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Tartu County Tartumaa | |
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Country | ![]() |
Capital | ![]() |
Government | |
• Governor | Reno Laidre (as of 29 February 2016) |
Area | |
• Total | 2,992.75 km2 (1,155.51 sq mi) |
Population (Jan 2021 [1] ) | |
• Total | 153,912 |
• Rank | 2nd |
• Density | 51/km2 (130/sq mi) |
Ethnicity | |
• Estonians | 84.4% |
• Russians | 10.1% |
• other | 2.9% |
ISO 3166 code | EE-79 |
Vehicle registration | T |
Website | www |
Tartu County (Estonian : Tartu maakond or Tartumaa) is one of 15 counties of Estonia.
It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County.
The area of Tartu County is 2,992.74 km2 (1,155.50 sq mi), which covers 6.9% of the territory of Estonia. In January 2013 Tartu County had a population of 150,139 – constituting 11.6% of the total population in Estonia. [1] The city of Tartu is the centre of the county located at a distance of 186 km (116 mi) from Tallinn. Tartu County is divided into 8 local governments – 1 urban and 7 rural municipalities.
Tartu County lies in South Estonia, between Lake Võrtsjärv and Lake Peipsi. Estonia's only navigable river, River Emajõgi (100 km long), flows through the county, connecting Lake Peipsi and Lake Võrtsjärv. Wavy plains are typical landscapes of Tartu County. One third of the county is covered with forests, a third is cultivated. A quarter is made up of wetlands at the headwaters and lower course of the Emajõgi. In the northern part of the county, there are drumlin fields with lakes between them. Nature reserves, such as Pähklisaar Nature Reserve, Emajõe Suursoo and Alam-Pedja take up about 10% of the county's territory.
Archaeological findings suggest that people first inhabited the territory of the current Tartu County about 5000 years ago. City of Tartu was first mentioned in historical records in 1030, when Yaroslav I the Wise organized a military campaign against Chuds, defeated them and established fort Yuryev in what is modern day Tartu. [2] In 1224, after the conquest of the stronghold by the German invaders, Tartu became the capital of a diocese, stretching from Northern Estonia to Latvia. Since the 13th century, Tartu belonged to the Hanseatic League, and the town became a well-known trade centre in the Baltic Sea region. In 1569, together with Duchy of Livonia, Tartu became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1598 Tartu became capital of the Dorpat Voivodeship, which remained part of the PLC until the 1620s, when the city was conquered by the Swedes.
King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden established the University of Tartu in 1632. Estonia's first teachers' training school was established in Tartu County in 1684, as well as the first Estonian schools for the children of peasants. Closed during and after the Great Northern War, Tartu University was re-opened in 1802 as the only university operating in German language in the Russian Empire. Economic development of the region was further encouraged by the construction of the railway connecting Tartu with Tallinn, Riga and St. Petersburg. In the second half of the 19th century, the national awakening of Estonians began from Tartu region. After Estonia gained independence in 1918, Tartu, along with Tallinn, became one of the two main cultural centres of Estonia, where most of the Estonian intelligentsia of the time lived and worked. In 1987–1989, the students' environmental and cultural heritage movement in Tartu initiated Estonia's Singing Revolution and restoration of the country's independence.
Tartu County is an integrated economic system and labour area with its centre in the City of Tartu.
There are 6000 companies and 2000 self-employed persons registered in Tartu County. More than 80% of the companies employ 10 or fewer people, only 5 companies in the whole region have more than 250 employees.
Service sector provides 2/3 of the employment in the county. The City of Tartu is the service and logistics centre for the whole of South Estonia. A significant part of these jobs are in the public sector – especially education and medicine – and the biggest employer in the county is Tartu University Clinics with around 3000 employees, incl 455 doctors. The biggest private sector employer is Tarmeko, producing furniture and components, with 900 employees. Unemployment rate in the county has been 2–3% in the recent years.
Typical products of Tartu County are furniture, foodstuffs, clothes, building materials, glass and plastics. The main export target countries are Finland, Germany, Latvia and Russia. 40% of the exports is wood and furniture, other export production includes machinery and appliances, building materials, glass and clothing. Thanks to the fertile lands, there are many big agricultural enterprises in the West of the county. Fishery is an important activity on the coast of Lake Peipsi.
There is development potential for knowledge intensive production in the region due to its universities. Some successful spin-offs of Tartu University are operating in the field of biotechnology and biomedicine. Since 2004, several ICT companies, orientated on the international markets, have been growing fast.
