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128-516: The territory of modern Harju County consists mostly of two ancient Estonian counties: Revala , around what is now Tallinn, and Harjumaa , which was situated south of Revala and presently rests mostly in Rapla County . Lindanise, then a small trading post at the Gulf of Finland , served as the capital of Revala. It eventually grew into the mostly German-populated Hanseatic town of Reval and later into

256-572: A European great power . It served as a capital of the Tsardom of Russia , and the subsequent Russian Empire, from 1712 to 1918 (being replaced by Moscow for a short period of time between 1728 and 1730). After the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks moved their government to Moscow. The city was renamed Leningrad after Lenin's death in 1924. It was the site of the siege of Leningrad during

384-576: A battle against the men of Estland who had come down with a great army. After the battle, King Ingvar was buried close to the seashore in Estonia and the Swedes returned home. According to Heimskringla sagas, in the year 967 the Norwegian Queen Astrid escaped with her son, in future king of Norway Olaf Tryggvason from her homeland to Novgorod , where her brother Sigurd held an honoured position at

512-521: A fortress at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, which was later called Ingermanland . The small town of Nyen grew up around the fort. Before the 17th century, this area was inhabited by Finnic Izhorians and Votians . The Ingrian Finns moved to the region from the provinces of Karelia and Savonia during the Swedish rule. There was also some Estonian , Karelian , Russian and German population in

640-474: A given. An alternative hypothesis is that the increase of settlement finds in the period may have been associated with an economic boom related to the warming of climate. Some researchers have even argued that a Uralic language may have been spoken in Estonia and Finland since the end of the last glaciation. The beginning of the Late Neolithic Period about 2200 BC is characterized by the appearance of

768-400: A naming act that established an official spelling; even in his own letters he used diverse spellings, such as Санктьпетерсьбурк ( Sanktpetersburk ), emulating German Sankt Petersburg , and Сантпитербурх ( Santpiterburkh ), emulating Dutch Sint-Pietersburgh , as Peter was multilingual and a Hollandophile. The name was later normalized and russified to Санкт-Петербург. A former spelling of

896-492: A new general plan was outlined, whereby the city should expand to the south. Constructivism was rejected in favour of a more pompous Stalinist architecture . Moving the city centre further from the border with Finland, Stalin adopted a plan to build a new city hall with a huge adjacent square at the southern end of Moskovsky Prospekt , designated as the new main street of Leningrad. After the Winter (Soviet-Finnish) war in 1939–1940,

1024-577: A new plan in 1737. The city was divided into five boroughs, and the city centre was moved to the Admiralty borough, on the east bank between the Neva and Fontanka . It developed along three radial streets, which meet at the Admiralty building and are now known as Nevsky Prospect (which is considered the main street of the city), Gorokhovaya Street and Voznesensky Avenue . Baroque architecture became dominant in

1152-513: A number of protected areas in Harju County. Lahemaa National Park was the first national park in the Soviet Union , when it was created in 1971. The park was intended for the protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the coastal landscapes of Northern Estonia. There are 21 nature reserves and 25 landscape protection areas, that are at least partly situated in Harju County. The largest

1280-505: A period covering History of Estonia from the middle of the 8th millennium BC until the conquest and subjugation of the local Finnic tribes in the first quarter of the 13th century during the Teutonic and Danish Northern Crusades . The region has been populated since the end of the last glacial era, about 10,000 BC. The earliest traces of human settlement in Estonia are connected with Kunda culture . The oldest known settlement in Estonia

1408-557: A rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed but is evident in the layout of the streets. In 1716, Peter the Great appointed Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. The style of Petrine Baroque , developed by Trezzini and other architects and exemplified by such buildings as the Menshikov Palace , Kunstkamera , Peter and Paul Cathedral , Twelve Collegia , became prominent in

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1536-486: A town within the municipality of Tallinn in 1980. Maardu and Saue were separated from Tallinn in 1991 and Kehra, Loksa and Saue were given town status in 1993. The central administration of Tallinn was abolished and the town was re-transferred into Harju County. Its urban raions were abolished in 1993 and replaced with eight modern districts. Ancient Estonian counties were divided into parishes ( Estonian language : kihelkond ), that became centered on local churches from

1664-588: Is Harju Elu . The County Government ( Estonian : Maavalitsus ) is led by a governor ( Estonian : maavanem ), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2009 the Governor position has been held by Ülle Rajasalu . Harju County received municipal functions on 30 March 1917. Members of the Harju County Council were elected by the delegates of county municipalities and

1792-576: Is Paunküla Reservoir (4.1 km (1.6 sq mi)) in Kose Parish . The longest rivers are the Keila River (107 km (66 mi) in total), Pirita River (105 km (65 mi)), Jägala River (97 km (60 mi)) and Valgejõgi River (85 km (53 mi)). The two largest permanently active waterfalls in Estonia, Jägala Falls (8 m (26 ft)) and Keila Falls (6 m (20 ft)), are situated on these rivers. There are

1920-663: Is a subdistrict in Kesklinn (central) district of Tallinn. Pakri islands (six inhabitants) are part of Paldiski. Koipsi and Rammu form uninhabited villages within Jõelähtme Parish . The largest lakes in Harju County are Lake Ülemiste (9.6 km (3.7 sq mi)) and Lake Harku (1.6 km (0.62 sq mi)) in Tallinn and Lake Kahala (3.5 km (1.4 sq mi)) in Kuusalu Parish . The largest artificial lake

2048-492: Is combined with the city's Russian heritage. Another nickname of Saint Petersburg is "The City of the White Nights" because of a natural phenomenon which arises due to the closeness to the polar region and ensures that in summer the night skies of the city do not get completely dark for a month. The city is also often called the "Northern Palmyra ", due to its extravagant architecture. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans ,

2176-597: Is described in Njál's saga as occurring in 972 AD. About 1008, Olaf the Holy , later king of Norway , landed on Saaremaa . The Oesilians, taken by surprise, had at first agreed to pay the demands made by Olaf, but then gathered an army during the negotiations and attacked the Norwegians. Olaf (who would have been only 13 years old) claimed to have won the battle. Olaf was the subject of several biographies, both hagiographies and sagas, in

