Valga (German:Walk) is a town in southernEstonia and the capital ofValga County andValga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town ofValka in northernLatvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres (6.4 square miles) and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining theSchengen Agreement.
TheTartu-Valga railway line also serves this station. After closing April 2008 for extensive repair workEdelaraudtee railway services from other parts ofEstonia to Valga re-opened in January 2010.[4][5]
With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and the abolition of systematicborder controls between Estonia and Latvia, it was announced that common public bus transport would be launched between Valga andValka.[6]
As of 2025, city bus number 3, operated by the Estonian company ATG Bussiliinid OÜ, connects the twin cities of Valga andValka three times a day, departing from the Valga train station.[7]
Since 1944, a local newspaper,Valgamaalane, has been published (3 times a week). Since 2003, there has also been a local newspaper "Walk" (in theRussian language). There also is a local correspondence office ofEstonian Television (Eesti Televisioon) and a local radio – "Raadio Ruut".
The former urban municipality of Valga (until 2017) maintained partnerships with many towns, mostly in foreign countries, which are listed in a special subsection below.
Valga is developing quickly. Since 1996, the populace's quality of life has improved due to the renovation of several buildings, including the Central Library, Valga Stadium, the Museum, Valga Hospital, and the Culture and Hobby Centre. Step by step, the schools and kindergartens are also being modernized. Since 2003, a new water treatment plant has improved the quality of water in the town.
In the private sector, there have been extensive investments in trade, light industry, and forestry.
1902: In the building of the Temperance Society the social society Säde is founded;Andres Alver, the county medical officer, is elected chairman. The Valga-Marienburg narrow-gauge railway is opened.
1908 24 June: Estonian military commanderAlfons Rebane is born in Valga.
1908: The Girls' Progymnasium is changed into theGymnasium with Marta Pärna as principal.
1909: The construction of the Säde building is begun (architectGeorg Hellat).
1913: 16194 inhabitants lived in the town (51% of them Estonians, 25.1% Latvians, 15.5% Russians, 4.0% Germans, 2.1% Jewish).
1917: AGermanzeppelin flies over the town and drops forty high-explosive bombs without hitting the main target, the railway station.
1918 11 January: The Council of Delegates of Valga County Workers, Soldiers and Landless Men gains power in the town. On 12 February theGerman Army occupies Valga.
1919 11 January: The Valga Estonian Gymnasium is opened at 22 Kesk Street. For the first time in the history of secondary education in Valga the teaching language isEstonian instead of German. At the end of January, 107 victims ofBolshevik acts of terror are found in five mass graves around Valga; 67 people are taken away as hostages. On 31 January theBattle of Paju takes place and consequently Valga is freed from the Bolsheviks.
Border crossing between Valga, Estonia andValka, Latvia in the 1920s
1920 1 July: TheBritish envoyColonel S. G. Tallents conclusively establishes the border betweenEstonia andLatvia, putting an end to theirdisputes and the city of Valga is divided into Estonian and Latvian areas based on ethnicity. Valga proper, as far as Konnaoja and Luke graveyard, remains intact underEstonian rule.
1921 11 February: The decree of theEstonian government establishes the territory of Valga county. Valga becomes a county centre.
1940 17 June: TheSoviet occupation begins and with it the political repressions against Estonians and Latvians in Valga/Valka, including the mass deportations in June 1941.
19 September: In the course of heavy fighting Valga is liberated from the German occupation of Estonia. It is immediately replaced by the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
1988. The Valga Society for the Protection of Antiquities is founded. On 27 November, on the initiative of the Society, the beginning of the War of Liberation is commemorated at the memorial for those killed in the war.
1989 24 February: The firstEstonian flag of the re-established independence period is hoisted on the flagpole of 12 Aia Street.
1992 24 May: TheRussian army base in Valga is taken over, and later on becomes the border guard's post.
1993 17 October: The first free elections of the municipal council after the restoration of independence take place.
1994 31 January: On the 75th anniversary of the battle of Paju a memorial to it is opened. On 21–25 June, worldwide days of Valga county people take place.
The former municipality of Valga (until 2017) was a founding member ofCity Twins Association that was founded inImatra,Finland on 13 December 2006. In addition to sister towns, Valga had a cooperation through the association with following cities:[29]
^"Valga Climate Normals 1991–2020".World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved20 October 2024.
^T.Rosenberg. Künnivaod. ("Plow furrows"). Research on Estonian agrarian history of the 18th-20th centuries. The town of Valga in the first quarter of the 19th century. Tartu University Press. Learned Estonian Society, Tartu, 2013 (in Estonian), p. 239.
^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 72.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
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