Püssi | |
|---|---|
 Lüganuse school building | |
  Püssi Location in Estonia | |
| Coordinates:59°22′N27°03′E / 59.367°N 27.050°E /59.367; 27.050 | |
| Country |  Estonia |
| County |  Ida-Viru County |
| Municipality |  Lüganuse Parish |
| First mentioned | 1472 |
| Borough rights | 1954 |
| Town rights | 1993 |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 859 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Püssi (/ˈpʊsi/PUUS-ee;Estonian:[ˈpysʲːi];German:Neu-Isenhof) is a town inLüganuse Parish,Ida-Viru County,Estonia, with a population of 917 as of 2018[update].[1] It is located near the road betweenTallinn andSt. Petersburg.[2]
Following the end of theSoviet Union, Püssi saw a sharp economic downturn and a population exodus.[3] In 1989, the population of Püssi stood at 2,400 people,[3] and 20 years later, in 2009, was only 1,809. The population has continued to decrease and by 2012 stood at 1,783 people.[4] In October 2013, Püssi along withMaidla Parish were merged intoLüganuse Parish, and therefore ceased to exist as separate municipalities.
By 2002 Püssi had accumulated 20 millionkroons of debt, the equivalent to 1.3 millioneuros; and property values had become so low that apartments were valued around zero. Since then, the city's economy has begun to recover. Püssi has planned the construction of anindustrial park. The Chairman of the town council, in an interview withThe Baltic Times, marketed Püssi by stating that property values in the city were only 1% of those of the capital city ofTallinn.[3]
Püssi has historically served as a production center forparticle board. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the town's largest employer was particle board manufacturer Repo Vabrikud, which employed 1,400 people, over half the city. Although Repo Vabrikud has scaled back employment significantly,[3] other particle board manufacturers have moved in. Sorbes Group has the production center for its "Repo by Sorbes" line of particle board in Püssi.[2] In 2011, the Estonian furniture manufacturerViisnurk took over an inactive softboard factory in the city with the intention to manufacture softboard for international clients in Asia and Europe.[5]
In December 2010,Siemens announced that Püssi had been selected as the location of one of two converter stations for their "EstLink 2" high voltage power line betweenEstonia andFinland.[6]
Püssi is the home of the Püssi Punk Festival, which has run annually since 2005, and featuresrock,metal,blues, andindie musicians from several countries.[7][8]
The town contains an artificial mountain made of ash from anoil shale power plant that has been depositing ash in the location since the 1930s.[9] The mountain is used formotocross racing.[2]
