Portal:Estonia

Topics Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology edit   Welcome to the Estonian Portal! Tere tulemast Eesti portaali! Flag of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti or Eesti Vabariik; Germanic languages: Estland; Finnish: Viro), is a country in Northern Europe. Estonia has land borders to the south with Latvia and to the east with Russia. It is separated from Finland in the north by the Gulf of Finland and from Sweden in the west by the Baltic Sea. Estonia has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004 and of NATO since 29 March 2004. The Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns, with the Estonian language sharing many similarities to Finnish. The modern name of Estonia is thought to originate from the Roman historian Tacitus, who in his book Germania (ca. AD 98) described a people called the Aestii. Similarly, ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the country's name are Estia and Hestia. edit   Selected article Tartu (historical name: Dorpat) is the second largest city of Estonia, with a population of 101,297 (as of 2004) and an area of 38.8 km². In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural centre, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, Tartu is the centre of Southern Estonia. The Emajõgi River, which connects the two largest lakes of Estonia, crosses the city for a length of 10 km. Archaeological evidence of first permanent settlement on the site of modern Tartu dates to as early as the 5th century AD. By the 7th century, the local inhabitants had built a wooden fortification on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi). The first documented record of the place was made in 1030 by chroniclers of Kievan Rus. Yaroslav the Wise, Prince of Kiev, raided Tartu that year, built his own fort there, and named it Yuryev (literally "Yury's" - Yury being Yaroslav's Christian name). Kievan rulers then collected tribute from the surrounding ancient Estonian county of Ugaunia, possibly until 1061, when, according to chronicles, Yurev was burned down by another tribe of Chudes (Sosols). edit   Selected picture Men of Saaremaa building a ship in July 1913. Photo taken by Johannes Pääsuke. edit   Selected biography Toomas Hendrik Ilves (born December 26, 1953) is the current President of Estonia. He is a former diplomat and journalist, was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1990s and later a member of the European Parliament. He was elected to the post by an electoral college on September 23, 2006 and his term as President began on October 9, 2006. Ilves was born in Stockholm, Sweden but his parents were Estonian refugees. He grew up in the United States and graduated from Leonia High School in Leonia, New Jersey in 1972 as valedictorian. He attended a bachelors degree in psychology from Columbia University and a masters degree in the same subject from the University of Pennsylvania. edit   News Wikinews Estonia portal October 11: Australia has mixed OECD rankings for literacy and numeracy amongst adults September 26: 2012 Report on Gender Equality and Development credits Icelandic parental policy with 'hopeful' changes September 26: 2012 Report on Gender Equality and Development suggests Australian women are doing okay February 12: Anti-ACTA activists protest across Europe February 8: European cold spell kills hundreds May 15: Azerbaijan win 2011 Eurovision Song Contest February 20: Ten children killed in Estonian orphanage fire September 1: Estonian soldier killed in southern Afghanistan October 9: 18 hospitalized after gas attack in school in Valga, Estonia June 8: Europeans go to the polls to elect Members of the European Parliament edit   Did you know... ...that the capital of Danish Estonia was named Lyndanisse on their invasion in 1219? ...that the Estonian river which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipus, is called Emajõgi, meaning "Mother River" in Estonian? ... that Alatskivi Castle in Alatskivi, Estonia was designed to be a smaller version of Balmoral Castle? edit   Categories ▼ Estonia ► Estonia-related lists ► Buildings and structures in Estonia ► Estonian culture ► Economy of Estonia ► Education in Estonia ► Environment of Estonia ► Geography of Estonia ► Government of Estonia ► Health in Estonia ► History of Estonia ► Estonian people ► Politics of Estonia ► Robotics in Estonia ► Estonian society ► Sport in Estonia ► Works about Estonia ► Images of Estonia ► Estonia stubs edit   Main topics Counties: Harju County • Hiiu County • Ida-Viru County • Järva County • Jõgeva County • Lääne County • Lääne-Viru County • Pärnu County • Põlva County • Rapla County • Saare County • Tartu County • Valga County • Viljandi County • Võru County History: Ancient Estonia • Estonian Crusade • Danish Estonia • Livonian War • Duchy of Livonia • Swedish Estonia • Estophilia • Estonian Age of Awakening • Autonomous Governorate of Estonia • Estonia in World War II • Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany • History of the Jews in Estonia • Occupation of Estonia by Soviets (Estonian SSR) Politics: Parliament • President • Prime Minister • Cabinet • Constitution • Elections • Political parties Geography: Islands • Lakes • Rivers Economy: Tallinn Stock Exchange • Estonian kroon Military: Maavägi • Merevägi • Estonian Air Force Demographics: Language Culture: Cinema • Cuisine • Education • Literature • Music • Public holidays Symbols: Flag • Coat of arms • National anthem (Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm) edit   Things you can do Requests: Please add these missing articles to Wikipedia by clicking on their red links and adding information about them. Make sure to cite all of your sources! To make an Estonia-related article request, add it here and also to Wikipedia:Requested articles. Tuhala Witch's Well · Tourism in Estonia · Radio in Estonia (currently a redirect) · Roads in Estonia (currently a redirect) · Flora of Estonia · Banking in Estonia · Art of Estonia · List of bridges in Estonia · Buddhism in Estonia · Conscription in Estonia · Environmental issues in Estonia · Marriage in Estonia · Media of Estonia (currently a redirect) · Life in Estonia · Paralepa · Andrus Alver · Mare Puusepp · Irina Raud · Henno Sepmann · Anton Soans · Toomas Annus · Tiit Kuuli · Hans H. Luik · Aadu Luukas · Villem Reiman · Endel Siff · Olari Taal · Peeter Tulviste · Julius Aamisepp · Ilmar Koppel · Elmar Leppik · Karl Orviku · Jaak Parksepp · Johannes Piiper · Mart Saarma · Voldemar Vaga · Valmer Adams · Anna Haava · Kalju Kangur · Enn Kippel · Juhan Kunder · Kalle Kurg · Iko Maran · Valdo Pant · Juhan Peegel · Aino Pervik · Hando Runnel · Women's football in Estonia, More... Tasks: Classify and rate unassessed articles Join: WikiProject Estonia edit   WikiProjects Estonia Europe edit   Wikipedia in Estonian There is an Estonian version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. edit   Related portals European Union Sweden Finland Latvia Europe Russia edit   Associated Wikimedia What are portals? List of portals