Estonia <div style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em"> <table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border: 1px solid #9866FF; background-color: #f3f3ff" width="300"> <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid #C9AFFF; background-color: #ddddff">Flag</td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 2px">Image:en-flag.png</td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid #C9AFFF; border-top: 1px solid #C9AFFF; background-color: #ddddff">Quick Facts</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Capital'''</td><td>Tallinn</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Government'''</td><td>parliamentary republic<br/></td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Currency'''</td><td>Estonian kroon (EEK)<br>pegged to the Euro</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Area'''</td><td>''total:'' 45,226 sq km <br>''note:'' includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea <br>''water:'' 2,015 sq km <br>''land:'' 43,211 sq km</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Population'''</td><td>1,415,681 (July 2002 est.)</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Language'''</td><td>Estonian phrasebook|Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other</td></tr> <tr><td valign="top" style="padding-left: 2px">'''Religion'''</td><td>Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish</td></tr> </table> </div>  '''Estonia''' is a Baltic country in Eastern Europe|Eastern Europe. It has land borders with Latvia and Russia. With a coastline on the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, Estonia also has seaborders with Finland and Sweden. Image:en-map.png|frame|Map of Estonia ==Regions== Estonia is divided into 15 counties (or ''maakonnad'', singular - ''maakond'') *Harjumaa *Hiiumaa *Ida-Virumaa *Jarvamaa|Järvamaa *Jogevamaa|Jõgevamaa *Laanemaa *Laane-Virumaa|Lääne-Virumaa *Parnumaa|Pärnumaa *Polvamaa|Põlvamaa *Raplamaa *Saaremaa *Tartumaa *Valgamaa *Viljandimaa *Vorumaa|Võrumaa ==Cities== *Tallinn : the capital - in Harjumaa *Tartu : second largest city - in Tartumaa *Kardla|Kärdla in Hiiumaa *Johvi|Jõhvi in Ida-Virumaa *Paide in Järvamaa *Jogeva|Jõgeva in Jõgevamaa *Haapsalu in Läänemaa *Rakvere in Lääne-Virumaa *Parnu|Pärnu in Pärnumaa *Polva|Põlva in Põlvamaa *Rapla in Raplamaa *Kuressaare in Saaremaa *Valga in Valgamaa *Viljandi in Viljandimaa *Voru|Võru in Võrumaa ==Other destinations== ==Understand== Image:OldCity GuardTowerPark.JPG|thumb|Medieval city wall in Tallinn After centuries of Denmark|Danish, Sweden|Swedish, Germany|German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It is now one of the more-prosperous former Communist states, enjoying a highly-technological environment, a very open and liberal economy and a transparent government system. On the other hand, it is faced with a fairly low (but growing) GDP per capita, as well as a very low birth rate which is leading to rapid population decline. ===Geography=== ; '''Climate''' : maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers ; '''Terrain''' : marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south ; '''Elevation extremes''' : ''lowest point:'' Baltic Sea 0 m <br>''highest point:'' Suur Munamagi 318 m ; '''Geography - note''' : the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands ===Holidays=== ; '''National holiday''' : Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 20 August 1991 was the date of reindependence from the Soviet Union ==Get in== As Estonia is a member of the European Union, citizens from these countries can enter Estonia with a valid passport or a valid identity card. In addition more than 30 other nationals (including United States, Canada, Japan) can enter Estonia without visa (detailed list at [http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_132/915.html Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affaires]). ===By plane=== In addition to direct daily flights to/from all major Scandinavian (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen,Oslo) and Baltic cities (Riga, Vilnius) there are direct flights from all major European hubs like London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam and regional hubs like Prague and Warsaw. Eastwards connections are from Moscow and Kiev. Local carrier Estonian Air provides half of the services and the rest is provided by Finnair, SAS, Lufthansa, LOT, CSA, Air Baltic and others. Starting from late autumn 2004 also major low-cost carriers (Easyjet) entered this market. Hourly helicopter service is operated between Tallinn and Helsinki city centres. Close proximity and excellent ferry services with Helsinki allow for combination of open-jaw air travel. Daily domestic flights are from Tallinn to the islands of Hiiumaa (Kärdla) and Saaremaa (Kuressaare). Detailed information is available from [http://www.tallinn-airport.ee/index.php?page=569 Tallinn Airport timetable]. ===By train=== International train services are to/from Russia, Moscow. Domestic services connect Tallinn with Narva in the east and Viljandi, Pärnu in the south and Tartu, Võru and Valga in the south-east. ===By car=== Good road connections are to south (Via Baltica routing Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius-Warsaw) and east (Tallinn-St. Petersburg). Domestic road network is dense and covers all regions of the country. ===By bus=== Lots of good and cheap connections from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Kaliningrad, Warsaw, and all larger Baltic and German cities. For details see [http://www.eurolines.ee/?lang=eng&id= Eurolines Estonia]. Eurolines can provide visa services to Russia, however it takes two weeks (one week rush). ===By boat=== Ferry lines connect Tallinn with Sweden (Stockholm), Finland (Helsinki, Mariehamn) and during summers also with Germany (Rostock) and Russia (St Petersburg). Tallinn-Helsinki is one of the busiest searoutes in Europe and has dailiy 20 ferry crossings and nearly 30 different fast-boat and hydrofoil crossings (the later do not operate during winter). For details see [http://www.portoftallinn.com/passengers/pass_ship_schedule.shtml Port of Tallinn passenger scedules]. ==Get around== Estonia's train services have suffered considerably from privatization and the main means of local transport is now bus. ==Talk== The official language is Estonian phrasebook|Estonian, though many in urban areas (especially younger people) speak good English. Finnish phrasebook|Finnish is linguistically closely related to Estonian and, thanks to heavy tourism and TV broadcasts from the other side of the gulf, many Estonians understand it quite well. There is a significant Russian phrasebook|Russian minority (25%) and some other Slavic speaking minorities as well. ==Buy== The local currency is the '''Estonian kroon''', with the scary-sounding currency code '''EEK'''. One kroon is divided into 100 ''sent''. Since 1993, the kroon has been fixed to the euro at a rate of 15.64664 to 1. ATMs and money changers (''valuutavahetus'') are widely available. You will get the best rates by exchanging only after arrival in Estonia. ==Eat== Estonian food draws heavily from German and Scandinavian cuisine. The closest thing to a national dish is ''verivorst'', blood sausage, served with ''mulgikapsad'', which is basically sauerkraut. ==Drink== Like their neighbors the Finns and the Russians, the Estonians know their alcohol. Favorite tipples include the local beer '''Saku''' [http://www.saku.ee], the local vodka '''Viru Valge''' [http://www.viruvalge.ee/] and the surprisingly smooth and tasty rum-like herbal liquor '''Vana Tallinn'''. ==Sleep== ==Learn== ==Work== ==Stay safe== ==Stay healthy== ==Respect== ==Contact== Check out [http://www.wifi.ee www.wifi.ee] for a list of WiFi enabled hotspots (nearly 500) across the country. ==External links== *[http://www.visitestonia.com Visit Estonia] *[http://www.estnet.info EstNet - Tourism & Travel Guide Estonia] WikiPedia:Estonia de:Estland fr:Estonie ro:Estonia {{stub}} First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

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