Karksi-Nuia (before 1987 ''Nuia'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in Mulgi Parish,

Viljandi County Viljandi County ( et, Viljandi maakond or ''Viljandimaa''; german: Kreis Fellin) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties. History Viljandimaa, under the ...

, southern

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, an ...

close to the

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n border. The nearest villages are

Univere Univere is a village in Mulgi Parish in Viljandi County in southern Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) It borders the villages Äriküla, Metsaküla, Leeli, Polli, Karksi-Nuia Karksi-Nuia (before 1987 ''Nuia'') is a town in Mulgi Parish, V ...

to the west,

Polli Polli may refer to: Places * Põlli, a village in Märjamaa Parish, Rapla County, in western Estonia * Polli, Estonia, a village in Mulgi Parish People * Andrea Polli (born 1968), environmental artist * Carlo Polli (born 1989), Swiss football ...

and

Karksi Karksi is a village in Mulgi Parish in Viljandi County in southern Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) It is located near the town Karksi-Nuia Karksi-Nuia (before 1987 ''Nuia'') is a town in Mulgi Parish, Viljandi County, southern Estonia clos ...

to the north, and

Kõvaküla Kõvaküla is a village in Mulgi Parish in Viljandi County in southern Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) It borders the villages Ainja, Äriküla, Univere, Karksi-Nuia Karksi-Nuia (before 1987 ''Nuia'') is a town in Mulgi Parish, Viljandi ...

to the south.

History

Karksi was first mentioned in the 12th century as an administrative center.

Karksi Castle

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

of Karksi is mentioned in written records for the first time in 1248, and construction of a castle in Karksi started sometime during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Completion was however delayed as the castle was destroyed several times during the period. When it was finally completed during the

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and na ...

, it was for a time an important stronghold for the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

in southern Estonia, and since 1470 the residence of the local commander. 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-Swe ...

the castle was destroyed and never rebuilt. Very little remains of the inner castle, which was separated from the outer ward by a moat, but the outer walls and two square towers are relatively well-preserved. The castle was built by

rubble stone Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

and brick. Today, the ruins are used as a backdrop for various cultural and sports event.

Geography

Karksi-Nuia is situated in the southern part of Viljandi County. It has an area of and about 2100 inhabitants. It is part of the

Karksi Parish Karksi Parish ( et, Karksi vald) was a rural municipality of Estonia, in Viljandi County. In 2009, it has a population of 4,041 (as of 1 January 2009) and an area of 321.45 km². After the municipal elections held on 15 October 2017, Kark ...

, a municipality that consists of the town and the 20 villages around it. Karksi-Nuia is about from

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

, from

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

, from

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

and from

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 '' ...

Gallery

Karksi valla kultuurikeskus, 2014.jpg, Karksi-Nuia cultural center and library File:Руіена — Karksi-Nuia 002.Jpeg, Town center File:Karksi valley.jpg, Karksi valley File:Karksi-Nuia õigeusu kirik.JPG, Saint Alexius Orthodox church File:Rahumäe kalmistu 2014-2.jpg, Karksi Rahumäe cemetery File:Karksi paisjärv loodekaldalt.jpg, Karksi lake

Notable residents

Margus Hunt Margus Hunt (born July 14, 1987) is an Estonian professional American football defensive end who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at SMU. He also ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, former discus thrower and the former world junior record holder in discus throw."Margus Hunt"
From ''www.iaaf.org'' * Märt Israel, discus thrower * Kalle Jents, politician * Margus Pirksaar, competitive runner

References