Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring, its population is 31,435. The main island of the West Estonian archipelago, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and northwest of the Gulf of Riga. The administrative centre of the island, and of the Saare maakond, is the town of Kuressaare.
From the 13th century until the first half of the 20th century, the island of Saaremaa was known in most of the world by variants of its other historical name Ösel.
Etymology
Saaremaa was called Eysýsla in the Icelandic sagas and other early medieval Scandinavian sources, and named in contrast with Aðalsýsla or the Estonian mainland. The island is called Saaremaa in modern Estonian and Saarenmaa in Finnish—literally, 'land of the isle' or 'land of the island', that is, the same as the ancient Scandinavian name for the island.The old Scandinavian name is also the origin of the island's name in Danish, German and Swedish, Gutnish, and Latin. In Latvian, the island is called Sāmsala, which possibly means 'the island of Saami'. Saaremaa may have been the historic Ultima Thule.
History
According to archaeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited from at least 5000 BCE. Nordic Iron Age ship burials, dated to 700–750 CE, have been found in Sõrve Peninsula. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between the islanders and Vikings. Saaremaa was and the home of notorious pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and 500 Osilians ravaging the area that is now southern Sweden, then belonging to Denmark.Probably around 1000, Gunnar Hámundarson from Iceland took part in a Viking raid at Eysýsla. There he obtained his famous atgeir, by taking it from a man named Hallgrímur. Njáls saga tells the following:
The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred pirates from Saaremaa ravaging the area that is now southern Sweden, then belonging to Denmark. The XIVth book of Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus describes a subsequent battle on Öland in 1170 in which the Danish king Valdemar I mobilized his entire fleet to curb the incursions of pirates from "Couronia" and Saaremaa.
Perhaps the most renowned raid by the inhabitants of Saaremaa occurred in 1187, with the attack on the Swedish town of Sigtuna. Among the casualties of this raid was the Swedish archbishop Johannes. Archaeological excavations have not verified the traditions of destruction of the town. Normal life in Sigtuna continued until town started to slowly lose its importance during 13th century due to navigability problems caused by post-glacial rebound.
In 1227, Saaremaa was conquered by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword during the Livonian Crusade but the resistance of the local inhabitants remained strong. The crusaders founded the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek there. When the Order was defeated by the Lithuanian army in the Battle of Saule in 1236, the 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 Sword-Brothers were absorbed into the Teutonic Order. As the crusaders' hold on Saaremaa got stronger, Christianity also became more established on the island, and to this day Saaremaa has a unique set of medieval churches in Kaarma, Karja, Kihelkonna, Muhu, Pöide, Püha and Valjala churches. The crusader's fortress Kuressaare Castle, known in German as Schloss Arensburg, was built by the Teutonic Order for the bishops of Ösel–Wiek. Construction began in 1380 and it is one of the most well-preserved medieval castles in Estonia and bears testimony to the late Medieval Age.
During the 14th–16th centuries, and possibly earlier, inhabitants of Saaremaa started to resettle into areas surrounding the Baltic Sea and, for example, to establish villages on the Livonian coast.
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. From 1570 until 1645 the entire island was under Danish possession.
In 1645, Saaremaa was ceded from Denmark–Norway to Sweden by the Treaty of Brömsebro. In 1721, along with the rest of Livonia, Saaremaa was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Treaty of Nystad, becoming a part of the Governorate of Livonia.
In 1840, the first spa opened in Kuressaare, and the town experienced renaissance and became a popular seaside resort.
During World War I, the West Estonian Archipelago was conquered by Imperial German Army in October 1917 and remained occupied by Germans until the end of hostilities in November 1918. Thereafter Saaremaa became part of the newly independent Republic of Estonia. Most of the local Baltic German population of the island was resettled to Germany following the August 1939 Nazi–Soviet Pact. During World War II, the island was first occupied by the Soviet Red Army in June 1940 and, along with the rest of Estonian territory, formally annexed into the Stalinist USSR in August 1940. On 8 August 1941, Soviet Naval Aviation started a on Berlin from Saaremaa. The island was then invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany later. German troops were expelled and the island was reoccupied by the Soviet Red Army in the Moonsund Landing Operation in October and November 1944. In 1946, the Soviet military authorities declared Saaremaa a restricted zone closed to all non-local civilians, i.e., mainland Estonians and foreigners. It remained a restricted area until 1989. Estonia regained full independence in August 1991.
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. In medieval times islanders crossed the strait to form fishing villages on the Livonian coast, notably Pitrags. In those days it was easier and quicker to cross the strait towards nearby Kolka, Saunags or Mazirbe, than travel by horse large distances inland. The highest point on the island is 54 m above sea level. The Kaali crater is on the island. The island has much forested terrain. One of the symbols of the island is the juniper.Nature
More than 10,000 years ago the first parts of Saaremaa arose from the Baltic Ice Lake. The uplift of the Earth's crust is continuing even today at a rate of per year. The West Estonian islands are low-lying plains resting on limestone; their average elevation is roughly above sea level. Limestone has become denuded in a great number of places, resulting in cliffs, limestone pits and quarries at Mustjala, Ninase, Pulli, Üügu and Kaugatuma.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. Altogether 1200 species of vascular plants can be found in Saaremaa. About 120 of the local plant species are rare ones that 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 its adjacent islands.
Over 40% of Saaremaa is covered with forests, most of which are mixed forests, but in some areas, one can find broad-leaved trees, which are relicts of plant communities of former milder climatic periods. Wooded meadows were common in Saaremaa before World War II, but many of these unique natural complexes have gradually become overgrown and thus converted into the ordinary forest. The same is true for alvars. 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 in terms of size include the clouded apollo butterflies and Roman snails.
The coastal areas of Saaremaa are well-known seal habitats; in fact, the indigenous gray seal can be found in three large permanent resting areas on the islets off the coast in the western and southern parts of Saaremaa. Nowadays, the local population of said seals is slightly increasing. Ringed seals can 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 in the East Atlantic Flyway, a migration route of waterfowl. This "bird road" connects northeastern Europe with Arctic regions. 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. But on the whole, the islands are somewhat poorer in wildlife species than the mainland. Neither mole, mink, nor otter can be found here, whilst the Eurasian lynx and the brown bear are infrequent guests.
Kaali Meteorite
Kaali is a small group of nine unique meteorite craters on Saaremaa. The largest of the craters measures in diameter and contains a small lake, known as Lake Kaali. The meteor cluster had an impact velocity of and a mass of. At the altitude of the meteor broke into pieces. The largest fragment produced the main crater with a depth of.Eight smaller craters with diameters ranging from and depths varying from are all within of the main crater. The age estimates of the crater vary, with 4000 ± 1000 BCE being a commonly accepted estimate, though other estimates suggest the explosion was as recent as 660 ± 85 BCE. The energy of the impact—about 80 TJ, comparable with the Hiroshima bomb—burned forests within a radius of of the impact site. There are numerous legends related to the crater; these are summarized by former Estonian President Lennart Meri in his book Hõbevalge.