1.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
2.
Gulf of Finland
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The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it, other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn. The eastern parts of the Gulf of Finland belong to Russia, as the seaway to Saint Petersburg, the Gulf of Finland has been and continues to be of considerable strategic importance to Russia. Some of the problems affecting the Baltic Sea are at their most pronounced in the shallow gulf. The area of the gulf is 30,000 km2, the length is 400 km and the width varies from 70 km near the entrance to 130 km on the meridian of Moshchny Island, in the Neva Bay, it decreases to 12 km. The gulf is shallow with the depth decreasing from the entrance to the gulf to the continent. The sharpest change occurs near Narva-Jõesuu, which is why this place is called Narva wall, the average depth is 38 m with the maximum of 100 m. The depth of the Neva Bay is less than 6 metres, therefore, a channel was dug at the bottom for safe navigation. Because of the influx of fresh water from rivers, especially from the Neva River. The average water temperature is close to 0 °C in winter, in summer, it is 15–17 °C at the surface, the gulf is usually frozen from late November to late April, the freezing starts in the east and gradually proceeds to the west. Complete freezing is usually reached by late January, and it not occur in mild winters. There are frequent strong winds causing waves, surges of water. The northern coast of the gulf is high and winding, with abundant small bays and skerries only a few large bays, the coast is mostly sloping, there are abundant sandy dunes, with occasional pine trees. The southern shores are smooth and shallow, but along the entire coast runs the Baltic Klint with the height up to 55 m, in the east, the gulf ends with Neva Bay and on the west merges with the Baltic Sea. The gulf contains numerous banks, skerries and islands, starting from 1700, nineteen artificial islands with fortresses were built in the gulf by Russia. Their purpose was defense from attacks from water and their construction was urged by the Great Northern War of 1700–1721 and those include Fort Alexander, Krasnaya Gorka, Ino, Totleben, Kronshlot and others. The largest rivers flowing into the gulf are Neva, Narva, keila, Pirita, Jägala, Kunda, Luga, Sista and Kovashi flow into the gulf from the south. From the north flow Sestra River, Porvoo, Vantaa and several small rivers
3.
Sister city
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In recent times, town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links between member cities. In the United Kingdom, the twin towns is most commonly used. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are twin towns, partnership towns, partner towns, the European Commission uses the term twinned towns and refers to the process as town twinning. Spain uses the term ciudades hermanadas that means sister cities, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic use Partnerstadt / Miasto Partnerskie / Partnerské město, which translate as Partner Town or City. France uses Ville Jumelée, and Italy has Gemellaggio and Comune gemellato, in the Netherlands, the term is Stedenband. In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση has been adopted, in Iceland, the terms vinabæir and vinaborgir are used. In the former Soviet Bloc, twin towns and twin cities are used, the Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use the term sister cities or twin cities. In China, the term is 友好城市, sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju-do in South Korea. The Douzelage is a twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. In recent years, the term city diplomacy has gained increased usage and acceptance, particularly as a strand of paradiplomacy and public diplomacy. It is formally used in the workings of the United Cities and Local Governments, the importance of cities developing their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent has also been highlighted by the World Economic Forum. The earliest known town twinning in Europe was between Paderborn, Germany, and Le Mans, France, in 836, starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux. The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the First World War and this was initially referred to as an adoption of the French town, formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding, for example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation sent five leading citizens on a mission to Hanover. Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with an enemy city – Düsseldorf. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with other, following the motto, Only Paris is worthy of Rome. Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union, the support scheme was established in 1989
4.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
5.
