Mõisaküla ( lv, Muižciems; Meizakila) 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 ...
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 across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, part of
Mulgi Parish of
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 ...
, 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 length of 15,5 km. There are 401 dwellings in Mõisaküla, consisting mainly of small 1- or 2-floor small houses.
The closest regional centres are
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. ...
(49 km away) and
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 ...
(63 km). It is 189 km from the capital city,
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 '' ...
, and 125 km from the second largest city,
Tartu.
History
Mõisaküla arose on the fens of
Abja manor (mõis), after which it is named. It was a large railway hub in the 1920s and 1930s, when two narrow-gauge lines came through Mõisaküla, serving all of Estonia until the 1970s when the Soviets closed both lines.
It became a town on 1 May 1938.
A Lutheran church was established in 1934, but was burned and destroyed in 1983; restoration of the church started in 2005 and the church reopened in 2014.
Mõisaküla is the birthplace of Olympic weightlifting medalist
Arnold Luhaäär
Arnold Luhaäär (20 October 1905 – 19 January 1965) was an Estonian heavyweight weightlifter. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1936 Summer Olympics and won a silver and a bronze medal, respectively. He missed the 1932 games because ...
. Luhaäär's medals are on permanent display at the Mõisaküla Museum. It is also the birthplace of stage and film actress
Rita Raave
Rita Raave (born 6 April 1951) is an Estonian stage, television and film actress, and painter.
Early life and education
Rita Raave was born in Mõisaküla, Viljandi County in 1951 to journalist, cartoonist, Lutheran pastor, and politician Kale ...
.
Twin towns – sister cities
The former municipality of Mõisaküla was twinned with:
*
Mikkeli
Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 ...
, Finland
Gallery
Meizakilas dzelzceļa stacija 1.jpg, Mõisaküla railway station
Mõisaküla linnavalitsus.JPG, Municipal building (August 2012)
Moisakula church - panoramio.jpg, Estonian Orthodox church in Mõisaküla
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moisakula
Cities and towns in Estonia
Former municipalities of Estonia
Populated places in Viljandi County
Mulgi Parish