Alavere is a village in

Anija Parish Anija Parish ( et, Anija vald) is a rural municipality in Harju County, Estonia, consisting of 33 settlements. The parish has a population of 6274 and covers an area of . The administrative centre of the municipality is Kehra. The municipalit ...

Harju County Harju County ( et, Harju maakond or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in Northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the so ...

in northern

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, a ...

. The population was 345 in 2019.

History

Alavere was first mentioned in 1241 in the ''

Liber Census Daniæ The Danish Census Book or the Danish book of land taxation ( la, Liber Census Daniæ), ( da, Kong Valdemars Jordebog) dates from the 13th century and consists of a number of separate manuscripts. The original manuscripts are now housed in the Da ...

,'' during the reign of King

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

, as ''Hauaueeræ''. The village center of present-day was built up around a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, dating from the 1620s. The Allafer Manor () of the former passed between the hands of several families throughout the centuries, notably the

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

Löwensterns in the 18th century and the

Ungern-Sternberg The House of Ungern-Sternberg is the name of an old and influential Baltic-German noble family, with branches belonging to the German, Finnish, Swedish and Russian nobility. Notable members * Mattias Alexander von Ungern-Sternberg (1689–176 ...

s in the 19th century. The main building of the mansion, built by Baron Gregor von Ungern-Sternberg in 1852, was heavily damaged by local peasants during the

1905 Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

but was rebuilt. The last individual owner of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

was Mary von der Pahlen, who acquired it in 1907. During the Estonian Land Reform in 1919, the manor's lands were nationalized. The new owner of the manor house demolished the structure in 1938, with the granite stones brought to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

to be reused in buildings there. During the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

, Alavere was part of the Kose Village Council and was the site of 7,700 hectare state farm.

Geography

The village is located in northern

, in western

. It lies south of the town of

Kehra Kehra is a town in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia, most known for its pulp and paper mill. The town is situated on the banks of the Jägala river, and has a station on the Tallinn-Narva railway. As of January 1, 2021, the town had a popu ...

, the seat of the municipality.

is to the northwest.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, there were 339 people. Of the total residents, 22.4% were under the age of 18; 67.8% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 9.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

Transportation

The village lies along the Estonian national road T12. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

is away in

, which links to

and Tartu.

Notable people

Sandra Nurmsalu Sandra Nurmsalu (born 6 December 1988) is an Estonian singer, songwriter, and violinist. Recognized within Estonia for her genre-bending style, Nurmsalu has garnered success as both the lead singer of Urban Symphony and as a solo artist. Nurmsal ...

, the musician and former

Urban Symphony Urban Symphony was an Estonian music group. It represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Rändajad", finishing in 6th place with 129 points. In doing this, they achieved Estonia's best placement since 2002. History I ...

lead singer who represented Estonia at

Eurovision 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song " Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, was raised in Alavere * Jakob Mändmets, the Estonian writer and journalist, taught at the village school from 1892 to 1902

Points of interest

* A historic settlement site in the vicinity is registered and protected as an archaeological monument

References

Villages in Harju County Kreis Harrien {{Harju-geo-stub