From TheBestLinks.com
Saaremaa is the largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, to south of Hiiumaa island, belonging to the west Estonian archipelago. The capital of Saaremaa is Kuressaare, which has about 16,000 inhabitants, the whole island has about 40,000 inhabitants.
Saaremaa is the main island of Saare County, called Saaremaa or Saare maakond in Estonian. The Swedish and German name of the island is Ösel, in Finnish it's called Saarenmaa, literally isle's land.
History
Main article: History of Estonia
In 1645, Saaremaa was ceded to Sweden by the Treaty of Brömsebro, having previously been a Danish possession.
In 1721, along with the rest of Swedish Estonia, Saaremaa (then known by its Swedish name of Ösel) was ceded to Imperial Russia by the Treaty of Nystad, becoming a part of the Russian governorate-general of Estonia, to which it has since remained attached.
Estonia became independent after the October Revolution and the collapse of Imperial Russia, but was annexed by the USSR in June 1940, as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, as a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Nonaggression Pact. Independence was regained on August 20, 1991, in the collapse of the Soviet Union
Transport to Saaremaa
It is possible to reach Saaremaa by ferry from Virtsu on the Estonian mainland to Muhu island, which is itself connected to Saaremaa via a causeway. Saaremaa can also be reached using a ferry from Sõru on the island of Hiiumaa.
There are regular bus services from Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu on the mainland.
It is possible to fly from Kuressaare to Tallinn, and there are also seasonal flights to Pärnu.
See also
External links
- Saaremaa (http://www.saaremaa.ee)
- Avies (http://www.avies.ee) fly daily between Tallinn and Kuressaare
- Neomobile (http://www.neomobile.ee) provide local bus services across the island
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sv:Ösel
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