Hiiu County

County of Estonia

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County in Estonia

Hiiu County

Hiiumaa

County

Flag

Coat of arms

Coordinates: 59°15′N 26°20′E﻿ / ﻿59.250°N 26.333°E﻿ / 59.250; 26.333
Country| Estonia
Capital| Kärdla
Government

• Governor| Riho Rahuoja[1]
Area

[2]

• Total

| 1,023.26 km2 (395.08 sq mi)
Population

(2021[3][4])

• Total

| 9,381
• Rank| 15th
• Density| 9.2/km2 (24/sq mi)
Ethnicity

• Estonians| 98.5%
• Russians| 0.6%
• Finns| 0.2%
GDP

[5]

• Total| €146 million (2022)
• Per capita| €17,225 (2022)
ISO 3166 code| EE-39
Vehicle registration| H

Hiiu County (Estonian: Hiiu maakond or Hiiumaa) is one of 15 counties of Estonia, being the smallest county both in terms of area and population. It consists of Hiiumaa (German and Swedish: Dagö), 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.

## History

[edit]

Human habitation of Hiiumaa can be traced back to the fifth millennium BC. Mesolithic sites in Kõpu peninsula are exemplified by the seal-hunters' settlements. There are several well-preserved grave fields of the Iron Age. The island was first mentioned in 1228, in annals written under the name Dageida. In 1254, Hiiumaa was divided between the Livonian Order and the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. In 1563 Hiiumaa was annexed into Sweden. In 1710, as a result of the Great Northern War the island went under the control of the Russian Empire. During World War I, the German military forces occupied Hiiumaa in 1917. In 1918–1940 Hiiumaa was part of the Republic of Estonia, then until 1991 occupied by the Soviet Union.

On demands of the Hanseatic League a lighthouse was built in Kõpu (previously known as Dagerort) at the beginning of the 16th century. It is considered the third-oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world, still showing its light to 35 miles (56 km) of the sea.

Most of the farm architecture comes from the 19th century. Prominent examples include the Mihkli farming complex and Soera farm-museum with historical national artifacts, respectively.

## Sights

[edit]

Most important sights:

* Suuremõisa manor
* Kõpu Lighthouse and ancient graves
* Suursadam port
* Tahkuna Lighthouse and associated coastal defenses
* Ristna Lighthouse
* Sääretirp
* Saarnaki laid and other isles
* Kärdla town
* Käina church ruins
* Ristimägi hill [et]
* Reigi church
* Kärdla meteorite crater
* Kassari chapel, Kassari

## County government

[edit]

The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) was led by Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. The last Governor was Riho Rahuoja 2012−2017.[1]

## Religion

[edit]

Religion in Hiiu County (2021) [1]

Unaffiliated (85.5%)

Lutheran (7.5%)

Orthodox (2.3%)

Baptist (1.6%)

Others Christian (1.5%)

Others Religions (1.0%)

Religious affiliations in Estonia, census 2000–2021*[6] Religion  | 2000  | 2011  | 2021

|
|
|

Number  | %  | Number  | %  | Number  | %
Christianity | 1,439 | 17.7 | 1,167 | 16.0 | 960 | 12.9
—Orthodox Christians | 88 | 1.0 | 91 | 1.2 | 170 | 2.3
—Lutherans | 972 | 12.0 | 790 | 10.8 | 560 | 7.3
—Catholics | 8 | 0.1 | 6 | 0.08 | 20 | 0.2
—Baptists | 319 | 3.9 | 182 | 2.5 | 120 | 1.6
—Jehovah's Witnesses | 25 | 0.3 | 23 | 0.3 | 30 | 0.4
—Pentecostals | 13 | 0.1 | 9 | 0.09 | - | \-
—Old Believers | 1 | 0.01 | 1 | 0.01 | - | \-
—Methodists | 3 | 0.03 | 3 | 0.04 | - | \-
—Adventists | 10 | 0.09 | 5 | 0.06 | - | \-
—Other Christians | - | - | 57 | 0.7 | 60 | 0.8
Islam | - | - | 1 | 0.01 | - | \-
Buddhism | - | - | 4 | 0.04 | - | \-
Other religions** | 65 | 0.8 | 78 | 1.0 | 70 | 0.9
No religion | 3,183 | 39.2 | 4,903 | 67.2 | 5,450 | 73.2
Not stated*** | 3,418 | 42.1 | 1,124 | 15.4 | 910 | 12.2
Total population* | 8,105 | 7,291 | 7,440
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[6]
".[6]

## Municipalities

[edit]

Municipalities in Hiiu County until 2017

The county consists of one municipality after the administrative reform of 2017. Between 2013 and 2017 the county was subdivided into 4 municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes). The only urban settlement Kärdla is part of Hiiumaa Parish since 2017.