2304-522: Is estimated to become operational in 2024. Harju County and Estonia are serviced by Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport , which is open to both domestic and international flights. The Tallinn Linnahall Heliport offers international flights to Helsinki , Finland . Tallinn Passenger Port or the Old City Harbour served 8.84 million passengers in 2012 on lines to Helsinki , Stockholm and St. Petersburg . Transport to Kelnase Harbour on Prangli Island

2432-736: Is provided from Leppneeme Harbour in Viimsi Parish and to Naissaar Island from Tallinn Lennusadam Harbour. Seasonal transport to Aegna Island is provided from Tallinn Kalasadam Harbour. The biggest cargo port is Muuga Harbour in Maardu and Viimsi Parish . Other large ports include Paldiski North Harbour and Paldiski South Harbour, Miiduranna Harbour in Viimsi Parish and Bekkeri-Meeruse Port , Hundipea Harbour, Lennusadama Harbour, Paljassaare Harbour, Patarei Harbour, Peetri Harbour and Vene-Balti Port in Tallinn. The official newspaper of Harju County

2560-448: Is still named Leningrad . Having passed the role of capital to Petersburg, Moscow never relinquished the title of "capital", being called pervoprestolnaya ('first throned') for 200 years. An equivalent name for Petersburg, the "Northern Capital", has re-entered usage today since several federal institutions were recently moved from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. Solemn descriptive names like "the city of three revolutions" and "the cradle of

2688-696: Is the Pulli settlement , which was located on the banks of the river Pärnu , near the town of Sindi , in southwestern Estonia. It has been dated to the beginning of the 9th millennium BC . The Kunda Culture received its name from the Lammasmäe settlement site in northern Estonia, which dates from earlier than 8500. Bone and stone artifacts similar to those found at Kunda have been discovered elsewhere in Estonia, as well as in Latvia , Russia , northern Lithuania and southern Finland . Among minerals, flint and quartz were used

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2816-702: Is the Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve in Kuusalu Parish and Anija Parish . The Harju County highway system is determined by roads leading out from Tallinn . Paldiski - Tallinn - St Petersburg line was opened as the first line in Estonia in 1870. Today, Elron operates both commuter rail in Harju County and inter-city rail from Tallinn. Important lines include Tallinn- Narva / Tartu through Kehra and Aegviidu , Tallinn- Pärnu / Viljandi through Saku and Tallinn- Paldiski through Saue and Keila . Tallinn- Riisipere line used to be extended to Haapsalu . The Rail Baltic Tallinn- Riga - Warsaw line

2944-719: Is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow . It is situated on the River Neva , at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea . The city had a population of 5,601,911 residents as of 2021, with more than 6.4 million people living in the metropolitan area . Saint Petersburg is the fourth-most populous city in Europe, the most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As

3072-639: Is Αγία Πετρούπολη, Agia Petroupoli ). Saint Petersburg has been traditionally called the "Window to Europe" and the "Window to the West" by the Russians. The city is the northernmost metropolis with more than 1 million people in the world, and is also often described as the " Venice of the North" or the "Russian Venice" due to its many water corridors, as the city is built on swamp and water. Furthermore, it has strongly Western European-inspired architecture and culture, which

3200-557: The Corded Ware culture , pottery with corded decoration and well-polished stone axes (s.c. boat-shape axes). Evidence of agriculture is provided by charred grain of wheat on the wall of a corded-ware vessel found in Iru settlement. Osteological analysis show an attempt was made to domesticate the wild boar . Specific burial customs were characterized by the dead being laid on their sides with their knees pressed against their breast, one hand under

3328-690: The Danes , who were aided by the Livonians and the Wends of Pomerania . It is notable that other Baltic tribes — i.e., the Letts and Lithuanians — are not mentioned by Saxo as participating in the fight. Snorri Sturluson relates in his Ynglinga saga how the Swedish king Ingvar Harra (7th century), the son of Östen and a great warrior, who was forced to patrol the shores of his kingdom fighting Estonian pirates. The saga speaks of his invasion of Estonia where he fell in

3456-850: The Estonian capital, Tallinn. In 1219, the Danish King, Valdemar II , landed in Lindanise ( Danish : Lyndanisse ) and conquered both Revala and Harju counties, while the inhabitants were forced into Christianity . At the end of the Livonian Crusade (1208–1227 in Estonia), both counties were captured by the Order of the Sword Brothers until given back to Denmark with the Treaty of Stensby in 1238. The Danes built

3584-686: The Gold Star sign was installed in April 1985. In October 1946 some territories along the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland , which had been annexed into the USSR from Finland in 1940 under the peace treaty following the Winter War , were transferred from Leningrad Oblast to Leningrad and divided into Sestroretsky District and Kurortny District . These included the town of Terijoki (renamed Zelenogorsk in 1948). Leningrad and many of its suburbs were rebuilt over

3712-606: The Great Northern War , Peter the Great captured Nyenskans and soon replaced the fortress. On 27 May [ O.S. 16 May] 1703, closer to the estuary (5 km (3 mi) inland from the gulf ), on Zayachy (Hare) Island , he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress , which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia; in some years several Swedish prisoners of war were also involved under

3840-518: The Leningrad Affair (1949–1952), a notable event in the postwar political struggle in the USSR . It was a product of rivalry between Stalin's potential successors where one side was represented by the leaders of the city Communist Party organization – the second most significant one in the country after Moscow. The entire elite leadership of Leningrad was destroyed, including the former mayor Kuznetsov ,

3968-759: The Leningrad Military District of the Russian Armed Forces . The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage , one of the largest art museums in the world, the Lakhta Center , the tallest skyscraper in Europe , and was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020 . The name day of Peter I falls on 29 June, when

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4096-587: The Livonian Order . In 1561, after the outbreak of the Livonian War , the nobility of North Estonia and the Tallinn Town Council declared loyalty to Sweden . Tallinn and other Swedish-occupied territories gained during warfare were secured by the Treaty of Plyussa . During the Great Northern War , Harju was one of the few regions in Estonia untouched by warfare for a long time. Nonetheless, Harju County

