Kuressaare

Kuressaare (-Estonian, former German and Swedish: Arensburg) is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the capital of Saare County.

The town is situated on the coast of Gulf of Riga.

Kuressaare developed around a bishop's castle first mentioned in 1381. In 1559 it was sold by the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek to Denmark, and it obtained its civic charter modelled after that of Riga in 1563. In 1645 it passed to Swedish control in the Treaty of Brömsebro. Kuressaare was burnt to the ground by Russian troops in 1710 during the Great Northern War. With the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 the town passed to Russian control. During the 18th century Kuressaare became a popular resort. Its historic name of Arensburg was replaced by Kuressaare in 1918 when Estonia declared its independence during World War I. From 1952-1988 it was called Kingissepa after the Bolshevik Kuressaare-native Viktor Kingissepp (not to be confused with the Russian town Kingisepp).

In October 1990 Kuressaare was the first town in Estonia to regain its self-governing status. Today, Kuressaare is a safe and healthy town, open for international cooperation and communication. It also hosts the FC Kuressaare football club.

Twin Towns

Ekenäs, Finland since 21 November 1988
Rønne, Denmark since 3 October 1991
Mariehamn, Finland since 24 October 1991
Skövde, Sweden since 23 June 1993
Vammala, Finland since 30 June 1994
Turku, Finland since 30 May 1996
Talsi, Latvia since 27 May 1998
Kuurne, Belgium since 9 August 1998

External links

• Kuressaare.ee Official website
• Information and history about the town
• Kuressaare Airport homepage (in Estonian only)