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18-427: Põhja-Kõrvemaa (meaning North Kõrvemaa) occupies the northern part of Kõrvemaa , which itself forms the northern part of Transitional Estonia, a large forested and sparsely populated area spanning in northeast–southwest direction through Estonia, from Lahemaa through Soomaa to Latvia . Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve was established in the end of 1991, a few months after Estonia regained its independence . Throughout

36-417: A considerable amount of gravel and dirt roads. Aegviidu , which is located less than 5 km southwest from the nature reserve and is the end point of Elron commuter railway line, can be reached in an hour from the center of Tallinn. There are several hiking trails, the longest being the 36 km long Liiapeksi -Aegviidu trail, which crosses the nature reserve from north to south, and also continues to

54-538: Is a park in northern Estonia , 70 kilometers east from the capital Tallinn . The Gulf of Finland is to the north of the park and the Tallinn-Narva highway (E20) to the south. Its area covers 747 km (including 274.9 km of sea). It was the first area to be designated a national park of the former Soviet Union . It is the largest park in Estonia and one of Europe's biggest national parks. Its charter calls for

72-468: Is covered with rocks and boulders, used each year by cranes as a stopover on their way to the Bosphorus and Egypt. There are four manors situated in the national park: Palmse manor, the picturesque Vihula manor, Kolga manor, and the baroque Sagadi Manor, Estonia's most visited manor which together with the other three comprise one of the most unusual group of manors in the country. Prior to 1991,

90-599: Is one of the main reasons behind the area's status as a nature reserve. It is home to large predators such as gray wolf , Eurasian lynx and brown bear . Small populations of European mink endured until the beginning of the 1990s, but are now disappeared, as in most of Estonia. Protected bird species include black stork , golden eagle , capercaillie and common crane . Nineteen species of orchids can be found in Põhja-Kõrvemaa (for example, Goodyera repens and Platanthera bifolia ), among other rare plants growing in

108-457: Is one of the main tourist draws in Estonia. Several companies offer day tour packages from Tallinn, while many people drive themselves. With forests covering more than 70 percent of Lahemaa, the area is rich in flora and fauna. The landscape has many raised bogs , including the 7,000-year-old Laukasoo Reserve. The park, marked by several trails, teems with wildlife, including a population of boar , red deer , wolves , bear and lynx . The coast

126-450: Is richest in Estonia in ice marginal formations. The most remarkable relief forms of the region are eskers , which form steep-sided ridges of very complex relief that extend to a number of kilometers and are up to 25 m high. Along with eskers there are several kame fields — areas covered with hillocks consisting of sand and gravel. Jussi kame field is the best known in Põhja-Kõrvemaa. There are more than 30 lakes in Põhja-Kõrvemaa. Most of

144-469: Is the natural divide between the current proving ground and the nature reserve. From 1997 to 2007 the nature reserves official status was landscape protection area . In 2007 it was expanded from 12,890 to 13,086 hectares and official status changed back to nature reserve. Since 2004 it is part of the European Union Natura 2000 network. The landscape in Põhja-Kõrvemaa took shape in the end of

162-506: The Soviet Era a large part of the nature reserve's current territory was used by Soviet Army for military training and as such was closed to the public. The proving grounds were established in 1947 and in 1953 expanded to 33 304 ha (333 km), making it the biggest Soviet military polygon in Estonia. Still, the Soviet Army damaged only about 10% of the proving grounds' territory, leaving

180-399: The last Ice Age , when the glacier retreated about 12,000 years ago and is as such a typical glacial landscape . It is characterized by ice marginal formations and glaciolacustrine plains , the latter of which are now mostly covered by extensive bogs and, to a much lesser extent, fens . Forests cover about 40% of the nature reserve's territory and man-made open areas only 10%. The region

198-578: The Soviet Union operated a large secret submarine base at Hara. The base was built in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War . The ruins of this former Soviet submarine base is now located entirely in Lahemaa near the Lahemaa lighthouse. Capercaillie Tetrao urogalloides Tetrao urogallus Tetrao is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies . They are some of

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216-483: The area are Pulsatilla patens , Sparganium angustifolium , Isoetes echinospora and Oxytropis sordida (the only place in Estonia where the plant is found). Põhja-Kõrvemaa is one of the most visited protected areas in Estonia due to the closeness of Tallinn and general good accessibility - in the north the nature reserve is bordered by the Tallinn-Narva highway ( E20 ) and in the west by Jägala-Aegviidu-Käravete secondary road. The nature reserve itself has also

234-583: The lakes are small, situated either in bogs (Kivijärv, Koitjärv, Venejärv and others) or between kames. Jussi lakes is a group of 6 lakes (spanning from 2 to 20 hectares in area) situated in the eastern part of the Jussi kame field. In addition to the lakes, the three biggest bogs (Koitjärve, Kõnnu Suursoo and Võhma bogs), which cover about half of the territory, have developed extensive ridges of small bog ponds, which can be counted in hundreds. A number of rare or endangered species can be found in Põhja-Kõrvemaa, which

252-511: The largest living grouse. Feathers from the bird were used to create the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri , an Italian ace infantry formation. The genus Tetrao was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . The genus name is the Latin word for a game bird, probably a black grouse . The black grouse was included by Linnaeus in

270-653: The north in Lahemaa National Park , which is separated from Põhja-Kõrvemaa by Tallinn-Narva highway. Shorter nature and hiking trails and half a dozen campsites are also available, all managed by the State forest management centre (RMK). Despite the hiking facilities created in recent years, berry and mushroom picking are still the most popular activities among the visitors. At summer weekends, up to 700 people visit Põhja-Kõrvemaa daily, most of whom drive from Tallinn. Lahemaa National Park Lahemaa National Park

288-448: The official name of Pavlov Forest District. In the 1990s, Estonian Defence Forces were interested to begin reusing some areas of the former polygon now situated on the nature reserve's territory. However, due to strong opposition by local people and conservationists, the idea was given up. In 2001, Estonian Defence Forces central proving ground was established in the eastern part of the former Soviet military polygon. The Valgejõgi River

306-529: The preservation, research and promotion of North-Estonian landscapes, ecosystems, biodiversity and national heritage. The name Lahemaa originates from the most thoroughly studied and visited part of the North Estonian coast, where four large peninsulas ( Juminda , Pärispea , Käsmu and Vergi ) are separated from each other by four bays ( Kolga , Hara , Eru and Käsmu ). Lahemaa translates roughly as "Land of Bays". The national park, established in 1971,

324-450: The rest intact. Due to unsuitability for agriculture (poor and/or badly drained soils ) the whole region has always been very sparsely populated – in the beginning of the 1950s the population density was around 1 people per km – but still a few hundred people were displaced together with the creation of proving ground. Põhja-Kõrvemaa nature reserve was formed in the western part of the former Aegviidu polygon, which had been hidden behind

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