Saaremaa (/ˈsɑːrəmɑː/;Estonian:[ˈsɑˑreˌmɑː]) is the largest and most populous island inEstonia. Measuring 2,673 km2 (1,032 sq mi),[1] its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020).[2] The main island of theWest Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in theBaltic Sea, south ofHiiumaa island and northwest of theGulf of Riga. The administrative centre of the island, and of the Saaremaakond (county), is the town ofKuressaare.
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 nameÖsel.
Saaremaa was calledEysýsla in theIcelandicsagas and other early medieval Scandinavian sources (Old Norse:[ˈœyˌsyːslɑ], meaning 'the island district'), and named in contrast withAðalsýsla ('the great district') or the Estonian mainland. The island is calledSaaremaa in modernEstonian andSaarenmaa inFinnish—literally, 'land of the isle' or 'land of the island',[3] 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 inDanish (Øsel),German andSwedish (Ösel),Gutnish (Oysl), andLatin (Osilia). InLatvian, the island is calledSāmsala, which possibly means 'the island ofSaami'. Saaremaa may have been the historicUltima Thule.[4][5][6][7]
According toarchaeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited from at least5000 BCE.[8]Nordic Iron Ageship burials, dated to 700–750 CE, have been found inSõrve Peninsula. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between the islanders andVikings. Saaremaa wasthe wealthiest county of ancient Estonia[citation needed] and the home of notorious pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle ofHenry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and 500 Osilians ravaging the area that is nowsouthern Sweden, then belonging toDenmark.
Probably around 1000,Gunnar Hámundarson from Iceland took part in a Viking raid at Eysýsla (Saaremaa). There he obtained his famousatgeir, by taking it from a man named Hallgrímur.Njáls saga tells the following:
Thence they held on south to Denmark and thence east to Smálönd and had victory wherever they went. They did not come back in autumn. The next summer they held on to Rafala (Tallinn) and fell in there with sea-rovers, and fought at once, and won the fight. After that they steered east to Eysýsla (Saaremaa) and lay there somewhile under a ness. There they saw a man coming down from the ness above them; Gunnar went on shore to meet the man, and they had a talk. Gunnar asked him his name, and he said it was Tófi. Gunnar asked again what he wanted."Thee I want to see," says the man. "Two warships lie on the other side under the ness, and I will tell thee who command them: two brothers are the captains—one's name is Hallgrímur, and the other's Kolskeggur. I know them to be mighty men of war; and I know too that they have such good weapons that the like are not to be had. Hallgrímur has an atgeir which he had made by seething-spells; and this is what the spells say, that no weapon shall give him his death-blow save that atgeir. That thing follows it too that it is known at once when a man is to be slain with that atgeir, for something sings in it so loudly that it may be heard a long way off—such a strong nature has that atgeir in it.
TheChronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred pirates from Saaremaa ravaging the area that is now southernSweden, then belonging toDenmark. The XIVth book ofGesta Danorum,Saxo Grammaticus describes a subsequent battle onÖland in 1170 in which the Danish kingValdemar I mobilized his entire fleet to curb the incursions of pirates from "Couronia" (Courland) and Saaremaa.
Perhaps the most renowned raid by the inhabitants of Saaremaa occurred in 1187, with theattack on the Swedish town ofSigtuna (other candidates as raiders areKarelians andCuronians). Among the casualties of this raid was the Swedish archbishopJohannes. 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 bypost-glacial rebound.[9]
In 1227, Saaremaa was conquered by theLivonian Brothers of the Sword during theLivonian Crusade but the resistance of the local inhabitants remained strong. The crusaders founded theBishopric of Ösel–Wiek there. When the Order was defeated by theLithuanian army in theBattle 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 theTeutonic 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 inKaarma,Karja,Kihelkonna,Muhu,Pöide,Püha andValjala churches. The crusader's fortressKuressaare Castle, known in German as Schloss Arensburg, was built by theTeutonic Order for the bishops of Ösel–Wiek (Estonian: Saare-Lääne). 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 theLivonian 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 ofDanish Estonia. From 1570 until 1645 the entire island was under Danish possession.
In 1840, the first spa opened in Kuressaare (then known as Arensburg), and the town experienced renaissance and became a popular seaside resort.
During World War I, the West Estonian Archipelago was conquered byImperial German Army in October 1917 (Operation Albion) and remained occupied by Germans until the end of hostilities in November 1918. Thereafter Saaremaa became part of the newly independentRepublic of Estonia. Most of the localBaltic German population of the island wasresettled to Germany following the August 1939Nazi–Soviet Pact. DuringWorld War II, the island was first occupied by theSovietRed Army in June 1940 and, along with the rest of Estonian territory, formally annexed into theStalinistUSSR in August 1940. On 8 August 1941, Soviet Naval Aviation started abombing campaign [ru] on Berlin from Saaremaa. The island was then invaded and occupied byNazi Germany later (Operation Beowulf). German troops were expelled and the island was reoccupied by the Soviet Red Army in theMoonsund Landing Operation in October and November 1944. In 1946, the Soviet military authorities declared Saaremaa arestricted 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.
