Põlva (; ) is a town in southeastern

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 ...

, the county seat of

Põlva County Põlva County ( or ''Põlvamaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-eastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga and Võru counties. 23,989 people live in Põlva County – constituting 1.8% of the total popula ...

, and the centre of

Põlva Parish Põlva Parish () is a rural Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in Põlva County, southeastern Estonia. On 1 January 2009, it had a population of 3,882 and an area of 228.63 km2. In October 2013, the town of Põlva (formerly a separate m ...

Põlva is home for the Intsikurmu Music Festival Grounds, which regularly hosts concerts and summer activities, situated in a small forested area on the west side of the town.

History

The name "Põlva" appears in the historical record in 1452. The name seems to derive from the Estonian word for "knee" (). Legend has it that a girl was immured in a kneeling position in St. Mary's Church to keep the devil away. This is reputedly how the town was named. Põlva was an old military crossroad between the north and south of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. Around 1240, shortly after the Christianization of Estonia, the Bernardine monks built a church, which they dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The church was subordinate to 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 same parish was the result of the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

under Russian domination in the 16th century. In 1582 it became part of Dorpat Voivodeship under Polish sovereignty, and later it belonged to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 1721, in the

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

, Estonia and Livonia were then ceded to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Then Põlva and its church parish belonged first to Tartu County and from 1783 to newly established Võru County, part of the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

. The town was developed around St. Mary's Church, which lay in ruins for a long time until it was rebuilt after the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. In 1931, a railway from

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 ...

to Petseri through Põlva was completed. The population of Põlva began to grow rapidly and the town began to develop when Põlva became the center of the Põlva

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

formed in 1950. The town grew around its artificial lake, whose sandy shores teem with vacationers during the summer. On 10 August 1993 Põlva gained town rights.

Demographics

Education

The importance of education is indicated by the town's coat of arms, which features a rooster with a pointer from an ABC primer. There are eight educational institutions in Põlva, including the following: * Põlva Coeducational Gymnasium, which has 737 students; * Põlva Secondary School, which has 387 students; * Põlva Roosi School, which has 28 students. This school is for mentally impaired children; * Põlva Jacob's School, a Christian Lutheran school.

Culture and sport

In summertime, interesting music festivals are held in Põlva. 2011 was the first time for harmonica players to get together and play music. Intsikurmu Music Festival is mostly targeted to young people - good music and visuals on the walls, taking place in tender August nights. The inhabitants of Põlva have always been positive, youthful and fond of sports. In and outside the town one can practise many activities, from swimming to riding. The new gymnasium provides excellent opportunities for sports and the shooting gallery of Põlva has been the hothouse of top sportsmen who hit targets at various competitions. Handball, which can be practised in the local sports school, has been undoubtedly popular in Põlva. The professional players from the Serviti Handball Club have become the masters of Estonia four times and the club is also a serious competitor outside Estonia. The varied landscape offers inexhaustible opportunities for those who like running, orienteering or cycling. This surely facilitates the success of the sportsmen of the Kobras Orienteering Club at competitions and urges them to organise sports events. Football club Põlva FC Lootos was founded 1994. One of the biggest sport clubs in county more than 30 players for Estonian national team was grown up within club history. Lootospark is a football stadium which is a cooperative project between Põlva Town, Estonian Football Federation and Põlva FC Lootos. This stadium is covered with a third-generation synthetic lawn and its lighting and underheating systems are equipped according to international requirements. The stadium was officially opened on November 7, 2004. In addition to sports the inhabitants of Põlva are engaged in art and music. In the Põlva Art School one can learn painting, graphic arts and ceramics; the works of various artists are displayed in the Maarja Gallery. The Music School provides musical education and the E STuudio, an ensemble of young people, the brass band, the small symphony orchestra and a number of choirs also practise actively.

Politics

In October 2013, after the municipal elections, Põlva merged with the surrounding

and therefore lost its municipal status. Before that, the town council consisted of 17 members elected on 18 October 2009. The government consisted of five members that were elected by the council on 20 November 2009. Tarmo Tamm, who was the mayor of Põlva for more than 11 years, went to the parliament in April 2011. Since 11 May 2011 the mayor was Georg Pelisaar."Georg Pelisaar was elected as the mayor of Põlva"
Retrieved 12.05.11

Twin towns

The former municipality of Põlva (until 2013) was twinned with: * Balvi,

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 ...

Kannus Kannus is a town and municipality of Finland. It is situated in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The populatio ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

* Sebezh,

Vårgårda Vårgårda is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vårgårda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 5,825 inhabitants in 2020. Gallery Marknadsplatsen i Vårgårda, den 16 juni 2006, bild 3.JPG, Fåglum brothers in V� ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polva Cities and towns in Estonia Former municipalities of Estonia Põlva Parish Kreis Werro