Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) 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 ...

Valga County Valga County ( or ''Valgamaa'') is a first-level administrative unit and one of 15 counties of Estonia. It comprises the former area of Valga District. The present-day county was created on 1 January 1990. The capital and largest town of Valga Co ...

, southern

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

Otepää Parish Otepää Parish () is a rural municipality (Estonia), rural municipality in Valga County, southern Estonia. It includes the town of Otepää, which is referred to as the "winter capital" of Estonia. The parish was formed in 2017 by merging of t ...

. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer capital"

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 ...

). During the 2005–2006 season it became the site for

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

events. The name ''Otepää'' means 'Ott's Head' in

South Estonian South Estonian, or Võro-Seto, is a Finnic language spoken in south-eastern Estonia, encompassing the Tartu, Mulgi, Võro and Seto dialects. Diachronically speaking, Estonian and South Estonian are in separate branches of the Finnic langua ...

, where ''ott'' is a euphemism for 'bear'.

History

The first settlement in Otepää was in the 6th century BC. It has been inhabited continuously since the 6th-7th centuries. Otepää (or Odenpäh) was historically important as the site of a Viking hill fort and medieval castle. The fortress was first mentioned in Rus' sources in 1116 when the princes of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

undertook an expedition against

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 ...

and Otepää. The conquest of Estonia during the

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the paganism, pagan Balts, Baltic, Baltic Finns, ...

began with an attack on the fortress at Otepää in 1208. The fort was attacked again in 1217, when Christianized southern Estonians stopped the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

advances. The fort at Otepää was finally conquered in 1224 by German crusaders. Hermann of Dorpat, the first Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Dorpat (1224–1248) within the Livonian Confederation, built an episcopal castle at Otepää, which was the first stone fortress built in Estonia. During the 14th century the importance of Otepää waned as

, which was the seat of the Bishopric, grew in importance. The castle at Otepää was destroyed, but there is no written evidence of when the castle was abandoned. Archaeologists have argued that the castle was inhabited as late as 1477. It is more commonly believed that the castle was razed by the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

in 1396 during a conflict with the

Bishopric of Dorpat The Bishopric of Dorpat was a medieval prince-bishopric, i.e. both a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It existed from 1211 until 1558, generally encompassing the area that now co ...

. The earliest surviving

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

in Europe was found in the castle of Otepää and dates to at least 1396. In 1862, the settlement was named Nuustaku and granted town privileges. In 1876, the Tartu Estonian Farmers' Society and the Estonian Farmers' Society held the first agricultural fair at Nuustaku church manor. On June 4, 1884, the flag that was to become the national

flag of Estonia The national flag of Estonia () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equal horizontal triband (flag), bands of blue at the top, black in the centre, and white at the bottom. The flag is called () in Estonian. The tricolour was alrea ...

was dedicated in the Nuustaku Church as the flag of the

Estonian Students' Society The Estonian Students' Society (; commonly used acronym: EÜS) is the largest and oldest all-male academical student society in Estonia, and is similar to the Baltic Germans, Baltic German student organizations known as German Student Corps, c ...

. The name Nuustaku was changed to Otepää in 1922. Otepää officially became a town in 1936. Otepää St. Mary's Church is located in the town. During the Middle Ages, it is known to have had three sacred buildings. The oldest parts of current church building dates back to 1860s. Major re-building took place 1889–1890 (architect R. Guleke).

Geography

Otepää is situated in a region known as the

Otepää Upland Otepää Upland () is hilly area of higher elevation in Southern Estonia. Upland's area is about 1200 km2. The highest point of upland is Kuutsemägi (217 m). Part of upland is taken under protection ( Otepää Nature Park). References ...

. Otepää is located the highest of the Estonian cities, up to 171 meters above sea level. The area is hilly and contains numerous lakes, including Lake

Pühajärv Pühajärv ( Holy Lake) is a lake in Estonia, near the town of Otepää. The Väike Emajõgi The Väike Emajõgi is a river in southern Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered ...

Demographics

Government and politics

Otepää's municipal status was briefly restored in 1989 when the local government re-emerged in Estonia. In 1999, Otepää City was merged with the Pühajärve rural municipality, which became known as the Otepää Rural Municipality.

is the local government administrative unit that governs Otepää City.

Gallery

File:Otepää - wmee-006.jpg, Otepää central square File:Otepää kirik 2012.jpg, Otepää St. Mary's Church File:Otepää Piiskopilinnuse varemed.JPG, Ruins of Otepää Bishop castle File:Pühajärv lake 2008.jpg, The beach of Lake

in Otepää. File:Statue of Estonian War of Independence in Otepää 1.jpg, Monument of

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 ...

File:Tehvandi-Suusastaadion-2011-jaanuar.jpg, Tehvandi skiing stadium File:Tehvandi cropped.jpg, Tehvandi ski jumping hill File:Kristina Šmigun 2007.jpg,

2006–07 FIS Cross-Country World Cup The 2006–07 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season for cross-country skiers. It was the 26th official World Cup season in cross-country skiing for men and women. The season began on 28 October 2006 with 800m sprin ...

, Kristina Šmigun in the focus. File:Otepää kultuurimaja.JPG, Otepää House of Culture File:Otepää - wmee-125.jpg, Otepää rectory and flag museum File:Lipuväljak tn, Otepää.jpg, Otepää's main street, Lipuväljak File:Otepää fire station.jpg, Otepää fire station

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otepaa Cities and towns in Estonia Ski areas and resorts in Estonia Former municipalities of Estonia Kreis Dorpat