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Oesel
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island is Kuressaare, which in January 2018 had 13,276 inhabitants. The whole island had a recorded population in January 2020 of 31,435. Etymology In old Scandinavian sources, Saaremaa is called ''Eysysla'' and in the Icelandic Sagas ''Eysýsla'' (Old Norse: ), meaning "the district (land) of island". The island is called ''Saaremaa'' in Estonian, and in Finnish ''Saarenmaa''—literally "isle land" or "island land",Toomse, Liine. "10 Estonian Islands You Should Visit." http://www.traveller.ee/blog/tallinn/10-estonian-islands-you-should-visit. Retrieved 8 March 2016. i.e. the same as the Scandinavian name for the island. The old Scandinavian name is also the origin of the island's name in Danish ''Øsel'', German and Swedish ''Ösel'', Gut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saare County
Saare County ( et, Saare maakond or ''Saaremaa''; la, Oesel; german: Ösel; sv, Ösel) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. The county borders Lääne County to the east, Hiiu County to the north, and Latvia to the south. In January 2013 Saare County had a population of 30,966, which was 2.4% of the population of Estonia. Municipalities The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 3 rural municipalities ( et, vallad – parishes) in Saare County. Geography The largest islands of the county are Saaremaa, Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. Arable land is and it has a mild maritime climate. The mean annual air temperature is and the mean annual precipitation is . Religious affiliations The main religious affiliations are Lutheran, Orthodox and Baptist, but only 33.6% consider themselves religious. Ancient Saare co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,200 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of . The capital city Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the autochthonous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, as well as the world's second most spoken Finnic language. The land of what is now modern Estonia has been inhabited by '' Homo sapiens'' since at least 9,000 BC. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last " pagan" civilisations in Europe to adopt Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuressaare
Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. The town is situated on the southern coast of Saaremaa island, facing the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea, and is served by the Kuressaare Airport, Roomassaare harbour, and Kuressaare yacht harbour. Names Kuressaare's historic name Arensburg (from Middle High German ''a(a)r:'' eagle, raptor) renders the Latin denotation ''arx aquilae'' for the city's castle. The fortress and the eagle, tetramorph symbol of Saint John the Evangelist, are also depicted on Kuressaare's coat of arms. The town, which grew around the fortress, was simultaneously known as Arensburg and Kuressaarelinn; the latter name being a combination of ''Kuressaare''—an ancient name of the Saaremaa Island—and ''linn'', which means ''town''.Pospelov, p. 28 Alternative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salme Ships
The Salme ships are two clinker-built ships of Scandinavian origin discovered in 2008 and 2010 near the village of Salme on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia. Both ships were used for ship burials here around AD 700–750 in the Nordic Iron Age and contained the remains of 41 warriors killed in battle, as well as 6 dogs, 2 hunting hawks and numerous weapons and other artifacts. Discovery and excavation The first ship was discovered in 2008 during earth removal for infrastructure construction. An archaeological expedition has been working on the site since 2008. The second ship was discovered in 2010. There is some indirect evidence pointing to the possibility that at least one more ship is yet to be discovered during future excavations. Location The ships were located near the ancient coastline, about above water level. The location is from the present coastline and above present water level. Description Both Salme ships are clinker-built and archaeologists have estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9–22. They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, Volga Bulgaria, the Middle East, and North America. In some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a collective whole. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles, France, Estonia, and Kievan Rus'. Expert sailors and navigators aboard their characteristic longships, Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, and the Baltic coast, as wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5000 BCE
The 5th millennium BC spanned the years 5000 BC to 4001 BC (c. 7 ka to c. 6 ka). It is impossible to precisely date events that happened around the time of this millennium and all dates mentioned here are estimates mostly based on geological and anthropological analysis. The exceptions are several neolithic pile dwellings around the Alps whose construction time can be dated to within a year. Communities The rapid world population growth of the previous millennium, caused by the Neolithic Revolution, is believed to have slowed and become fairly stable. It has been estimated that there were around forty million people worldwide by 5000 BC, growing to 100 million by the Middle Bronze Age c. 1600 BC.Jean-Noël Biraben, "Essai sur l'évolution du nombre des hommes", ''Population'' 34-1 (1979), pp. 13–25. Europe The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture (''aka'' Tripolye culture) began around 4800 BC. It was centred on modern Moldova and lasted in three defined phases until c. 3000 BC. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thule
Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shetland, northern Scotland, the island of Saaremaa (Ösel) in Estonia, and the Norwegian island of Smøla.Andreas Kleineberg, Christian Marx, Eberhard Knobloch und Dieter Lelgemann: ''Germania und die Insel Thule. Die Entschlüsselung von Ptolemaios' "Atlas der Oikumene".'' Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2010. In classical and medieval literature, ''ultima Thule'' (Latin "farthest Thule") acquired a metaphorical meaning of any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world". By the Late Middle Ages and early modern period, the Greco-Roman Thule was often identified with the real Iceland or Greenland. Sometimes ''Ultima Thule'' was a Latin name for Greenland, when ''Thule'' was used for Iceland. By the late 19th century, however, ''Thule'' was frequentl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valjala Maalinn 2
Valjala is a small borough (') in Saare County, Estonia, on the island of Saaremaa. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish. As of 2011 Census, the settlement's population was 410. The Valjala St. Martin's Church lies in centre of Valjala and is the oldest stone church in Estonia. Ruins of Valjala Stronghold The Valjala Stronghold ( la, Castrum Waldia, et, Valjala Maalinn) was a major ringfort on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. Established in the 12th century, at the time it was the most important Oeselian stronghold. Its surrender in 1227 fina ... are about 700 meters south from Valjala. References Boroughs and small boroughs in Estonia Saaremaa Parish {{Saare-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuressaare Castle
Kuressaare Castle ( et, Kuressaare linnus; german: Schloss Arensburg), also Kuressaare Episcopal Castle, ( et, Kuressaare piiskopilinnus), is a castle in Kuressaare on Saaremaa island, in western Estonia. History The earliest written record mentioning Kuressaare castle is from the 1380s, when the Teutonic Order began its construction for the bishops of Ösel-Wieck. Some sources claim that the first castle was built of wood. As the inhabitants of Saaremaa put up stiff resistance to foreign efforts to Christianise them, the castle was undoubtedly built as part of a wider effort by the crusaders to gain control over the island. From the outset, it was a stronghold belonging to the bishop of Saare-Lääne (german: Ösel-Wiek) and remained one of the most important castles of the Bishopric until its dissolution during the Livonian War. In 1559, Denmark-Norway seized control over Saaremaa and Kuressaare castle. During this time, the fortifications were modernised. Following the Pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nordic Iron Age
Iron Age Scandinavia (or Nordic Iron Age) was the Iron Age, as it unfolded in Scandinavia. Beginnings The 6th and 5th centuries BC were a tipping point for exports and imports on the European continent. The ever-increasing conflicts and wars between the central European Celtic tribes and the Mediterranean cultures destabilized old major trade routes and networks between Scandinavia and the Mediterranean, eventually breaking them down. Archaeology attests a rapid and deep change in the Scandinavian culture and way of life due to various reasons which have not yet been sufficiently analyzed. Agricultural production became more intensified, organized around larger settlements and with a much more labour-intensive production. Slaves were introduced and deployed, something uncommon in the Nordic Bronze Age. The rising power, wealth and organization of the central European tribes in the following centuries did not seem to instigate an increased trade and contact between Scandinavia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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