Loksa is a town and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
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 sou ...
,
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 ...
, most known for its shipping industry.
The town is situated on the estuary of the
Valgejõgi river, which drains into
Hara Bay
Hara Bay ( et, Hara laht) is a bay in Harju County, Estonia. The bay is located between Juminda and Pärispea Peninsula. The bay's area is 9859 ha.
A part of Hara Bay is under protection (Lahemaa National Park
Lahemaa National Park is a park i ...
,
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
.
As of April 1, 2022, the town had a population of 2471.
Etymology
Loksa village, the town's namesake and predecessor, was first mentioned in 1631 as ''Lox''. Later on, the village has also been referred to as ''Locksa'' and ''Loxa'', until it became known as Loksa in 1798.
The name is speculated to come from the word ''loks''(local dialect), which means either a marsh or a lake that dries up during the dry-season.
History
The village of Loksa was first mentioned in 1687 but this area is known in modern times as the village of
Kotka
Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...
.
The development of what is known these days as the town of Loksa started around 1874 when the landlords of
Kolga
Kolga is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County, in northern Estonia, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It has a population of 490 ().
Kolga is best known for its classicist manor.
Wrestler Aleksander Aberg
Al ...
established a new
brickyard
A brickyard or brickfield is a place or yard where bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed near natural sources of clay or on o ...
outside Loksa village. Around this factory a new
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
was born.
In 1903, a
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
was established, boosting the community's further growth. From Loksa, bricks were transported to Reval (now
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 ' ...
), Helsingfors (now
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
) and
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Although no ships were built in Loksa, the shipyard was heavily engaged in repairing ships from 1905 onwards.
![LoksaLaevatehas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/LoksaLaevatehas.JPG)
By the end of the 19th century, there were 36 dwellings in Loksa. By 1934, their number had grown to 150. Loksa soon became the administrative centre of
Loksa Parish
Kuusalu Parish ( et, Kuusalu vald) is a rural municipality in northern Estonia, the largest in Harju County. After joining with the adjacent Loksa Parish in 2005, the municipality has now a population of 6,863 (as of 1 January 2009) and covers an ...
which was part of
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 sou ...
until 1949 and of
Viru County
Virumaa ( la, Vironia; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians bu ...
from 1949 to 1950.
From 1950 to 1957, Loksa was the administrative centre of
Loksa District
Loksa is a town and municipality in Harju County, Estonia, most known for its shipping industry.
The town is situated on the estuary of the Valgejõgi river, which drains into Hara Bay, Gulf of Finland.
As of April 1, 2022, the town had a po ...
. After a new administrative reform in 1957 Loksa became part of
Harju District Harju may refer to:
Geography
Estonia
*Harju County, one of 15 counties of Estonia
* Harju, Hiiu County, a village in Hiiumaa Parish, Hiiu County.
* Pühalepa-Harju, a village in Hiiumaa Parish, Hiiu County, formerly known as Harju.
* Harju Platea ...
.
The brickyard was closed down in 1981, but the shipyard continued to be expanded until the end of the Soviet occupation and remains the town's main employer.
With the restoration of the
Republic of Estonia
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
in 1991, Loksa became again a centre of the restored Loksa Parish and was elevated from market town to town on August 25, 1993.
Demographics
![Loksa bussijaam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Loksa_bussijaam.jpg)
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the population of Loksa has decreased by more than one fifth. This has been mainly caused by growing unemployment, resulting from closure and downsizing of several companies not fit for new economic climate.
In 2000, there were 1,650 inhabitants in labor force, 750 of whom were working somewhere else.
As of 2011, Estonians made up 30.6% of the towns population and Russians 58.6%.
Education
![Loksakool](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Loksakool.JPG)
The history of education in Loksa dates back to December 1867 when teacher Jakob Janter started to teach 20 children in a local farm house. The first schoolhouse was built in 1903, but this building burned down in 1927. Restoration work took two years and was completed in 1929.
With the influx of Russian workers in the late 1940s, three classes for Russian-speaking children were created in 1948. Loksa primary school was upgraded to secondary school in 1952 and renamed
Loksa 1. Secondary School, the name it bears also today. Until 1988, both Russian and Estonian children studied in the same school.
In the end of the 1980s, both Russian- and Estonian-speaking community had grown big enough to justify creation of a second school.
Loksa 2. Secondary School for Russian-speaking children was established in 1988 and is still operational, since 1996 under the name of
Loksa Russian Gymnasium.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Harju County
Cities and towns in Estonia
Municipalities of Estonia
Kreis Harrien
Port cities and towns in Estonia