4224-685: The Narva Triumphal Arch . In 1825, the suppressed Decembrist revolt against Nicholas I took place on the Senate Square in the city, a day after Nicholas assumed the throne. By the 1840s, neoclassical architecture had given way to various romanticist styles, which dominated until the 1890s, represented by such architects as Andrei Stackenschneider ( Mariinsky Palace , Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace , Nicholas Palace , New Michael Palace ) and Konstantin Thon ( Moskovsky railway station ). With

4352-544: The October Revolution , which led to the end of the social-democratic provisional government , the transfer of all political power to the Soviets , and the rise of the Communist Party . After that the city acquired a new descriptive name, "the city of three revolutions", referring to the three major developments in the political history of Russia of the early 20th century. In September and October 1917, German troops invaded

4480-521: The October revolution " used in the Soviet era are reminders of the pivotal events in national history that occurred here. Petropolis is a translation of a city name to Greek, and is also a kind of descriptive name: Πέτρ- is a Greek root for 'stone', so the "city from stone" emphasizes the material that had been forcibly made obligatory for construction from the first years of the city (a modern Greek translation

4608-499: The Red Army already in 1940 and Pakri Parish had been abolished and merged with Paldiski in 1947. Village councils were renamed "parishes" in 1990–1993. Kehra merged into Anija Parish in 2002, Loksa Parish merged into Kuusalu Parish in 2005 and Kõue Parish merged into Kose Parish in 2013. On 31 December 2021, there were 614,567 people living permanently in Harju county, which

4736-629: The Rus' state in 9th century. According to Nestor Yaroslav I the Wise invaded the country of the Chuds in 1030 and laid the foundations of Yuriev , (the historical Russian name of Tartu , Estonia ). According to the Novgorod Chronicle , Varyag Ulf (Uleb) from Novgorod was crushed in battle at Iron Gate , which is usually located in northern Russia, but according to one hypothesis took place on sea close to

4864-539: The Russian Orthodox Church observes the memory of apostles Peter and Paul . The consecration of the small wooden church in their names (its construction began at the same time as the citadel) made them the heavenly patrons of the Peter and Paul Fortress , while Saint Peter at the same time became the eponym of the whole city. When in June 1703 Peter the Great renamed the site after Saint Peter, he did not issue

4992-571: The Second World War , the most lethal siege in history. In June 1991, only a few months before the Belovezha Accords and the dissolution of the USSR , voters supported restoring the city's original appellation in a city-wide referendum . As Russia's cultural centre, Saint Petersburg received over 15 million tourists in 2018. It is considered an important economic, scientific, and tourism centre of Russia and Europe. In modern times,

5120-473: The Soviet Union and construction of new districts ( Maardu , Mustamäe , Väike-Õismäe and Lasnamäe ) for Tallinn. Hotel Viru in Tallinn was built in 1972 as the first modern highrise in Estonia. The 1980 Summer Olympics Sailing events were held in Tallinn. The event also brought major construction, such as the seaside road from Central Tallinn to Pirita , renovation projects in Tallinn Old Town and

5248-748: The Soviet Union had invaded Poland , the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł escaped from internment in Tallinn Harbor during the Orzeł incident . The submarine eventually made her way to the United Kingdom , which led both the Soviet Union and Germany to question Estonia's neutrality . On 24 September 1939, Soviet Navy warships appeared in North Estonian waters and Soviet Air Force bombers patrolled above Tallinn and

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5376-458: The Tallinn Bay in 1032. In the 1st centuries AD political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish ( kihelkond ) and the county ( maakond ). The parish consisted of several villages. Nearly all parishes had at least one fortress. The defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder. The county was composed of several parishes, also headed by an elder. By

5504-494: The Toompea Castle ( Castrum Danorum ) on Toompea Hill in Tallinn, which quickly became the biggest settlement in Estonia. In 1248, it was the first settlement in Estonia to receive its town rights, and in 1285 it became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League . German dominance led to the St. George's Night Uprising , which broke out in 1343 with the burning of Padise Abbey in modern Padise Parish . The uprising led Denmark to sell its possessions in Northern Estonia to

5632-543: The Vikings from the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. With the rise of Christianity , centralized authority in Scandinavia and Germany eventually lead to Baltic crusades . The east Baltic world was transformed by military conquest: First the Livs , Letts and Estonians , then the Prussians and the Finns underwent defeat, baptism , military occupation and sometimes extermination by groups of Germans , Danes and Swedes . Petrograd Saint Petersburg , formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad ,

5760-490: The West Estonian archipelago and threatened Petrograd with bombardment and invasion. On 12 March 1918, Lenin transferred the government of Soviet Russia to Moscow, to keep it away from the state border. During the Russian Civil War , in mid-1919 Russian anti-communist forces with the help of Estonians attempted to capture the city, but Leon Trotsky mobilized the army and forced them to retreat back to Estonia . On 26 January 1924, five days after Lenin's death, Petrograd

5888-410: The emancipation of the serfs undertaken by Alexander II in 1861 and an Industrial Revolution , the influx of former peasants into the capital increased greatly. Poor boroughs spontaneously developed on the outskirts of the city. Saint Petersburg surpassed Moscow in population and industrial growth; it became one of the largest industrial cities in Europe, with a major naval base (in Kronstadt ),

6016-438: The 13th century the following major counties had developed in Estonia: Saaremaa (Osilia), Läänemaa (Rotalia or Maritima), Harjumaa (Harria), Rävala (Revalia), Virumaa (Vironia), Järvamaa (Jervia), Sakala (Saccala), and Ugandi (Ugaunia). Estonia constitutes one of the richest territories in the Baltic for hoards from the 11th and the 12th centuries. The earliest coin hoards found in Estonia are Arabic Dirhams from

6144-416: The 13th century. Modern municipal parishes (Estonian: vald ) were created in the 19th century. They were created within the old parishes, that were still centered on the local church. Soviet rule brought major changes in rural municipalities as local village councils were created throughout 1945. The parishes were abolished with the creation of raions in 1950. Naissaar Parish had been abolished and given to

