Kilingi-Nõmme is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) 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 north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

, southwestern

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. It is the administrative centre of Saarde Parish. It is 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 of ...

, no. 6) and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

–

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

–Kilingi-Nõmme (no. 92) roads, about from the Estonian border with

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

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 type 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 ...

was opened in the nearby Nõmme farmstead. Hence in 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 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. On 20 April 1937, a fire in an elementary school and poisonous fumes killed 17 students and injured 50 after film inside of a school movie projector caught fire and set fire to other open canisters of film.Allar Viivik.
Suurim kooli tragöödia Eestis: Põlemalahvatanud filmilint tappis Kilingi-Nõmmel 18 last"
("The biggest school tragedy in Estonia: Burning film stock killed 18 children in Kilingi-Nõmme"), '' Õhtuleht'' (Tallinn, Estonia), April 21, 2007 In 1896, a

– Mõisaküla– Rūjiena– Valga

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railway () was built, the station in Kilingi-Nõmme was opened in 1917, before that the nearest station was ''Woltveti'' southeast in Tihemetsa. In 1975 the narrow gauge railway was closed and a new railway () was opened in 1981 as part of the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

–

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

railway. Eventually this was also closed in 2000 and dismantled in 2008. After Estonia regained its independence 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 Saarde Parish. 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, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

Population

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

Notable people

*Reio Avaste (born 1976), architect * Liisi Koikson (born 1983), singer * Ants Laaneots (born 1948), military commander * Lauri Laasi (born 1974), politician * Paul Lilleleht (1893–1955), military commander * Voldemar Mettus (1894–1975), journalist, writer, and translator * Marie Reisik (1887–1941), politician and women's rights activist * Mart Siimann (born 1946), politician * Helene Vannari (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