LĠUNA-EESTI - Geography and history
LĠUNA-EESTI is situated in the southeastern part of Estonia and is characterised by its border location with Latvia (in the south) and Russia (in the east). In the north LĠUNA-EESTI borders on Kirde-Eesti (Ida-Viru county), in the northwest on Kesk-Eesti (Järva and Lääne-Viru counties) and in the west on Lääne-Eesti (Pärnu county). Its eastern border is partly situated on the banks of Lake Peipsi. Its landscape is noteworthy for its natural beauty, round hills and picturesque outcrops of red Devonian sandstone on the Ahja, Piusa and Võhandu rivers.
The region was conquered by German Teutonic knights in the early 13th century. Then in the 16th century Russian forces occupied LĠUNA-EESTI during the Livonian War, and later the region came under Polish, Lithuanian and Swedish rule. During the Northern War in 1704, it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In the mid-19th century there were peasant disturbances, followed by mass emigration of peasants from LĠUNA-EESTI to Russia at the end of the century. In the 1918-1920 Estonian War of Independence, a significant role was played by local partisans of exceptional fighting spirit. The partisan units were formed in LĠUNA-EESTI by one of the most famous Estonian army leaders, Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov.
LĠUNA-EESTI comprises six counties: Jõgeva, Põlva, Tartu, Valga, Viljandi and Võru. There are 14 cities and 79 rural municipalities in the region. LĠUNA-EESTI 's largest cities are Tartu (101 190), Viljandi (20 509), Võru (14 750), Valga (14 120), Põlva (6 483), Jõgeva (6 410) and Elva (5 914). All the other cities have less than 5 000 inhabitants. The region is inhabited mainly by Estonians, and Estonian is the dominant language. The region's economic and cultural centre is the university city of Tartu.
The oldest part of Tartu is called Toomemägi. In the middle of the first millennium the ancient Estonians already had a stronghold called Tarbatu on Toomemägi Hill. The first mention of Tartu came in 1030 in a written record and again in 1248, as a city. Soon after that Tartu became a member of the Hanseatic League and an important trading centre on the Pskov and Novgorod trading route. In 1632, a university was established in Tartu under the name of Academia Gustaviana after its founder, the King of Sweden. In the second half of the 19th century, Tartu became the centre of social and cultural life in Estonia, when the foundations were laid of today's Estonian song festivals, theatre and literature.
The university city of Tartu, the country´s second largest economic and cultural centre, is situated in the northern part of LĠUNA-EESTI . Tartu has a highly qualified work force, scientific research institutes, business services, a well-developed physical infrastructure, as well as numerous industrial enterprises which have been modernised successfully. At the same time, Tartu is Estonia's foremost medical centre. Taken together, these factors will favour first and foremost the development of new innovative branches in industry and services.
External borders with Latvia and Russia also offer potential for the development of transit and border trade. The Tallinn-Tartu highway also contributes to the growth of the region's importance. Picturesque landscapes and unspoilt natural beauty are valuable resources for the development of many kinds of tourism throughout the region.
However, the development of the particularly region is hampered by some negative features, its southern part. The lowest incomes in Estonia, an ageing population and high levels of unemployment are some of the factors which can be cited.
The restricted development potential of LĠUNA-EESTI as a whole means that greater attention must be paid to the quality of economic development as well as to the establishment of niche markets as two key priorities. Furthermore, the disparity in economic development and the economic links between the city of Tartu and the other parts of the region make the implementation of a single development strategy difficult. Another priority must be investment geared towards establishing more regional cohesion, enabling the use of Tartu´s potential by more remote areas.
LĠUNA-EESTI covers 15 799 km2. In terms of landscape the main areas are the Southeast Estonian Plateau intersected by numerous primeval valleys, and the Sakala, Otepää and Haanja uplands. The higher areas of the Plateau are covered with fields, while marshes and forests predominate in low-lying areas. The greatest variety of landscape features in all of Estonia can also be found here. The soil here tends to have a fertile moraine surface cover and is for the most part cultivated.
Gravel, building and glassmaking sand, peat, refractory clay, curative mud, lake mud (sapropel), dolomite, mineral water, and wood are the region's main natural resources. Gravel and sand are used in construction work while the dolomite is suitable for making decorative slabs. Lake mud may be used as an organic fertiliser and as supplementary feed for livestock. The "Värska" brand of mineral water is well-known.
The longest rivers are the Võhandu (162 km), Põltsamaa (135), Pedja (122), Piusa (109 km) and Emajõgi (101 km) rivers. The Koiva (Gauja) River in the southeast forms the frontier with Latvia over a distance of 26 km. The Otepää and Haanja uplands possess abundant small lakes. The largest lake is Lake Võrtsjärv (266 km2). The area of the second largest lake, Lake Saadjärv, is only 7 km2. LĠUNA-EESTI also has Estonia´s deepest lake, Lake Rõuge Suurjärv (38 m). Valga and Võru counties rank first and second among Estonian counties by the number of lakes. There are large mires at the mouth of the Emajõgi (the Emajõe Suursoo mire, 203 km2) and in the Võrtsjärv depression (the Sangla mire complex, 323 km2). Also most of the Endla mire complex (251 km2), the Soosaare mire (127 km2) and the Kuresoo bog (108 km2) are situated in LĠUNA-EESTI .
Most of Soomaa National Park - for the preservation of Estonia's largest bogs, as well as floodplain meadows and forests in its south-western transitional part, is situated in LĠUNA-EESTI .
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