6272-435: The 1920s and 1930s, the poor outskirts were reconstructed into regularly planned boroughs . Constructivist architecture flourished around that time. Housing became a government-provided amenity ; many "bourgeois" apartments were so large that numerous families were assigned to what were called "communal" apartments ( kommunalkas ). By the 1930s, 68% of the population lived in such housing under very poor conditions. In 1935,

6400-402: The 195 ships, that left Tallinn and Paldiski, 55 were sunk by mines near Juminda Peninsula, killing around 15,000 evacuees. Evacuating Soviet forces destroyed much of the infrastructure and industry around Tallinn. German forces captured Paldiski and Tallinn on 28 August 1941, shooting down the Soviet Flag on Tallinn Pikk Hermann Tower. Estonians replaced it with the Flag of Estonia , but it

6528-542: The 1st century iron was smelted from local marsh and lake ore. Settlement sites were located mostly in places that offered natural protection. Fortresses were built, although used temporarily. The appearance of square Celtic fields surrounded by enclosures in Estonia date from the Pre-Roman Iron Age. The majority of stones with man-made indents, which presumably were connected with magic designed to increase crop fertility, date from this period. A new type of grave, quadrangular burial mounds began to develop. Burial traditions show

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6656-444: The 8th century. The largest Viking Age hoards found in Estonia have been at Maidla and Kose . Out of the 1500 coins published in catalogues, 1000 are Anglo-Saxon . Varbola Stronghold ( Latin : Castrum Warbole ) was one of the largest circular rampart fortress and trading center built in Estonia , Harju County ( Latin : Harria ) at the time. In the 11th century the Scandinavians are frequently chronicled as combating

6784-438: The Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The siege lasted 872 days, or almost two and a half years, from 8 September 1941 to 27 January 1944. The Siege of Leningrad proved one of the longest, most destructive, and most lethal sieges of a major city in modern history . It isolated the city from food supplies except those provided through the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga , which could not make it through until

6912-439: The Baltic Sea, including the entire Estonian Swedish population, who had been settling also on Pakri islands in Harju County. The Forest Brothers resistance movement was considered to be the weakest in Harju County, due to dense population, fewer forests and more Soviet military activity. New deportations followed in 1949. The Soviet era brought development of heavy industry, a massive influx of foreign workers from throughout

7040-423: The Executive Committee of Harju County Soviet became the Executive Committee of Harju District Labour Soviet. The Harju County Government was re-formed in 1990. The Chairs of Harju County Councils, the Heads of County Governments and the County Governors: Harju County has seven settlements with town status : Tallinn , Maardu , Keila , Saue , Paldiski , Kehra and Loksa . All but Kehra are municipal towns ,

7168-400: The German words Sankt and Burg . In March 1917, during the February Revolution Nicholas II abdicated for himself and on behalf of his son, ending the Russian monarchy and over three hundred years of Romanov dynastic rule . On 7 November [ O.S. 25 October] 1917, the Bolsheviks , led by Vladimir Lenin , stormed the Winter Palace in an event known thereafter as

7296-408: The Middle Ages, and many of the historical facts concerning his adventures are disputed. The Chudes as mentioned in Old East Slavic chronicles are in early context usually considered as Baltic Finns in north-western Rus or even as all non-Slavic people in north-eastern Europe, but since 11th century mainly as Estonians . According to Primary Chronicle the Chudes where one of the founders of

7424-496: The Neva River, and a seaport on the Baltic. The names of Saints Peter and Paul , bestowed upon the original city's citadel and its cathedral (from 1725 – a burial vault of Russian emperors) coincidentally were the names of the first two assassinated Russian emperors, Peter III (1762, supposedly killed in a conspiracy led by his wife, Catherine the Great ) and Paul I (1801, Nikolay Alexandrovich Zubov and other conspirators who brought to power Alexander I ,

7552-776: The North-Estonian coastal plain and the North-Estonian Klint separates the plain from Harju plateau in central and southern Harju County. The forested Kõrvemaa area is situated in eastern Harju County and the West-Estonian plain in western Harju County. The shoreline is mostly low, but is at some places close to the high North-Estonian Klint. The coastal cliff is the highest in Rannamõisa (35 m (115 ft)) and Türisalu (30 m (98 ft)) in Harku Parish , and in three points in Paldiski: Pakri Peninsula (24 m (79 ft)), Leetse (20 m (66 ft)) and Väike-Pakri island (13 m (43 ft)). There are also several long sand beaches, for example Kakumäe , Stroomi in Pelguranna , Pikakari in Paljassaare and Pirita along

7680-463: The Red Army labour battalions or deported to Siberia on 14 June 1941 ( June deportation ). Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 and Finland declared the Continuation War with the Soviet Union on 25 June 1941. As the Soviet Union retreated, its destruction battalions carried out the scorched-earth tactics. The Erna long-range reconnaissance group was sent from Finland to Northern Estonia on 10 July 1941 to perform reconnaissance of

7808-433: The Republic of Estonia was formed in Tallinn in March 1944 and the last Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Uluots organized a new government under Otto Tief on 18 September 1944, captured government offices in Tallinn on 20 September 1944, and put the Estonian flag on top of the Pikk Hermann Tower. German forces started Operation Aster to evacuate its 50,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians through Tallinn and Paldiski . On

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7936-417: The Soviet Union invaded Finland on 30 November 1939, starting the Winter War . During 1939–1940, most of the Baltic German population from Tallinn and the Harju County countryside fled to Germany ( Umsiedlung ). On 14 June 1940, the Soviet Navy set up a naval blockade in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea and stationed a navy squadron west of Naissaar island near Tallinn. Soviet bombers shot down

8064-549: The Soviet era, many historic architectural monuments of the previous centuries were destroyed by the new regime for ideological reasons. While that mainly concerned churches and cathedrals, some other buildings were also demolished. On 1 December 1934, Sergey Kirov , the Bolshevik leader of Leningrad, was assassinated under suspicious circumstances, which became the pretext for the Great Purge . In Leningrad, approximately 40,000 were executed during Stalin's purges. During World War II, German forces besieged Leningrad following