In order to facilitate innovation and technology transfer, Tartu Science Park is offering incubation and consultation services to research-based and high-tech oriented companies, and promoting cooperation between research institutions. Tartu University Institute of Technology is a research and development institution, which aims to facilitate the generation of new technological solutions. The R&D centres have been established in the areas of material and chemical technology, biomedical technology, environmental technology and information technology.
The key actors of the region have signed an agreement about the county's development strategy, which is economic and social development through increase of the knowledge input into production and services.
Economic development priorities:
Tartu County has 69 schools with approximately 23,000 pupils. 11 vocational schools provide practical training in 50 specialities. 40% of Estonia's students live and study in Tartu. In addition to the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences there are 9 other institutions of higher education, the most recent of them the Baltic Defence College.
In the City of Tartu, Estonia's oldest professional theatre, Vanemuine, stages drama, opera and ballet. In 1869 the first Estonian Song Festival was held in Tartu, starting a tradition of choral song festivals which are now held in Tallinn every 4 years with 15,000–30,000 participants. Today Tartu Song Festival arena hosts various open-air concerts in summer. There are over 30 museums and art galleries in Tartu County, including Tartu City Museum, Tartu Art Museum, Toy Museum, Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum, Estonian Postal Museum, Estonian Aviation Museum, Estonian Museum of Agriculture, Old-Believers' Museum of Living History, and others. Biggest and most important of them is Estonian National Museum, that was founded in 1909. Student festivals and Hanseatic festivals take place in Tartu regularly. The best known sports event hosted by Tartu County is the Tartu Ski Marathon, which is a member of the Worldloppet series.
In Estonia, there is no regional self-government on county level. The County Governments (Estonian : Maavalitsus) are led by County Governors (Estonian : maavanem), who are appointed by the National Government.
In accordance with the Government of the Republic Act , the County Governor represents interests of the state in the county and provides for integral and balanced development of the county. The County Governor co-ordinates co-operation of ministries and other organs of executive power located in a county with its local governments and performs supervision over the activities of the local governments. The County Governor is appointed for a five-year term by the Government of the Republic, on the basis of the Prime Minister's proposal and in co-ordination with the representatives of the local governments.
On February 2, 2006, Esta Tamm was appointed Tartu County Governor. She assumed office February 15, 2006.
The County Government manages the operations of and provides support services to the County Governor; prepares draft documents required by the County Governor; manages and controls the execution of orders of the County Governor; manages the preparation of draft budgets of state agencies administered by the County Government, and controls adherence to the budgets; manages relations of the County Governor with government agencies and local government agencies.
The county is subdivided into municipalities. As of 2017, there is 1 urban municipality (Estonian : linn – "town") and 7 rural municipalities (Estonian : vald) in Tartu County.
Rank | Municipality | Type | Population (2018) [3] | Area km2 [3] | Density [3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Elva Parish | Rural | 14,612 | 728 | 20.1 |
2 | Kambja Parish | Rural | 10,511 | 276 | 38.1 |
3 | Kastre Parish | Rural | 5,138 | 495 | 10.4 |
4 | Luunja Parish | Rural | 4,503 | 132 | 34.1 |
5 | Nõo Parish | Rural | 4,274 | 169 | 25.3 |
6 | Peipsiääre Parish | Rural | 5,676 | 652 | 8.7 |
7 | Tartu Parish | Rural | 10,676 | 742 | 14.4 |
8 | Tartu | Urban | 99,429 | 154 | 645.7 |
Religion | 2000 | 2011 | 2021 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
Christianity | 30,601 | 25.0 | 27,514 | 22.3 | 24,460 | 19.0 |
—Orthodox Christians | 8,223 | 6.7 | 9,292 | 7.5 | 7,890 | 6.1 |
—Lutherans | 18,967 | 15.5 | 14,480 | 11.8 | 12,720 | 9.9 |
—Catholics | 594 | 0.4 | 469 | 0.3 | 800 | 0.6 |
—Baptists | 551 | 0.4 | 580 | 0.4 | 630 | 0.5 |
—Jehovah's Witnesses | 426 | 0.3 | 394 | 0.3 | 450 | 0.3 |
—Pentecostals | 134 | 0.1 | 109 | 0.08 | 110 | 0.08 |
—Old Believers | 1,472 | 1.2 | 1,439 | 1.1 | 1,270 | 1.0 |
—Methodists | 80 | 0.06 | 73 | 0.05 | 120 | 0.09 |
—Adventists | 154 | 0.1 | 137 | 0.1 | 90 | 0.07 |
—Other Christians | - | - | 541 | 0.4 | 380 | 0.3 |
Islam | 61 | 0.04 | 93 | 0.07 | 90 | 0.07 |
Buddhism | - | - | 188 | 0.1 | 210 | 0.1 |
Other religions** | 894 | 0.7 | 1,014 | 0.8 | 1,950 | 1.5 |
No religion | 55,265 | 45.2 | 77,571 | 61.6 | 85,750 | 66.5 |
Not stated*** | 35,347 | 28.9 | 19,293 | 15.3 | 16,200 | 12.5 |
Total population* | 122,168 | 125,889 | 128,870 | |||
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age. [4] ". [4] |
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 and administratively lies in the Harju maakond (county). Tallinn is the main financial, industrial, and cultural centre of Estonia. It is located 187 km (116 mi) northwest of the country's second largest city Tartu, however only 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki, Finland, also 320 km (200 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia, 300 km (190 mi) north of Riga, Latvia, and 380 km (240 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden. From the 13th century until the first half of the 20th century, Tallinn was known in most of the world by variants of its other historical name Reval.
