Kuressaare (Estonian pronunciation:[ˈkureˈsˑɑːre]) is acity on the islandSaaremaa inEstonia. It is the administrative centre ofSaaremaa Municipality and the seat ofSaare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2024 was 13,185.[2]
The town, which grew around the fortress, was simultaneously known by variants of its German-language nameArensburg (orAhrensburg) and the Estonian nameKuresaare linn[disputed –discuss];[4] the latter name being a combination ofKure saar — an ancient name of the Saaremaa island — andlinn ('city', 'fortress').[5] Alternatively, the name may come fromkure ('crane', 'large bird') a name that may have come from the city's German name and coat of arms, or may have existed before German settlers arrived.[6] Eventually, the town's name shortened to Kuressaare[5] and became the official name when Estonia became an independent country in 1918.[citation needed] During theSoviet occupation of Estonia, the city was officially calledKingissepa in 1952—1988 afterViktor Kingissepp, a Kuressaare-nativeBolshevik who was executed byKaPo on the 3rd of May, 1922
The entire island of Saaremaa (Ösel orOesel in historical context) was conquered by the German crusading order ofSword Brethren in 1227.[7] The western and southern portions of Saaremaa then became part of theBishopric of Ösel-Wiek in 1228,[8] a vassal statelet of theHoly Roman Empire. The first documentation of thePrince-bishop's castle in Kuressaare (arx aquilae) has been found in Latin texts written in 1381 and 1422. Over time, a town, which became known as Arensburg or Kuressaare linn,[5] grew and flourished around the fortress.
Johann von Münchhausen,Bishop of Ösel-Wiek since 1542, converted fromCatholicism toProtestantism and sold his lands to King of Denmark in 1559, and returned to his native Germany soon after. King of Denmark sent his younger brotherPrince Magnus to Kuressaare where he was elected bishop the following year. It was through his influence that the city obtained itsGerman civic charter in 1563.[3] The bishopric was finallysecularised in 1572 and Kuressaare as well as the entire island of Saaremaa became part of theKingdom of Denmark.
During the 19th century Kuressaare became a popularseaside resort on theBaltic Sea coast. The first known tourist group visited Kuressaare already in 1840,[10] and, since then, it has remained a popular summer destination and resort town to this day.
In the middle of the 19th century, Kuressaare became a spa town when large reserves ofhealing mud were discovered near the town. The first mud spa was built in 1840. Healing with mud baths has been tested on the west coast of Saaremaa since the mid-1820s. It was the "healthy mud" that became Kuressaare's main attraction. New sanatoriums and boarding houses were created, the order was considerably improved and the number of visitors continued to grow.[11]
DuringWorld War I, in the autumn of1917, German land and naval forces invaded Saaremaa duringOperation Albion and occupied the island until the end of the war in November 1918. Kuressaare was the administrative capital of the Saaremaa County of independent Estonia from 1918 to 1940. During that time, the resort's heyday continued. In addition to domestic visitors, there were also visitors from foreign countries: Latvia, Finland and Sweden.[12]
Over 90 civilians were killed by the Soviet naval forces andNKVD in 1941 in Kuressaare in one of the largest mass executions during the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
DuringWorld War II, after the Soviet Union had invaded and annexed Estonia in the summer of 1940, hundreds of Saaremaa islanders were arrested, deported and executed by the Soviet regime. Over 90 civilians were killed by the Soviet naval forces andNKVD in 1941 in the Kuressaare castle.
The development of tourism stopped during World War II, and was very slow during the second Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1944-1991, when the entire Saaremaa was declared a closed border zone, which excluded all foreign tourism. Only strictly limited and controlled domestic tourism was allowed.[11]
Today, Kuressaare is once again a resort town. New health facilities and hotels have been built, and historical monuments have been restored. Two thirds of the current visitors to the city are mainland Estonians, the remaining visitors are mainly from Finland, Sweden and Latvia.[11]
The old town of Kuressaare mainly preserves historical buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, but there are also older ones. In the old town there are, for example, St. Nicholas Church and Laurentius Church, a goods yard, an old mill (1899), a harbor yard (1663) and residential buildings. The baroque town hall and council house date from the 17th century, while the building of the Saaremaa Knighthood, located next to the Kuressaare town hall, dates from the 18th century. Among the oldest preserved buildings are also the parsonage building at Kauba tänav 5 and the Põlluvahi house at the corner of Kitsa and Kitzbergi streets.[13] The wooden church building from 1912, which belongs to the Estonian Methodist Church, is also noteworthy.
The medieval episcopalKuressaare Castle today houses the Saaremaa Regional Museum. The original wooden castle was constructed between 1338 and 1380, although other sources claim a fortress was built in Kuressaare as early as 1260.[14][15] In 1968, architectKalvi Aluve [et] began studies on Kuressaare Castle.[16]The square-shaped fortress consists of four building wings around the courtyard. On the northeast side are the gate and two towers: Pikk Hermann and Sturvolt. 17-18 are also important. The powerful earthen fortifications of the Kuressaare fortress around the medieval fortress core date from the 19th century. Kuressaare Castle is one of the best preserved in the Baltic States. It has been restored several times since the beginning of the 20th century. Since 2001, Kuressaare Castle Days have been organized every summer with knight tournaments, theatrical tours and processions, and other medieval attractions.[17][18]
To the south-west of the castle is Tori Bay, where the port of Kuressaare is located.
Kuressaare Castle Park and the historicist-style Kuressaare Kursaal are the center of resort life. Both were founded in the second half of the 19th century.[10]
At the beginning of Lossi Street, in the former fish market, there is a monument to those who fell in the Estonian War of Independence.
The city's biggest attraction is the Kuressaare Bishop's Castle, which mainly dates from the 14th century, and currently houses the Saaremaa Museum.
The town hall was originally built in 1654, and restored, retaining classicist and baroque features.[9] It was last restored in the 1960s with dolomite stairs at the front.[9] St Nicolaus Church was built in 1790.[9]
Former railway station, reconstructed in 1990Former railway station, reconstructed in 1990
Kuressaare is served byKuressaare Airport, located on a peninsula southeast of the city. There is regular traffic to Tallinn, as well as seasonal flights to the island ofRuhnu.
There are bus connections around the island, as well as withKuivastu on Muhu Island, a ferry terminal with connection to the mainland.
In 1917, during the German occupation, an urban railway was built in Kuressaare, and in 1918, it was transferred to the town administration. It connected the port with the city center. One of the stations was provisionally located in Kurhouse, and in 1924, the dedicated Park Station was built. The railway functioned until the 1930s when it was gradually disused and mostly dismantled. An attempt to revive the railway in the beginning of the 1950s, during the Soviet period, was unsuccessful, and ended up with rails fully removed from the streets.[35] In 1990, the railway station was reconstructed using old photos.
^abKirss, Sepp, Urve, Tiina (2005).Top of Estonia: Kuressaare (in Estonian). Harjumaa: Oomen.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Kliimanormid-Õhutemperatuur" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved28 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Kliimanormid-Sademed, õhuniiskus" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved28 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.) Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.
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