8192-504: The Soviet–Finnish border moved northwards. Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Square maintained the functions and the role of a city centre. In December 1931, Leningrad was administratively separated from Leningrad Oblast . At that time it included the Leningrad Suburban District, some parts of which were transferred back to Leningrad Oblast in 1936 and turned into Vsevolozhsky District , Krasnoselsky District , Pargolovsky District and Slutsky District (renamed Pavlovsky District in 1944). During

8320-400: The Winter Palace and prohibited spacing between buildings. During the reign of Catherine the Great in the 1760s–1780s, the banks of the Neva were lined with granite embankments. However, it was not until 1850 that the first permanent bridge across the Neva, Annunciation Bridge , was allowed to open. Before that, only pontoon bridges were allowed. Obvodny Canal (dug in 1769–1833) became

8448-508: The acting mayor Pyotr Sergeevich Popkov, and all their deputies; overall 23 leaders were sentenced to the death penalty, 181 to prison or exile (rehabilitated in 1954). About 2,000 ranking officials across the USSR were expelled from the party and the Komsomol and removed from leadership positions. The Leningrad Metro underground rapid transit system , designed before the war, opened in 1955 with its first eight stations decorated with marble and bronze . However, after Stalin's death in 1953,

8576-403: The area of Western Lithuania and the present-day Kaliningrad . In the Norse sagas (13th century) the term apparently was used to indicate the Estonians. According to one interpretation, Ptolemy in his Geography III in the middle of the 2nd century AD mentions the Osilians among other dwellers on the Baltic shore. The extent of Estonian territory in early medieval times is disputed but

8704-412: The area. At the end of the 17th century, Peter the Great, who was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, wanted Russia to gain a seaport to trade with the rest of Europe. He needed a better seaport than the country's main one at the time, Arkhangelsk , which was on the White Sea in the far north and closed to shipping during the winter. On 12 May [ O.S. 1 May] 1703, during

8832-440: The author of the first nickname of Petersburg which he called Петри ( Petri ). It took some years until the known Russian spelling of this name finally settled. In 1740s Mikhail Lomonosov uses a derivative of Greek: Πετρόπολις (Петрополис, Petropolis ) in a Russified form Petropol ' (Петрополь). A combo Piterpol (Питерпол) also appears at this time. In any case, eventually the usage of prefix " Sankt- " ceased except for

8960-444: The capital). Among others, Harju Street, St. Nicholas' Church , and Estonia Theatre were hit. 36-38 Soviet bombers were shot down during the bombardment. After the Red Army broke through the Tannenberg Line in Eastern Estonia and crossed the Emajõgi river near Tartu, it launched the Tallinn Offensive on 17 September 1944 when Adolf Hitler had agreed to start abandoning Estonia on 16 September 1944. The National Committee of

9088-514: The city architecture of the early 18th century. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences , University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great. In 1725, Peter died at age fifty-two. His endeavors to modernize Russia had been opposed by the Russian nobility . There were several attempts on his life and a treason case involving his son. In 1728, Peter II of Russia moved his seat back to Moscow. But four years later, in 1732, under Empress Anna of Russia , Saint Petersburg

9216-400: The city authorities arranged for the mayoral elections and a referendum upon the city's name, when the original name Saint Petersburg was restored. The turnout was 65%; 66.13% of the total count of votes went to Anatoly Sobchak , who became the first directly elected mayor of the city . Meanwhile, economic conditions started to deteriorate as the country tried to adapt to major changes. For

9344-496: The city authorities until December 2010, when after the statement of President Dmitry Medvedev , the city decided to find a more appropriate location for this project. In the same year, the new location for the project was relocated to Lakhta , a historical area northwest of the city centre, and the new project would be named Lakhta Center . Construction was approved by Gazprom and the city administration and commenced in 2012. The 462 m (1,516 ft) high Lakhta Center has become

9472-577: The city during the first sixty years, culminating in the Elizabethan Baroque, represented most notably by Italian Bartolomeo Rastrelli with such buildings as the Winter Palace . In the 1760s, Baroque architecture was succeeded by neoclassical architecture . Established in 1762, the Commission of Stone Buildings of Moscow and Saint Petersburg ruled that no structure in the city could be higher than

9600-873: The city has the nickname of being "the Northern Capital of Russia" and is home to notable federal government bodies such as the Constitutional Court of Russia and the Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation . It is also a seat for the National Library of Russia and a planned location for the Supreme Court of Russia , as well as the home to the headquarters of the Russian Navy , and

9728-524: The city was renamed Leningrad in January 1924. The referendum on restoring the historic name was held on 12 June 1991, with 55% of voters supporting " Saint Petersburg " and 43% supporting " Leningrad ". The turnout was 65% . Renaming the city Petrograd was not an option. This change officially took effect on 6 September 1991. Meanwhile, the oblast whose administrative center is also in Saint Petersburg

9856-558: The city's name in English was Saint Petersburgh . This spelling survives in the name of a street in the Bayswater district of London, near St Sophia's Cathedral , named after a visit by the Tsar to London in 1814. A 14 to 15-letter-long name, composed of the three roots , proved too cumbersome, and many shortened versions were used. The first General Governor of the city Menshikov is maybe also

9984-596: The clear beginning of social stratification. The Roman Iron Age in Estonia is roughly dated to between 50 and 450 AD, the era that was affected by the influence of the Roman Empire . In material culture this is reflected by few Roman coins, some jewellery and artefacts. The abundance of iron artifacts in Southern Estonia speaks of closer mainland ties with southern areas while the islands of western and northern Estonia communicated with their neighbors mainly by sea. By

10112-475: The county completely empty of human habitation. Imperial Russian rule started with the construction of naval harbours in Tallinn and Paldiski ( Swedish : Rogerwiek ). Russian Tsar Peter I visited Tallinn at least nine times between 1711 and 1723. He personally opened the construction for Tallinn Naval Harbour in 1714 and Paldiski Naval Harbour in 1718. In 1870, the Paldiski - Tallinn - St. Petersburg Railway

