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Helme, Estonia
Helme is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Tõrva Parish, Valga County, in southern Estonia. Prior to the 2017 reform of Estonian municipalities, it was located in Helme Parish. It's located only northwest of the town of Tõrva by the Valga–Pärnu road (nr. 6). At the 2011 Census, the settlement's population was 167. Helme castle The settlement was first mentioned in the Livonian Chronicle of Henry in 1210. Helme church parish was first mentioned in 1329 during a Lithuanian raid. Most of the neighbouring land was fiefed in the 15th–16th centuries. Livonian Order castle in Helme (''Ordensburg Helmet'') was probably built in the first half of the 14th century. The site on a steep hill is believed to have been used as a stronghold earlier by Sackalians in the Ancient Estonia. By its ground plan the order castle was 120×60 m oval shaped structure, surrounded by two moats. There was a borough beside the castle in the Middle Ages, it was mentioned until the 17th century. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Populated Places In Estonia
Populated places in Estonia (officially: settlement units), are cities or settlement units of rural municipalities, but only cities have administrative functions. Settlement units are divided into settlements and urban regions et, asum (subdivisions of cities). Officially there are five types of settlement units in Estonia: *town/city ( et, linn) *town without municipal status () *borough () *small borough () *village () See also * Municipalities of Estonia *List of cities and towns in Estonia *Counties of Estonia Counties ( et, maakond, plural ') are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Estonia. Estonian territory is composed of 15 counties, including 13 on the mainland and 2 on islands. The government (') of each county is led by a ' (gover ... Notes External links Place Names Board of Estonia [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian People
Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, and Canada. Their native language is Lithuanian, one of only two surviving members of the Baltic language family along with Latvian. According to the census conducted in 2021, 84.6% of the population of Lithuania identified themselves as Lithuanians, 6.5% as Poles, 5.0% as Russians, 1.0% as Belarusians, and 1.1% as members of other ethnic groups. Most Lithuanians belong to the Catholic Church, while the Lietuvininkai who lived in the northern part of East Prussia prior to World War II, were mostly Lutherans. History The territory of the Balts, including modern Lithuania, was once inhabited by several Baltic tribal entities ( Aukštaitians, Sudovians, Old Lithuanians, Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Samo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boroughs And Small Boroughs In Estonia
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ages, boroughs were settlements in England that were granted some self-government; burghs were the Scottish equivalent. In medieval England, boroughs were also entitled to elect members of parliament. The use of the word ''borough'' probably derives from the burghal system of Alfred the Great. Alfred set up a system of defensive strong points (Burhs); in order to maintain these particular settlements, he granted them a degree of autonomy. After the Norman Conquest, when certain towns were granted self-governance, the concept of the burh/borough seems to have been reused to mean a self-governing settlement. The concept of the borough has been used repeatedly (and often differently) throughout the world. Often, a borough is a single town with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erna Viitol
Erna Viitol (née Erna Juhanson; 10 May 1920 – 11 November 2001) was an Estonian sculptor. Biography Viitol was born into a family of farmers in Ala, Lõve Parish (now in Tõrva Parish), Valga County. She traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to study. Upon her return to Estonia in 1943, she studied in Tallinn at the Tallinn School of Applied and Fine Arts.Järelehüüe Sirbis - Erna Viitol 10. V 1920 – 11. XI 2001 Biography in Estonian language, accessed on 25 January 2012. Works Viitol's sculptures, among others, included a bronze bust of female Estonian literary writer, , and portraits of[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henrik Visnapuu
Henrik Visnapuu ( – 3 April 1951) was a well-known Estonian poet and dramatist. Life Henrik Visnapuu was born in Helme Parish, Viljandi County, Livonia. He first attended the village school in Reola (today in Ülenurme Parish) and college in Sipe (today in Kambja Parish) and the municipal school in Tartu. In 1907, he graduated from the grammar school in Narva after taking final exams in education and taught at various schools as a primary school teacher. By 1912 he moved to Tartu and taught Estonian literature at the local high school for girls. At the same time he attended lectures in philosophy at the University of Tartu. Visnapuu worked since 1917 as a journalist at the Tallinna Teataja, then until 1935 he worked as a freelance journalist and author. From 1935 to 1944 he was culture secretary in the department of the Information Agency of the Estonian state. With the approaching Soviet occupation of Estonia and the return of the Red Army, Henrik Visnapuu fled to Germany i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658)
