Kilingi-Nõmme 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 ori ...

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( et, Pärnu maakond or ''Pärnumaa''; german: Kreis Pernau) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the nor ...

, southwestern

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 ...

. It is the administrative centre of

Saarde Parish Saarde is a municipality located in Pärnu County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia. Settlements ;Town: Kilingi-Nõmme Kilingi-Nõmme is a town in Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saarde Parish. It's l ...

. It's located on the intersection of Valga– Uulu (Valga–

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 o ...

, nr 6) and

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 ...

–

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 ...

–Kilingi-Nõmme (nr 92) roads, about from the Estonian border with

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 ...

History

The settlement was first mentioned in 1560 when a manor named ''Ovelgunne'' (also ''Kurkund'') belonging to the Schilling family was established. In 1789 a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

was opened in the nearby Nõmme farmstead. Hence the name "Kilingi-Nõmme", ''Kilingi'' derived from the ''Schilling'' surname. In the 1870s when most of the manor's land was handed out to

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

believers, the settlement started to develop faster. Local congregation was established in 1845, and a parish school three years later. Kilingi-Nõmme was then the centre of the surrounding Saarde Parish. After the establishment of sawmill, flour mill and spinning factory, Kilingi-Nõmme gained the borough rights in 1919 and eventually the town rights on 1 May 1938. In 1896, a

–

Mõisaküla Mõisaküla ( lv, Muižciems; Meizakila) is a town in southern Estonia, part of Mulgi Parish of Viljandi County, just next to the border of Latvia. It is considered to be the smallest town in Estonia. The town has 32 streets, with the total le ...

–

Rūjiena Rūjiena (; german: Rujen; et, Ruhja) is a town in Valmiera Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. As of 2017 its population was 3,007. Geography The town is located in northern Latvia, near the border with Estonia, in the historical regi ...

– Valga

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway () was built, the station in Kilingi-Nõmme was opened in 1917, before that the nearest station was ''Woltveti'' southeast in

Tihemetsa Tihemetsa is a small borough (') in Saarde Parish, Pärnu County in 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 acr ...

. In 1975 the narrow gauge railway was closed and a new railway () was opened in 1981 as part of the

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 ' ...

–

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

railway. Eventually this was also closed in 2000 and dismantled in 2008. After the reindependence of Estonia in 1991, Kilingi-Nõmme served as a sovereign municipality, but merged with neighbouring Saarde and Tali parishes in 2005, and became the centre of the new

. File:Kilingi-Nõmme raudteejaam aastal 1938.jpg, The now defunct Kilingi-Nõmme railway station. File:Saarde Vabadussõja mälestussammas Kilingi-Nõmmes.jpg, Memorial to those of Saarde Parish who fought in the

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 westwa ...

Population

As of 2011 Census, the town's population was 1,763.

Notable people

*Reio Avaste (born 1976), architect *

Liisi Koikson Liisi Koikson (born 4 June 1983 in Kilingi-Nõmme) is an Estonian singer, singing teacher and actress. Liisi Koikson attended Kilingi-Nõmme Gymnasium, graduating in 2001. Her first singing coach was composer, choir director and vocal pedagogue ...

(born 1983), singer *

Ants Laaneots Ants Laaneots (born 16 January 1948) is an Estonian politician and former military officer. He was previously the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces and a veteran officer in the Soviet Army. Laaneots previously served as the Commandant o ...

(born 1948), military commander *

Lauri Laasi Lauri Laasi (born 12 September 1974 in Kilingi-Nõmme, Pärnu County) is an Estonian politician. He has been member of the X, XI, XII and XIII Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the u ...

(born 1974), politician * Paul Lilleleht (1893–1955), military commander * Marie Reisik (1887–1941), politician and women's rights activist *

Mart Siimann Mart Siimann (born 21 September 1946) was the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1997 to 1999, representing the liberal/centrist Estonian Coalition Party.

(born 1946), politician *

Helene Vannari Helene Vannari (20 March 1948 – 16 March 2022) was an Estonian stage, radio, television and film actress. Early life and education Vannari was born in the town of Kilingi-Nõmme in Pärnu County. Her father was a forestry teacher and her mot ...

(1948–2022), actress * Toomas Voll (born 1958), composer and choral conductor

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilingi-Nomme Cities and towns in Estonia Former municipalities of Estonia