10240-670: The coup, refusing to cooperate with the Estonian Soviet Executive Committee, the Estonian Provincial Assembly ( Estonian : Maanõukogu ) in Tallinn declared sovereignty from the Russian Empire on 28 November 1917. In December 1917, Russian sailors under the leadership of Stepan Maximovich Petrichenko declared the "Soviet Republic of Soldiers and Fortress-Builders of Naissaar". They were ousted by German forces on 26 February 1918. The Republic of Estonia

10368-418: The court of Prince Vladimir . On their journey, "Eistland" (Oeselian?) Vikings raided the ship, killing some of the crew and taking others into slavery. Six years later, when Sigurd Eirikson traveled to "Eistland" to collect taxes on behalf of "Valdemar" (Vladimir), he spotted Olaf in a market in an unmentioned city and paid for his freedom. A battle between Oeselian and Icelandic Vikings off Saaremaa

10496-399: The end of the period three clearly defined tribal dialectical areas: Northern Estonia, Southern Estonia, and Western Estonia (including the islands) had emerged, the population of each having formed its own understanding of identity. The name of Estonia occurs first in a form of Aestii in the 1st century AD by Tacitus . However, at this stage it probably indicated Baltic tribes living in

10624-645: The exclusion of 1783–1796, when Paldiski County was separated). During the Soviet occupation, in 1940, Tallinn became a city of republic significance . Loksa was transferred to Viru County in 1949. The rest of Harju County was replaced with four raions during the Soviet occupation in 1950. Harju Raion around Tallinn gradually absorbed the former areas of Harju County as Loksa Raion was abolished in 1957, Kose Raion in 1959 and Keila Raion in 1962 and most of their territories transferred to Harju Raion. Aegviidu , Aegviidu Village Council and Kohila Village Council were transferred to Harju Raion in 1962. Harju Raion and

10752-612: The first meeting was held on 1 July 1917 in Tallinn's Toompea Castle . Johannes Reinthal won the election for the Chair of the Council. The language of the proceedings was decided to be Estonian. Harju County Government became the Executive Committee of Harju County Soviet in January 1941. The County Government was restored during the German occupation from autumn 1941 until autumn 1944. In 1950,

10880-531: The first time since the 1940s, food rationing was introduced, and the city received humanitarian food aid from abroad. This dramatic time was depicted in photographic series of Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko . Economic conditions began to improve only at the beginning of the 21st century. In 1995, a northern section of the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line of the Saint Petersburg Metro

11008-400: The formal official documents, where a three-letter abbreviation "СПб" ( SPb ) was very widely used as well. In the 1830s Alexander Pushkin translated the "foreign" city name of "Saint Petersburg" to the more Russian Petrograd (Russian: Петроград , IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈgrat] ) in one of his poems. However, it was only on 31 August [ O.S. 18 August] 1914, after

11136-482: The former capital of Imperial Russia , and a historically strategic port , it is governed as a federal city . The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress , and was named after the apostle Saint Peter . In Russia , Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the birth of the Russian Empire and Russia's entry into modern history as

11264-467: The head of the city administration . The title of the city head was changed from "mayor" to "governor". In 2000, Yakovlev won re-election. His second term expired in 2004; the long-awaited restoration of the broken subway connection was expected to finish by that time. But in 2003 Yakovlev suddenly resigned, leaving the governor's office to Valentina Matviyenko . The law on election of the City Governor

11392-641: The head. Objects placed into the graves were made of bones of domesticated animals. The beginning of the Bronze Age in Estonia is dated to approximately 1800 BC. The development of the borders between the Baltic Finns and the Balts was under way. The first fortified settlements, Asva and Ridala on the island of Saaremaa and Iru in the Northern Estonia began to be built. The development of shipbuilding facilitated

11520-666: The iconic highrise Hotel Olümpia and Tallinn TV Tower . In 1962, Paldiski became a Soviet Navy nuclear submarine training centre and had two land-based nuclear reactors with 16,000 employees. It was a closed town until the last Russian warship left in August 1994. Until then it was the last Russian military base in Estonia. Russia relinquished control of the nuclear reactor facilities in September 1995. The ancient counties of Harjumaa and Revala were merged into Harju County in 1266. It remained within most of its borders until 1949 (with

11648-629: The island and it was turned into a military base. A narrow-gauge railway network was built on the island. Tallinn was the site for the very beginning of the October Revolution when the Estonian Bolshevik Jaan Anvelt took power in Tallinn on 5 November 1917, two days before the Revolution started in Petrograd . On 9 November 1917, the Bolsheviks took power from Governor Jaan Poska . After

11776-453: The islands. The stone and bone tools of the era have a notable similarity with the artifacts of the Kunda culture. Artifacts identified as belonging to the " Comb Ceramic Culture " have been found at sites from Northern Finland and Russia to Eastern Prussia . Burials associated with the culture often include figures of animals, birds, snakes and humans carved from bone and amber beginning from

11904-420: The lake froze. More than one million civilians were killed, mainly from starvation. There were incidents of cannibalism, with around 2,000 residents arrested for eating other people. Many others escaped or were evacuated, so the city became largely depopulated. On 1 May 1945 Joseph Stalin , in his Supreme Commander Order No. 20, named Leningrad, alongside Stalingrad , Sevastopol , and Odesa , hero cities of

12032-405: The larger islands and several of the smaller islands have had a considerable historical population. Pakri Islands , Naissaar and Prangli even formed separate municipalities. Their population diminished during Soviet occupation, either gradually or by force. Today, Prangli (73 inhabitants) and Naissaar (three inhabitants) both consist of three villages within Viimsi Parish . Aegna (eight inhabitants)

12160-647: The latter being part of the parish of Anija Parish since 2002. There are also two boroughs : Kiili and Aegviidu , of which Aegviidu ( Aegviidu Parish ) is one of the five municipal boroughs of Estonia. There are also 31 small boroughs in Harju County. There are plans to give a town status to Haabneeme in Viimsi Parish and Peetri in Rae Parish . Harju County is subdivided into 16 municipalities , of which 4 are urban ( Estonian : linnad — cities or towns) and 12 are rural ( Estonian : vallad — parishes ). Ancient Estonia Ancient Estonia refers to