The Russo-Swedish War of 1656–1658 was fought by Russia and Sweden as a theater of the Second Northern War. It took place during a pause in the contemporary Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) as a consequence of the Truce of Vilna. Despite initial successes, Tsar Alexis of Russia failed to secure his principal objective—to revise the Treaty of Stolbovo, which had stripped Russia of the Baltic coast at the close of the Ingrian War. Background When Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded Poland, captured Warsaw and announced his claims on the Russian conquests in the orbit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin (who led Russian diplomacy at the time) decided it was an opportune time to suspend hostilities against the weakened Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and to attack the rear of the Swedish Empire instead. To that end he opened negotiations and concluded a truce with Poland in summer 1656 (the Truce of Vilna, also known as the Truce of Niemież), a move ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who ascended the throne in 1611, and its end as the loss of territories in 1721 following the Great Northern War. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, the empire was controlled for lengthy periods by part of the high nobility, such as the Oxenstierna family, acting as regents for minor monarchs. The interests of the high nobility contrasted with the uniformity policy (i.e., upholding the traditional equality in status of the Swedish estates favoured by the kings and peasantry). In territories acquired during the periods of ''de facto'' noble rule, serfdom was not abolished, and there was also a trend to set up respective estates in Sweden proper. The Great Reduction of 1680 put an end to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In older fortifications, such as hillforts, they are usually referred to simply as ditches, although the function is similar. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental. They could also act as a sewer. Historical use Ancient Some of the earliest evidence of moats has been uncovered around ancient Egyptian castles. One example is at Buhen, a castle excavated in Nubia. Other evidence of ancient moats is found in the ruins of Babylon, and in reliefs from ancient Egypt, Assyria, and other cultures in the region. Evidence of early moats around settlements has been discovered in many archaeological sites throughout Southeast Asia, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Estonia
Ancient Estonia refers to a period covering History of Estonia from the middle of the 8th millennium BC until the conquest and subjugation of the local Finnic tribes in the first quarter of the 13th century during the Teutonic and Danish Northern Crusades. The Mesolithic Period The region has been populated since the end of the last glacial era, about 10,000 BC. The earliest traces of human settlement in Estonia are connected with Kunda culture. The oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was located on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in southwestern Estonia. It has been dated to the beginning of the 9th millennium BC. The Kunda Culture received its name from the ''Lammasmäe'' settlement site in northern Estonia, which dates from earlier than 8500. Bone and stone artifacts similar to those found at Kunda have been discovered elsewhere in Estonia, as well as in Latvia, Russia, northern Lithuania and southern Finland. Among mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sakala County
Sakala County ( Estonian: ''Sakala'', Latin: ''Saccalia'') was an ancient Estonian county that was first mentioned in print by Henry of Latvia in the early 13th century. Geography Sakala County is in northwestern Livonia, covering approximately the present counties of Viljandi, the southern half of Pärnu and the western third of Valga County. It was the southernmost of the ancient Estonian counties. History According to one hypothesis, the tribe of ''Sosols'' mentioned in Old East Slavic chronicles implies the people of Sakala. The chronicles say that Kievan Rus organized military campaign against Sosols in 1060 and taxed them. A year later, Sosols rose, destroyed Kievan Rus fort in Tartu and attacked Pskov. After the Livonian Crusade, the county became a part of the Livonian Confederation. In Sackalian folklore, the neighbouring Ugaunians (''ugalased'') were enemy warriors and robbers. For instance, a folk song from Viljandi, the capital of Sackalia, calls for speeding up th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Saule, Battle of Schaulen (Saule). They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237. In the summer of that year, the Master of Prussia Hermann Balk rode into Riga to install his men as castle commanders and administrators of Livonia. In 1238, the Teutonic Knights of Livonia signed the Treaty of Stensby with the Denmark, Kingdom of Denmark. Under this agreement, Denmark would support the expansion ambitions of the order in exchange for northern maritime Estonia. In 1242, the Livonian Order tried to take the city of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod. However, they were defeated by Alexander Nevsky in the Battle on the Ice. Fortresses as Paide in land ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services and/or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue, revenue-producing real property like a watermill, held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never did exist one feudal system, nor did there exist one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. Terminology In ancient Rome, a "benefice" (from the Latin noun , meaning "benefit") was a gif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
