Kilingi-Nõmme | |
|---|---|
 The main street in Kilingi-Nõmme | |
  Kilingi-Nõmme Location in Estonia | |
| Coordinates:58°08′59″N24°57′41″E / 58.14972°N 24.96139°E /58.14972; 24.96139 | |
| Country | Estonia |
| County | Pärnu County |
| Municipality | Saarde Parish |
| First mentioned | 1560 |
| Borough rights | 1919 |
| Town rights | 1 May 1938 |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.26 km2 (1.64 sq mi) |
| Population (2018)[1] | |
• Total | 1,671 |
| • Rank | 37th |
| • Density | 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 86301 to 86305 |
| Area code | (+372) 44 |
| Vehicle registration | F |
Kilingi-Nõmme is atown inPärnu County, southwesternEstonia. It is the administrative centre ofSaarde Parish. It is located on the intersection ofValga–Uulu (Valga–Pärnu, no. 6) andTartu–Viljandi–Kilingi-Nõmme (no. 92) roads, about 11 km (7 mi) from the Estonian border withLatvia.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1560, when a manor namedOvelgunne (alsoKurkund) belonging to theSchilling family was established. In 1789 atavern was opened in the nearby Nõmme farmstead. Hence in the name "Kilingi-Nõmme",Kilingi derived from theSchilling surname. In the 1870s when most of the manor's land was handed out toOrthodox believers, the settlement started to develop faster. Local congregation was established in 1845, and a parish school three years later. Kilingi-Nõmme was then the centre of the surrounding Saarde Parish.[2][3]
After the establishment of sawmill, flour mill and spinning factory, Kilingi-Nõmme gained the borough rights in 1919 and eventually the town rights on 1 May 1938.[2]
On 20 April 1937, a fire in an elementary school and poisonous fumeskilled 17 students and injured 50 after film inside of a school movie projector caught fire and set fire to other open canisters of film.[4]
In 1896, aPärnu–Mõisaküla–Rūjiena–Valganarrow gauge railway (750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)) was built, the station in Kilingi-Nõmme was opened in 1917, before that the nearest station wasWoltveti 1.7 km (1.1 mi) southeast inTihemetsa. In 1975 the narrow gauge railway was closed and a new1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)Russian gauge railway (1,524 mm (5 ft)) was opened in 1981 as part of theTallinn–Pärnu–Riga railway. Eventually this was also closed in 2000 and dismantled in 2008.
After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, Kilingi-Nõmme served as a sovereign municipality, but merged with neighbouring Saarde andTali parishes in 2005, and became the centre of the newSaarde Parish.[2]
As of the2011 census, the town's population was 1,763.[5]
| Year | 1900 | 1928 | 1934 | 1959 | 1970 | 1979 | 1989 | 2000 | 2003 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | ca 500 | 1422 | 1663 | 2141 | 2319 | 2507 | 2504 | 2223 | 2207 | 2144 | 2106 | 2082 |
Media related toKilingi-Nõmme at Wikimedia Commons
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