12288-463: The middle of the 4th millennium BC . Until the early 1980s, the scholarly consensus held that the appearance of Comb Ceramic culture artifacts was associated with the arrival of Baltic Finns (ancestors of the Estonians , Finns , and Livonians ) on the shores of the Baltic Sea . However, such a linking of archaeologically defined cultural entities with ethno-linguistic ones is no longer assumed to be

12416-510: The most for making cutting tools. The beginning of the Neolithic period is marked by the ceramics of the Narva culture , which appears in Estonia at the beginning of the 5th millennium BC . The oldest finds date from around 4900 BC. The first pottery was made of thick clay mixed with pebbles, shells or plants. The Narva type ceramics are found throughout almost the entire Estonian coastal region and on

12544-665: The nature of their religion is not. They were known to the Scandinavians as experts in wind-magic, as were the Sámi (known at the time as Finns) in the North. The name Estonia was first mentioned by Cassiodorus in his book V. Letters 1–2 dating from the 6th century. Saxo Grammaticus describes the Curonians and Estonians as participating in the Battle of Bråvalla on the side of the Swedes against

12672-480: The nearby countryside. The Soviet Union demanded that Estonia allow the Soviet military bases and stationed 25,000 troops on Estonian soil for the duration of the European war. On 28 September 1939, the government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum and signed the mutual assistance treaty . Paldiski was made a Soviet Naval Base and its population was expelled from the town. With its new military bases in Northern Estonia,

12800-492: The new parliament declared the Estonian SSR on 21 July 1940, which was annexed by the Soviet Union on 6 August 1940. Most county and municipal leaders were replaced and local assemblies were replaced with Soviets . The native population of Naissaar island was expelled from the island (as in 1914) as the island was turned into a military base. During the 1940–41 Soviet Occupation, thousands were executed, imprisoned, mobilised into

12928-416: The original name, Sankt-Peterburg , was returned by citywide referendum. Today, in English the city is known as Saint Petersburg . Local residents often refer to the city by its shortened nickname, Piter (Russian: Питер , IPA: [ˈpʲitʲɪr] ). After the October Revolution the name Red Petrograd (Красный Петроград, Krasny Petrograd ) was often used in newspapers and other prints until

13056-553: The passenger airplane " Kaleva " near Keri island, killing all nine on board, which had included foreign diplomats. On 16 June 1940, the Red Army invaded Estonia and organised a Soviet coup d'état in Tallinn. On 21 June 1940, the Independent Signal Battalion in Tallinn showed resistance to the Red Army, until it surrendered and was disarmed on the same day. The Soviet powers organised rigged parliamentary elections and

13184-484: The perceived ornamental excesses of the Stalinist architecture were abandoned. From the 1960s to the 1980s many new residential boroughs were built on the outskirts; while the functionalist apartment blocks were nearly identical to each other, many families moved there from kommunalkas in the city centre to live in separate apartments. On 12 June 1991 , simultaneously with the first Russian SFSR presidential elections ,

13312-480: The post-war decades, partially according to pre-war plans. The 1948 general plan for Leningrad featured radial urban development in the north as well as in the south. In 1953, Pavlovsky District in Leningrad Oblast was abolished, and parts of its territory, including Pavlovsk, merged with Leningrad. In 1954, the settlements Levashovo , Pargolovo and Pesochny merged with Leningrad. Leningrad gave its name to

13440-594: The preservation of its historical and architectural environment became controversial. After 2005, the demolition of older buildings in the historical centre was permitted. In 2006, Gazprom announced an ambitious project to erect a 403 m (1,322 ft) skyscraper (the Okhta Center ) opposite to Smolny , which could result in the loss of the unique line of Petersburg landscape. Urgent protests by citizens and prominent public figures of Russia against this project were not considered by Governor Valentina Matviyenko and

13568-411: The remaining Rapla Raion became Harju County and Rapla County in 1990. Tallinn was reincorporated into Harju County in 1993. Tallinn was the first settlement in Harju County to receive town rights in 1248. Municipally, it consisted of the "upper town" of Toompea and the "lower town". The two municipalities were merged in 1877. The naval harbour town of Paldiski received its town rights in 1783. Nõmme

13696-613: The rest were sent to the small Jägala concentration camp nearby, that never had more than 200 prisoners as their lifespan was short. Klooga concentration camp in Keila Parish was mostly evacuated before the Soviet takeover, however, 2,000 prisoners were executed before the German retreat. The Red Army liberated the few survivors on 22 September 1944. Tallinn was bombed by the Soviet Air Force on 9 and 10 March 1944, killing 757 people and destroying 8,000 buildings (about one-third of

13824-566: The retreating Red Army, but it eventually engaged the destruction battalions near Kautla forest ( Battle of Kautla ) on 31 July to 1 August 1941, allowing 2,000 civilians to flee. German forces started its Tallinn Offensive on 19 August 1941, capturing Rapla on 21 August 1941. They reached Tallinn outskirts in Pirita on 24 August 1941 and Harku and Lasnamäe on 26 August 1941. Ordinary citizens were ordered to build defenses around Tallinn. Soviet forces started evacuating by sea on 24 August 1941. Of

13952-740: The shoreline and Lake Harku in Pikaliiva , all within Tallinn, and Kloogaranna and Kaberneeme in the countryside. The shoreline is also characterized by many peninsulas, such as Pakri , Lohusalu , Suurupi , Kakumäe , Kopli , Paljassaare , Viimsi , Ihasalu , Kaberneeme , Juminda and Pärispea . The shoreline is dotted with several islands, with the largest ones being Naissaar (18.6 km (7.2 sq mi)), Väike-Pakri (12.9 km (5.0 sq mi)), Suur-Pakri (11.6 km (4.5 sq mi)), Prangli (6.4 km (2.5 sq mi)), Aegna (2.9 km (1.1 sq mi)) and Rammu (1.0 km (0.39 sq mi)). All of

14080-590: The son of their victim). The third emperor's assassination took place in Saint Petersburg in 1881 when Alexander II was murdered by terrorists (see the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood ). The Revolution of 1905 began in Saint Petersburg and spread rapidly into the provinces. On 1 September 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, the Imperial government renamed the city Petrograd , meaning "Peter's City", to remove

