish Saarenmaa — literally isle's land. The Swedish and German name of the island is Ösel, and the Danish is Øsel (where the letters Ö and Ø are pronounced like the u in further and mean island).

Geography

The island forms the main barrier between the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea. 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. The highest point on the island is 54 m above sea level.

One particularly interesting feature found on the island is the Kaali crater.

The island has lots of forested terrain. One of the symbols of the island is the juniper.

History

Main article: History of Estonia

According to archeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. In old Scandinavian sagas, Saaremaa 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, and in Latin Osilia. The name Eysysla appears sometimes together with Adalsysla, 'the big land', perhaps 'Suuremaa' or 'Suur Maa' in Estonian which refers to mainland Estonia. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between islanders and vikings. Saaremaa was the wealthiest county of ancient Estonia and the home of notorious Estonian pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. 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. In 1206 the Danish Valdemar II the Victorious built a castle on the island. In 1218-19 winter Lithuanians attacked the island over the frozen Irbe strait. In 1227 Saaremaa was conquered by the Livonian Order, but remained a hotbed of Estonian resistance. The Order founded the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek there. When the Order was defeated by the Lithuanian army in the Battle of Saule in 1236, Saaremaa islanders rebelled. The conflict was ended by a treaty that was signed by the Osilians and the Master of the Order. In the following year, the Order was absorbed into the Teutonic Order. In 1270 the island was devastated by Lithuanians, led by Grand Duke Traidenis.

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. And thereby some part of the island came under Danish possession. From 1570 to 1645 the whole island were under Danish possession.

In 1645, Saaremaa was ceded from Denmark to Sweden by the Treaty of Brömsebro. In 1721, along with the rest of Swedish Estonia, Saaremaa (then known by its Swedish name of Ösel) was ceded to Imperial Russia by the Treaty of Nystad, becoming a part of the Russian governorate-general of Estonia.

In the 20th century, Saaremaa was twice occupied by German forces. In World War I, the Estonian islands were conquered in October 1917 and occupied (Operation Albion) until the end of hostilities.

Estonia became independent after the October Revolution and the collapse of Imperial Russia. The new state was pressured into incorporation into the USSR in June 1940, as a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Nonaggression Pact. The Germans once again occupied the islands in 1941 (Operation Beowulf) and remained there until expelled by the Red Army in November 1944.

Estonian independence was regained on August 20 1991, in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Transport to Saaremaa

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. Saaremaa can also be reached using a ferry from Sõru on the island of Hiiumaa.

It is also possible to reach Saaremaa by ferry from Ventspils in Latvia. This service started in 2005 and is run by SSC Ferries.

There are regular bus services from Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu on the mainland.

An airfield exists at Kuressaare Airport. 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. There was an airfield at Asta (air base) during the Cold War.

Plans to connect Saaremaa to the mainland either by bridge or 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 Saaremmaa (Riga - Kuressaare), directed mostly at health and spa tourists.

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.

See also

• List of islands of Estonia
• List of islands in the Baltic Sea
• Saare County
• Extreme points of Europe
• Pöide church

External links

• Saaremaa
• Avies fly daily between Tallinn and Kuressaare
• Neomobile provide local bus services across the island

Coordinates: