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Valga (German: Walk) is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County and Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres (6.4 square miles) and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement.

Valga
Town
Valga Town Hall, Jaani (St. John´s) Church and Railway Station
Motto(s): 
1 linn, 2 riiki (1 city, 2 countries)
Valga
Location in Estonia
Coordinates: 57°47′N 26°02′E
CountryEstonia
CountyValga County
MunicipalityValga Parish
First mention1286
Area
  Total16.54 km2 (6.39 sq mi)
Elevation
65 m (213 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
  Total11,792
  Rank11th
  Density710/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Ethnicity
  Estonians64.3%
  Russians26.3%
  other9.1%
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
68230
Area code(+372) 76
Vehicle registrationG

Location and transport


The distance to Tartu is 89 km (55 mi), Pärnu 144 km (89 mi), Tallinn 245 km (152 mi), Riga 175 km (109 mi) and Pskov 170 km (106 mi).

Valga is situated at the junction of roads and railways.

The HummuliTartu–Riga railway is connected via Tapa with the Tallinn–Narva–St Petersburg main line. After closing April 2008 for extensive repair work Edelaraudtee railway services from other parts of Estonia to Valga re-opened in January 2010.[2][3] From 1 January 2014 all domestic train services in Estonia are operated by Elron who runs three services a day from Valga to Tartu. The journeys either operate as through services to Tallinn or have a connection available at Tartu. The journey to Tartu takes around one hour and 15 minutes.[4]

Valga is also an international railway junction; since April 2008 three daily trains operated by Pasažieru Vilciens from Riga which previously terminated at Lugaži have been extended across the border to Valga. The journey time to Riga is between 3h12m and 3h30m.[5]

With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and the abolition of systematic border controls between Estonia and Latvia, it was announced that common public bus transport would be launched between Valga and Valka.[6]

During the Cold War, Valga was home to Valga air base.


Districts of Valga


There are six districts of Valga:


Activity


Since 1944, a local newspaper, Valgamaalane, has been published (3 times a week). Since 2003, there has also been a local newspaper "Walk" (in the Russian language). There also is a local correspondence office of Estonian Television (Eesti Televisioon) and a local radio – "Raadio Ruut".

The former municipality of Valga concluded several cooperation agreements. The nearest was an agreement (from the year 1995) with the neighbouring town of Valka. There were also cooperation agreements with Oakland, Maryland[8] (US) and Östhammar Municipality (Sweden). There were long-term friendly relations with Hallsberg Municipality in Sweden and the towns of Lübz in Germany and Tornio in Finland.

Valga is developing quickly. Since 1996, the populace's quality of life has improved due to the renovation of several buildings, including the Central Library, Valga Stadium, the Museum, Valga Hospital, and the Culture and Hobby Centre. Step by step, the schools and kindergartens are also being modernized. Since 2003, a new water treatment plant has improved the quality of water in the town.

In the private sector, there have been extensive investments in trade, light industry, and forestry.


Population



Population change


Year18811897192219341959197019791989200020112017
Population 4,20010,9009,50010,80013,30017,00018,50017,70014,32312,26112,452

Ethnic groups


Population of Valga by nationality
Nationality 2000 census 2011 census[9]
Number  % Number  %
Estonians 8,970 62.63 7,886 64.32
Russians 3,913 27.32 3,224 26.30
Ukrainians 421 2.94 386 3.15
Latvians 334 2.33 262 2.14
Belarusians 211 1.47 156 1.27
Total 14,323 12,261

Languages


Population of Valga by first language
Language 2000 census[10] 2011 census[9]
Number  % Number  %
Estonian 8,772 61.24 7,573 61.77
Russian 4,744 33.12 4,113 33.55
Latvian 259 1.81 191 1.56
Ukrainian 192 1.34 159 1.30
Belarusian 75 0.52 23 0.19
Total 14,323 12,261

Sports


Valga is home to several notable Estonian sports teams.

Warrior Valga, is a football club that currently plays in the III liiga. Warrior Valga played in the Meistriliiga from 2003 to 2006.

Valga, is a basketball club that currently plays in the Estonian top-tier Korvpalli Meistriliiga and the Baltic Basketball League.


Climate


Valga lies within the temperate humid continental climate zone.