14208-681: The southern limit of the city. The most prominent neoclassical and Empire-style architects in Saint Petersburg included: In 1810, Alexander I established the first engineering higher education , the Saint Petersburg Main military engineering School in Saint Petersburg. Many monuments commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleonic France in the Patriotic War of 1812 , including the Alexander Column by Montferrand, erected in 1834, and

14336-405: The spread of bronze. Changes took place in burial customs, a new type of burial ground spread from Germanic to Estonian areas, stone cist graves and cremation burials became increasingly common aside small number of boat-shaped stone graves. The Pre-Roman Iron Age began in Estonia about 500 BC and lasted until the middle of the 1st century BC. The oldest iron items were imported, although since

14464-477: The supervision of Alexander Menshikov . Tens of thousands of serfs died while building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate . Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712, nine years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war. He referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital (or seat of government) as early as 1704. While the city

14592-554: The war with Germany had begun, that Tsar Nicholas II renamed the city Petrograd in order to expunge the German words Sankt and Burg . Since the prefix "Saint" was omitted, this act also changed the eponym and the "patron" of the city from Saint Peter to Peter the Great, its founder. On 26 January 1924, shortly after the death of Vladimir Lenin , it was renamed to Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград , IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat] ), meaning 'Lenin City'. On 6 September 1991,

14720-639: The war. A law acknowledging the honorary title of "Hero City" passed on 8 May 1965 (the 20th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War), during the Brezhnev era . The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Leningrad as a Hero City the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal "for the heroic resistance of the city and tenacity of the survivors of the Siege". The Hero-City Obelisk bearing

14848-506: The way, the hospital ship "Moero" was attacked and sunk by the Soviet Air Force, killing 637 of its passengers. The retreating German forces avoided conflict with the Red Army in Tallinn and the invading army saw only little resistance by Estonian units led by Rear Admiral Johan Pitka . The Red Army entered Tallinn on 22 September and Paldiski on 24 September 1944. Before the Soviet reoccupation in 1944, thousands fled to Sweden across

14976-406: Was 11.2% more than at the same time ten years ago. Ethnic Estonians made up 60.57% (372,245) of the population, Russians 28.99% (178,169), Ukrainians 3.07% (18,886), Belarusians 1.22% (7,473), Finns 0.69% (4,226), Latvians 0.29% (1,812) and others 5.17% (31,756). [1] Religion in Harju County (2021) [2] Harju County lies on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland . Its shores are dominated by

15104-574: Was again designated as the capital of the Russian Empire . It remained the seat of the Romanov dynasty and the Imperial Court of the Russian tsars , as well as the seat of the Russian government, for another 186 years until the communist revolution of 1917 . In 1736–1737 the city suffered from catastrophic fires. To rebuild the damaged boroughs, a committee under Burkhard Christoph von Münnich commissioned

15232-576: Was being built, Peter lived in a three-room log cabin with his wife Catherine and their children. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the right bank of the Neva, near the Peter and Paul Fortress. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan. By 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by

15360-524: Was changed, breaking the tradition of democratic election by universal suffrage that started in 1991. In 2006, the city legislature re-approved Matviyenko as governor. Residential building had intensified again; real-estate prices inflated greatly, which caused many new problems for the preservation of the historical part of the city. Although the central part of the city has a UNESCO designation (there are about 8,000 architectural monuments in Petersburg),

15488-400: Was cut off by underground flooding, creating a major obstacle to the city development for almost ten years. On 13 June 1996, Saint Petersburg, alongside Leningrad Oblast and Tver Oblast , signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy. This agreement was abolished on 4 April 2002. In 1996, Vladimir Yakovlev defeated Anatoly Sobchak in the elections for

15616-522: Was divided into four urban raions in 1945 and it gained several new territories from its surrounding parishes. Aegviidu (then in Järva County ), Järvakandi and Kohila (both now in Rapla County) and Kehra were named boroughs. The central administration of Paldiski was abolished in 1950 when Paldiski was merged with Keila Raion. Tallinn absorbed Saue in 1960 and Maardu in 1962 and the latter became

15744-409: Was given a town status in 1926 and Keila in 1938. Soviet powers merged Nõmme with Tallinn already in 1940. They also separated Tallinn from Harju County and it became a centrally administered town . The same was applied to Paldiski in 1941. The German occupation of 1941-1944 left only Tallinn separated from Harju County. The Soviet reoccupation brought Paldiski back to central administration. Tallinn

15872-524: Was greatly affected by the 1710-1713 Plague that killed more than eighty percent of the county's population. Russian forces finally arrived in 1710 and laid siege to Tallinn for a month until the Swedish garrison surrendered , thus ending the Great Northern War in Estonia. Russian rule was secured with the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. The plague raged on for several years, eventually leaving several parts of

16000-457: Was opened, after which several smaller settlements along the line - Paldiski, Keila , Saue , Nõmme , Aruküla , Raasiku , Kehra and Aegviidu (then in Viru County) - started to grow. Several elements of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress were built in Harju County and its headquarters were in Tallinn. During World War I in 1914, the native population of Naissaar island was expelled from

16128-565: Was proclaimed in Tallinn on 24 February 1918 while German occupation followed on the next day. German rule ended with the November Revolution in Germany. During the Estonian War of Independence , Soviet troops were halted only 40 km east of Tallinn by the end of 1918. Tallinn was the site of a failed Communist coup d'état attempt of 1924 . On 18 September 1939, after both Germany and

16256-478: Was renamed Leningrad . Later many streets and other toponyms were renamed accordingly, with names in honour of communist figures replacing historic names given centuries before. The city has over 230 places associated with the life and activities of Lenin. Some of them were turned into museums, including the cruiser Aurora – a symbol of the October Revolution and the oldest ship in the Russian Navy . In

16384-521: Was replaced with the Flag of Germany the next day. German forces were greeted as liberators in Tallinn. It was also the first time since 1219 that Tallinn had been captured following a military engagement. Northern Estonia was the site of several concentration camps and massacres. In September 1942, up to three thousand foreign Jews and Gypsies were executed at Kalevi-Liiva in Jõelähtme Parish, while

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