Kuressare

Overview

Kuressaare is the capital of Saaremaa.  The town, located at the Livonia Bay, has territory of about 15 sq.km and a population of about 16,000. Kuressaare that obtained the freedom of a town in 1563 has been called with different names throughout its existence. Its historic German-like name used to be Arensburg that was replaced by Kuressaare in 1917. During the Soviet period, in 1952-1988 it was called Kingissepa after the bolshevik Viktor Kingissepp who was born here. Kuressaare was the first town in Estonia where the self-governing status was restored in October 1990. Today, Kuressaare is a safe and healthy town, open for international cooperation and communication and having eight twin-towns.

History