Rural municipalities:

* Hiiumaa Parish (includes the town of Kärdla)

## Geography

[edit]

The county includes the islands of Hiiumaa (980 km2 (380 sq mi)) and Kassari (19 km2 (7.3 sq mi)) and a number of surrounding islets. The highest point is Tornimägi hill (68 m (223 ft)), the longest river is Luguse (21 km (13 mi)), and the biggest lake is Tihu Suurjärv (85 ha (210 acres)).

In the landscapes there can be found pine forests, mixed spruce and deciduous forests, swampy thickets and juniper shrubs, coastal meadows and bogs. The most frequent tree is pine which makes about a half of forests. Pine is followed by birch, spruce and alder. In total, there are about 1,000 species of vascular plants, of which about 100 are under protection. The wildlife of Hiiumaa is remarkable. Out of 30 species of mammals, big game as elk, deer, fox, wild boar and lynx roam the island. There are about 250 species of birds on the island, 195 of them nesting.

Among the Estonian counties Hiiumaa is the richest in forest – nearly 60% of the island are wooded areas. There are large marsh areas in the middle of the island. The marshes cover about 7% of its area. Cultivated land and settlements take about 23% of the area of the county.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Maavanem". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
2. ^ "RL006: POPULATION, AREA AND DENSITY BY ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT, 31 DECEMBER 2011". Statistics Estonia. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
3. ^ "Population by sex, age and administrative unit or type of settlement, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
4. ^ "RV022U: POPULATION BY SEX, AGE GROUP AND COUNTY, 1 JANUARY. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION AS AT 01.01.2018". Statistics Estonia. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
5. ^ "GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY COUNTY". stat.ee.
6. ^ a b c Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
* 2000 Census:
* "2000 Census: RL229: Population by religion".
* "2000 Census: RL231: Population by religion and ethnicity".
* 2011 Census:
* "2011 Census: RL0451: Population by religion".
* "2011 Census: RL0454: Population by religion and ethnicity".
* 2021 Census:
* "2021 Census: RL21451: Population by religion".
* "2021 Census: RL21454: Population by religion and ethnicity".

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lääne-Viru County.

* Lääne-Viru County Government – Official website
* Lääne-Virumaa County Infoserver – map and tourism info Archived 28 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine

Geographic locale

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities of Lääne-Viru County

Urban municipalities|

* Rakvere

Rural municipalities|

* Haljala
* Kadrina
* Rakvere
* Tapa
* Väike-Maarja
* Vinni
* Viru-Nigula

* v
* t
* e

Counties of Estonia

* Harjumaa
* Hiiumaa
* Ida-Virumaa
* Järvamaa
* Jõgevamaa
* Läänemaa
* Lääne-Virumaa
* Pärnumaa
* Põlvamaa
* Raplamaa
* Saaremaa
* Tartumaa
* Valgamaa
* Viljandimaa
* Võrumaa

* v
* t
* e

Cities and towns of Estonia

* Abja-Paluoja
* Antsla
* Elva
* Haapsalu
* Jõgeva
* Jõhvi
* Kallaste
* Kärdla
* Karksi-Nuia
* Kehra
* Keila
* Kilingi-Nõmme
* Kiviõli
* Kohtla-Järve
* Kunda
* Kuressaare
* Lihula
* Loksa
* Maardu
* Mõisaküla
* Mustvee
* Narva
* Narva-Jõesuu
* Otepää
* Paide
* Paldiski
* Pärnu
* Põltsamaa
* Põlva
* Püssi
* Rakvere
* Räpina
* Rapla
* Saue
* Sillamäe
* Sindi
* Suure-Jaani
* Tallinn
* Tamsalu
* Tapa
* Tartu
* Tõrva
* Türi
* Valga
* Viljandi
* Võhma
* Võru

Jaanilinn (Ivangorod) and Petseri (Pechory) were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and are currently part of Russia.

Authority control databases

National|

* France
* BnF data

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

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