The island forms the main barrier between theGulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea. To the south of it is the main passage out of the gulf, theIrbe Strait, next toSõrve Peninsula, the southernmost portion of the island. In medieval times islanders crossed the strait to form fishing villages on theLivonian coast, notablyPitrags. In those days it was easier and quicker to cross the strait towards nearbyKolka,Saunags orMazirbe, than travel by horse large distances inland. The highest point on the island is 54 m above sea level. TheKaali crater is on the island. The island has much forested terrain. One of the symbols of the island is thejuniper.
Shore of Saaremaa, by the Estonian artistKonrad Mägi (1913–1914)
More than 10,000 years ago the first parts of Saaremaa arose from theBaltic Ice Lake. The uplift of the Earth's crust is continuing even today at a rate of 2 mm (0.079 in) per year. The West Estonian islands are low-lying plains resting on limestone; their average elevation is roughly 15 meters (49 ft) above sea level.Limestone has become denuded in a great number of places, resulting in cliffs, limestone pits andquarries atMustjala,Ninase,Pulli,Üügu andKaugatuma.
Because of its mild maritime climate and a variety of soils, Saaremaa has a richflora, 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 isRhinanthus 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 (deciduous) trees, which are relicts of plant communities of former milder climatic periods.Wooded meadows were common in Saaremaa beforeWorld War II, but many of these unique natural complexes have gradually become overgrown and thus converted into the ordinary forest. The same is true foralvars (limestone areas covered with thin soil and stunted vegetation). 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 theclouded apollo butterflies andRoman snails.
The coastal areas of Saaremaa are well-known seal habitats; in fact, the indigenousgray 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.[10]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 theEast 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. Thebarnacle goose,mute swan,whooper swan,eider,shelduck and a great many otherbird species have been given protection status. But on the whole, the islands are somewhat poorer in wildlife species than the mainland. Neithermole,mink, norotter can be found here, whilst theEurasian lynx and thebrown bear are infrequent guests.[11]
Kaali is a small group of nine uniquemeteoritecraters on Saaremaa. The largest of the craters measures 110 m (360 ft) indiameter and contains a small lake, known as Lake Kaali (Estonian:Kaali järv). The meteor cluster had an impact velocity of 10–20 km/s (6–12 mi/s) and a mass of 20–80 metric tons (20–79 long tons; 22–88 short tons). At the altitude of 5–10 km (3–6 mi) the meteor broke into pieces. The largest fragment produced the main crater with a depth of 22 m (72 ft).
Eight smaller craters with diameters ranging from 12 to 40 m (39 to 131 ft) and depths varying from 1 to 4 m (3 to 13 ft) are all within 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) of the main crater. The age estimates of the crater vary, with 4000 ± 1000BCE being a commonly accepted estimate,[12] though other estimates suggest the explosion was as recent as 660 ± 85BCE.[13] The energy of the impact—about 80TJ (20 kilotons of TNT), comparable with theHiroshima bomb—burned forests within a radius of 6 km (3.7 mi) of the impact site. There are numerous legends related to the crater; these are summarized by former Estonian PresidentLennart Meri in his bookHõbevalge.[13]
The majority of the island's population isEstonian (97%). The two most numerous ethnic minorities,Russians andFinns, together comprise less than 3% of the inhabitants. Compared to the Republic of Estonia on the whole, the population ofSaare County and particularly ofKuressaare town is younger, whereas the number of the retired people is considerably smaller. Saaremaa is located in the heart of theBaltic region, which is one of the most rapidly growing markets in Europe, with 70 million consumers. The island's "Gates to the West" include the reconstructedKuressaare Airport andRoomassaare Harbour, the operation of modern ferries between Saaremaa and the Estonian mainland, and the rapid development of the telecommunications. Saaremaa is also a significant tourist destination, revisited by 35% of foreign and 95% of domestic tourists.[15]
Saaremaa is reached byTS Laevad'sferries fromVirtsu on the Estonian mainland toKuivastu onMuhu island, which is itself connected to Saaremaa by acauseway, theVäinatamm. Saaremaa can also be reached by ferry fromSõru on the island ofHiiumaa to Triigi. There are also passenger services fromRoomassaare to the smaller island ofAbruka. During many winters it is possible to drive to Saaremaa by anice road between the mainland and Muhu or between Saaremaa and the island ofHiiumaa.
There are regular bus services fromTallinn,Pärnu andTartu on the mainland, which use the ferry from Virtsu to Muhu.
Historically there was a Soviet air base atAste Airfield during theCold War. Plans to connect Saaremaa to the mainland by either bridge or tunnel are being studied.
There are three main international traditional sport events in Saaremaa:
Saaremaa Rally takes place every year in October and attracts thousands of rally fans. The first rally was an amateur competition and it took place in 1974. The first professional competition took place in 1975 and from 1993 the rally has been international.[16]
Saaremaa Velotuur is a group race of road cyclists that is oldest in the Nordic countries (held since 1957) and the only international one in the Baltic states.[17]
Saaremaa three-day running marathon takes place on the roads around Kuressaare town and Sõrve peninsula. The main race consists of three different runs, which are held on three sequential days (10+16,195+16=42,195 km). The first marathon was held in 1974.[18]
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