Country Information
Official name:Republic of Estonia
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Territory: 45,226 sq km
Population: 1,34 million people
Capital: Tallinn
Airport:
Kärdla Airport (KDL/EEKA)
Kuressaare Airport (URE/EEKE)
Parnu Airport (EEPU)
Tallinn Airport (TLL/EETN)
Tartu Airport Raadi Ltd (TAY/EETU)
Major cities: 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla),
Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu),
Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla),
Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in brackets.
Main languages: Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist,
Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish
Climate: maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers.
Average temperatures: May through to September daytime temperatures average
in the 70s F/20-25 C, with nights ranging 40-60 F/4-15 C. Despite its northern latitude,
Estonia's climate is relatively mild because of its proximity to water. The coldest months are
January and February, when temperatures are in the 20s F/-7 to -1 C, although they can
drop to -20 F/-29 C.
Monetary unit: Estonian kroon (EEK)
Local time: Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +2 hours. Daylight saving time: +1 hour
National holidays: Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is the
date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 is the date it
declared its independence from the Soviet Union
Major tourist sights:
Lahemaa National Park :
Lahemaa National Park is one of four such parks, inhabited for an estimated 4,000 years,
but also including areas untouched by human hand.
The national park is home to around fifty species of mammals, more than two hundred
species of birds and some twenty species of fish. Such carnivores as the wolf, the lynx
and the brown bear, rare in Western and Central Europe, are represented here.
Apart from its forests, beaches, marshes and moorland, Lahemaa also enjoys a rich
archaeological history and has many historical buildings. Four of these typically Baltic
buildings remain today: Palmse, Sagadi, Kolga and Vihula. Palmse, with its Baroque,
and Sagadi, with its Rococo influences (both late 18th century), are among the
indisputably finest manor houses extant today.
Any visitor with a little more time to spend can follow the long coastline. Places of note
include the sea captains' village Käsmu, and Altja, the best preserved fisherman's village.
The border city of Narva:
At a distance of 210 kilometres from Tallinn and 140 km from Saint Petersburg, Narva,
the third largest city in Estonia stands at the border with Russia. It is known for its textiles
and for the production of energy.
The River Narva and nearby Lake Peipsi have for almost a thousand years marked the
border between two different religions - originally between a Byzantine Russian Orthodox
faith and Roman Catholicism, later, Lutheranism. It is also a cultural boundary.