Climate data for Valga (normals 1991–2020, extremes 1925–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.1
(50.2)
10.9
(51.6)
18.4
(65.1)
27.4
(81.3)
30.7
(87.3)
33.2
(91.8)
34.4
(93.9)
34.3
(93.7)
29.5
(85.1)
21.7
(71.1)
15.2
(59.4)
11.9
(53.4)
34.4
(93.9)
Average high °C (°F) −1.6
(29.1)
−1.1
(30.0)
3.8
(38.8)
11.6
(52.9)
17.7
(63.9)
21.2
(70.2)
23.6
(74.5)
22.2
(72.0)
16.6
(61.9)
9.5
(49.1)
3.5
(38.3)
0.1
(32.2)
10.6
(51.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.0
(24.8)
−4.3
(24.3)
−0.4
(31.3)
6.0
(42.8)
11.6
(52.9)
15.6
(60.1)
18.0
(64.4)
16.5
(61.7)
11.6
(52.9)
5.9
(42.6)
1.3
(34.3)
−2.0
(28.4)
6.3
(43.3)
Average low °C (°F) −6.6
(20.1)
−7.4
(18.7)
−4.2
(24.4)
0.9
(33.6)
5.5
(41.9)
10.0
(50.0)
12.6
(54.7)
11.5
(52.7)
7.3
(45.1)
2.8
(37.0)
−0.9
(30.4)
−4.2
(24.4)
2.3
(36.1)
Record low °C (°F) −38.5
(−37.3)
−38.2
(−36.8)
−30.1
(−22.2)
−17.8
(0.0)
−5.6
(21.9)
−1.6
(29.1)
2.5
(36.5)
1.5
(34.7)
−6.5
(20.3)
−14.4
(6.1)
−21.9
(−7.4)
−40.5
(−40.9)
−40.5
(−40.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 52
(2.0)
42
(1.7)
38
(1.5)
37
(1.5)
52
(2.0)
82
(3.2)
67
(2.6)
78
(3.1)
53
(2.1)
71
(2.8)
56
(2.2)
50
(2.0)
675
(26.6)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 12 9 9 8 9 11 10 11 11 12 13 14 128
Average relative humidity (%) 89 86 78 70 68 73 76 79 84 87 90 90 81
Source: Estonian Weather Service (precipitation days 1971–2000)[11][12][13][14][15]

History



International relations



Twin towns – Sister cities


There former municipality of Valga, Estonia was twinned with:[16]

  • Oakland, United States
  • Orimattila, Finland
  • Tornio, Finland
  • Uusikaupunki, Finland

City Twins Association


The former municipality of Valga was a founding member of City Twins Association that was founded in Imatra, Finland on 13 December 2006. In addition to sister towns, Valga had a cooperation through the association with following cities:[17]


Cooperation without any formal agreement



Notable residents


Kazimierz Świątek (Belarusian: Казімір Свёнтак, 1914 – 2011), first cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in independent Belarus[18][19]




References


Notes
  1. Population by sex, age and place of residence after the 2017 administrative reform, 1 January. Statistics Estonia.
  2. "Taasavatud Tartu-Valga rongiliini esimene sõit osutus ülipopulaarseks" (in Estonian). tartupostimees.ee. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  3. Juhan Tere (15 December 2009). "Tartu-Valga train connection to get relaunched from January". The Baltic Course. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  4. "Sõiduplaan – Elron". pilet.elron.ee. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  5. "Latvijas Dzelzceļš". Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  6. "Establishment of common public bus transport (Presentation)" (PDF). euregio-heltal.org. Retrieved 17 April 2018.[permanent dead link]
  7. "LINNAOSADE JA -JAGUDE LÜHENDID". www.eki.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  8. "Partner Cities Program". Estonia.usembassy.gov. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  9. "Ethnic nationality. Mother tongue and command of foreign languages. Dialects". pub.stat.ee. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  10. "Ethnic nationality. Mother tongue. Command of foreign languages". pub.stat.ee. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. "Climate normals-Temperature". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. "Climate normals-Precipitation". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  13. "Climate normals-Humidity". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  14. "Rekordid" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  15. "Kliimanormid-Sademed, õhuniiskus" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  16. "Valga". Valga. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  17. "Valga". Valga. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  18. "Кардынал Казімір Свёнтэк (пам. 2011 г.) (Cardinal Kazimierz Cardinal Świątek)(died 2011)(in Belarusian)". Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  19. "Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek obituary". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 19 February 2022.



На других языках


- [en] Valga, Estonia

[ru] Валга

Ва́лга (эст. Valga, нем. Walk, до 1920 рус. Валк, старинное рус. название — Влех[3][4]) — город на юге Эстонии, административный центр уезда Валгамаа. Вплотную примыкает к латвийскому городу Валка, составляя с ним, по сути, единый город.



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