The Sinimäed Hills (or Blue Hills; et, Vaivara Sinimäed) are three linked hills in northeastern

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 heights which are aligned west–east, consist of Tornimägi, Põrguaugu mägi (also known as Grenadierimägi) and Pargimägi (also known as Lastekodumägi). They lie in Narva-Jõesuu municipality near the coastal town of

Sillamäe Sillamäe (Estonian for 'Bridge Hill'; also known by the Germanised names of ''Sillamäggi'' or ''Sillamägi'') is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of ...

in Ida-Viru County. The hills are best known as the location of the

Battle of Tannenberg Line The Battle of Tannenberg Line (german: Die Schlacht um die Tannenbergstellung; russian: Битва за линию «Танненберг») or the Battle of the Blue Hills ( et, Sinimägede lahing) was a military engagement between the Germ ...

, fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

on July 26–August 12, 1944. There, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

defeated a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

offensive.

Geography

The Sinimäed hills are gently sloping mounds rather than mountains. Nevertheless, the hills are a dominant landform in the area - the height of the surrounding limestone plateau is on average 30 m above sea level, while the hills are up to 50 m higher. Pargimägi and Põrguaugu mägi are the two higher hills - 85 and 83 m, respectively, while Tornimägi is somewhat lower, 70 m. The ridge is about 3 km long. The location of the hills on a 5 km wide strip between the

Finnish Gulf 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 ...

and the woods and bogs of Alutaguse is the origin of their strategic importance. Tallinn-Narva highway ( E20) passes the hills from the north and Tallinn-Tapa-Narva railway from the south. The hills have at their core huge blocks of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, but their geological origin is not clear. They are believed to be formed either by continental glacier (

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

) or by clay diapirs, or by the combination of both factors.

Military history

The western hill, Tornimägi, had an outpost during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Pargimägi with its defensive structures was part of

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 ...

's preliminary defence line. The Blue Mountains saw fighting in 1919 in

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

. Extensive battles took place at the Sinimäed towards the end of

. (see

). After defending the Narva bridgehead against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

for six months, the German army detachment "Narwa" fell back to the Tannenberg Defensive Line on the hills. In two ferocious battles lasting for 25–31 July and 2–10 August 1944 with a break of a single day, the vastly outnumbered German army group held out under the pressure of the Estonian Operation of the Soviet Leningrad Front. In German, the eastern hill was known as Kinderheimhöhe, the central hill was Grenadierhöhe and the westernmost known as Liebhöhe. There is a memorial site to commemorate the fallen on the hill of Põrgumägi.

Notes

References

Ülo Kaevats Ülo Kaevats (29 September 1947 – 30 January 2015) was an Estonian statesman, academic and philosopher. In 1972, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Tartu with a qualification from a physicist and a rese ...

et al. 1995. ''Eesti Entsüklopeedia 8''. Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus,
Sõdadest räsitud Sinimäed

Eesti Loodus ''Eesti Loodus'' ('Nature of Estonia') is magazine published in 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 Fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinimaed Hills Hills of Estonia Landforms of Ida-Viru County World War II sites in Estonia Tourist attractions in Ida-Viru County

Geography

Military history

See also

Notes

References