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407. It is 186 kilometres southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the two largest lakes in Estonia, Lake Võrtsjärv and Lake Peipus. From the 13th century until the end of the 19th century, Tartu was known in most of the world by variants of its historical name Dorpat.
Viljandi County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties.
Harju County, is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in Northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla County to the south, and Lääne County to the southwest. The capital and largest city of Estonia, Tallinn, is situated in Harju County. Harju County is the largest county in Estonia in terms of population, as almost half (45%) of the Estonia's population lives in Harju County.
Ida-Viru County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is the most north-eastern part of the country. The county contains large deposits of oil shale - the main mineral mined in Estonia. Oil shale is used in the production of shale oil and in thermal power plants. The capital of the county is the town of Jõhvi which is administratively united with the Jõhvi Parish; nevertheless, Narva is the largest town in the county in terms of population and at the same time the third largest city in Estonia after Tallinn and Tartu.
Hiiu County is one of 15 counties of Estonia, being the smallest county both in terms of area and population. It consists of Hiiumaa, the second largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it. The county borders Lääne County to the east and Saare County to the south.
Lääne County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders the Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-east, Rapla County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, and the island counties of Saare and Hiiu to the west. In January 2009 Lääne County had a population of 23,810 – constituting 2.0% of the total population in Estonia.
Jõgeva County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in eastern part of the country and borders Ida-Viru County to the north-east, Lake Peipus to the east, Tartu County to the south, Viljandi County to the south-west, Järva County to the north-west and Lääne-Viru County to the north.
Põlva County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-eastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga and Võru counties. 28,507 people live in Põlva County – constituting 2.3% of the total population in Estonia.
Valga County 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 County is Valga, followed by Tõrva and Otepää. It is situated in the southern part of the country and borders Põlva and Võru County to the east, Latvia to the south and west, and Viljandi and Tartu County to the north. 29,944 people live in Valga County.
Võru County is a county in southern Estonia. It is bordered by Valga County and Põlva County and is the only Estonian county bordering two countries - Latvia in the south and Russian Federation in the east.
Emajõgi is a river in Estonia which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipsi, crossing the city of Tartu for 10 km. It has a length of 100 km.
Lake Võrtsjärv is a lake in southern Estonia with an area of 270 km² (104 mi²).
The Riga offensive was part of the larger Baltic offensive on the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place late in 1944, and drove German forces from the city of Riga.
The Tallinn offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army's 2nd Shock and 8th armies and the Baltic Fleet against the German Army Detachment Narwa and Estonian units in mainland Estonia on the Eastern Front of World War II on 17–26 September 1944. Its German counterpart was the abandonment of the Estonian territory in a retreat codenamed Operation Aster.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Republic of Estonia.
The Tartu offensive operation, also known as the Battle of Tartu and the Battle of Emajõgi was a campaign fought over southeastern Estonia in 1944. It took place on the Eastern Front during World War II between the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front and parts of the German Army Group North.
Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve is the largest nature reserve in Estonia. It is a vast wilderness area which covers 342 km2 and consists of a complex of 5 large bogs separated by unregulated rivers, their floodplains, and extensive forests. The nature reserve aims to protect diverse ecosystems and rare species, mainly through preserving the natural development of forests and bogs and securing the continuing management of semi-natural floodplain grasslands.
Verevi is a village in Elva Parish, Tartu County, in southern Estonia. It has a population of 38.
Vorbuse is a village in Tartu municipality, Tartu County in southern Estonia. It's located northwest of the city of Tartu, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the city centre. Vorbuse is bordered by the Emajõgi River to the northeast and by the Tallinn–Tartu road to the south. The Tallinn–Tartu railway passes through the village and crosses the Emajõgi over the Jänese railway bridge. As of 2011 Census, the village's population was 258.