Gdynia
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Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. For centuries, Gdynia remained an agricultural and fishing village on the Baltic coast. At the beginning of the 20th-century Gdynia became as a resort town. This also triggered an increase in local population and it was then that the town was given a more cosmopolitan character with modernism being the dominant architectural style and emerged as a city in 1926. The rapid development of Gdynia was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, although the German troops refrained from deliberate bombing, the newly built port and shipyard were completely destroyed. The population of the city suffered much heavier losses as most of the inhabitants were evicted and expelled, the locals were either displaced to other regions of occupied Poland or sent to Nazi concentration camps throughout Europe. After the war, Gdynia was settled with the inhabitants of Warsaw and lost cities such as Lviv. The city was gradually regenerating itself with its shipyard being rebuilt, in December 1970 the shipyard workers protest against the increase of prices was bloodily repressed. This greatly contributed to the rise of the Solidarity movement in Gdańsk, today the port of Gdynia is a regular stopover on the itinerary of luxurious passenger ships and a new ferry terminal with a civil airport are under realisation. The city won numerous awards in relation to safety, infrastructure, quality of life, in 2013 Gdynia was ranked as Polands best city to live in and topped the rankings in the overarching category of general quality of life. Gdynia is also noted for its access to education. There are prestigious universities such as the Polish Naval Academy located nearby, Gdynia hosts the Gdynia Film Festival, the main Polish film festival, and was the venue for the International Random Film Festival in 2014. Late 10th century, Pomerelia was united with Poland, during the reign of Mieszko II Pomerelia seceded from Poland and became independent. 1116/1121, Bolesław III reunited Pomerelia with Poland,1227, Pomerelia again became an independent Duchy. 1253, First known mention of the name Gdynia, as a Pomeranian fishing village, the first church on this part of the Baltic Sea coast was built there. 1294, Pomerelia was inherited by the future Polish king Przemysł II. and remained as part of Poland until – 1309–1310, The Teutonic Order conquered Pomerelia,1380, The owner of the village which became Gdynia, Peter from Rusocin, gave the village to the Cistercian Order. 1382, Gdynia became property of the Cistercian abbey in Oliva, Pomerelia became part of Royal Prussia, a newly established province of the Kingdom of Poland, and later on of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1772, In the First Partition of Poland, Royal Prussia was annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia, Gdynia became known in German as Gdingen, and was expropriated from the Cistercian Order
6.
Elva, Estonia
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Elva is a town and a municipality in Tartu County, Estonia. It has a population of 5,607 and an area of 9.92 km², lake Verevi has a sandy and well-developed beach area that is very popular in the summer and is host to many outdoor events. Lake Arbi has wet reed grown shores, elvas largest employer is Enics Eesti AS, subsidiary of Enics Group, providing electronics manufacturing services in industrial electronics. Elva has one school, Elva Gümnaasium, offering education from 1st grade to high school graduation, a dominant element in Elva is the train station which today is a visitors information center and which used to be an important trade route in the past centuries. Detailed information on hikes on foot or by bicycle can be obtained from the information center. The Elva river, with old water mill sites and rapid banks, is popular for canoeing, in winter skiers can participate in the Tartu Marathon, belonging to the Worldloppet series. Its 60 km track from Otepää to Elva can be cycled through on mountain bikes in summer, Elva was founded soon after the completion of Tartu-Valga train route that was built from 1886 to 1889. Elva was first mentioned in an Estonian newspaper in 1889, Elva is named after the Elva river that has been mentioned in books already in the 17th century. In 1913 a two grade school was opened, on 1 May 1938 Elva became a town. The town center was heavily damaged in the Second World War, in July 1941 Elva was liberated by the Forest Brothers. In August 1944 surroundings of Elva became a battlefield between Hyazinth von Strachwitzs Panzer brigade and the Red Army. From 1950 to 1962 Elva was District Central of Elva district, elvas town rights were restored in 1965
7.
Haapsalu
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Haapsalu is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2016 it had a population of 10146. Haapsalu has been known for centuries for its warm seawater, curative mud. Salt mud spas frequented by the Russian Romanov family still operate, narrow streets with early 20th century wooden houses repeatedly lead to the sea. Haapsalu has been called the Venice of the Baltics, although this positioning has been criticized as exaggerating, the name Haapsalu is from Estonian haab aspen and salu grove. The town dates back to 1279, when it was chartered and became the centre of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, buildings from those early days remain today, including an episcopal castle which has the largest single-nave cathedral in the Baltic states, Haapsalu Castle. Haapsalu and the area was the center for the Estonian Swedes from the 13th century until the evacuation of almost all ethnic Swedes from Estonia in 1944. For many years, locals have claimed that the sea mud has a curative effect, a military doctor, Carl Abraham Hunnius, founded the first mud cure resort in 1825. News of the curative mud quickly reached the aristocracy of Saint Petersburg, ever since then, Haapsalu has been a popular summer destination where people from all around the world come for medical treatment. Today, there are three mud cure establishments in Haapsalu varying in size and location, in the 19th century, Haapsalu became famous for its shawls, a delicate craft made by local women. The Land of Ilon Wikland, a centre for children, is set to open in a few years within the town. This world-famous book illustrator has been involved with Haapsalu since her childhood, the August Blues Festival is held every August in Haapsalu. Haapsalu is site of a school founded by Estonian fencer Endel Nelis. Haapsalu is twinned with, Haapsalu shawl Haapsalu linnastaadion August Blues Festival Official website Town heraldry Haapsalu castle Haapsalu pictures and article
Estonia
Lääne-Viru County
