Kilingi-Nõmme

Kilingi-Nõmme
The main street in Kilingi-Nõmme
The main street in Kilingi-Nõmme
Kilingi-Nõmme is located in Estonia
Kilingi-Nõmme
Kilingi-Nõmme
Location in Estonia
Coordinates: 58°08′59″N 24°57′41″E / 58.14972°N 24.96139°E / 58.14972; 24.96139
CountryEstonia
CountyPärnu County
MunicipalitySaarde Parish
First mentioned1560
Borough rights1919
Town rights1 May 1938
Area
 • Total4.26 km2 (1.64 sq mi)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total1,671
 • Rank37th
 • Density390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
86301 to 86305
Area code(+372) 44
Vehicle registrationF

Kilingi-Nõmme is a town in Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saarde Parish. It is located on the intersection of ValgaUulu (Valga–Pärnu, no. 6) and TartuViljandi–Kilingi-Nõmme (no. 92) roads, about 11 km (7 mi) from the Estonian border with Latvia.

History[edit]

The settlement was first mentioned in 1560, when a manor named Ovelgunne (also Kurkund) belonging to the Schilling family was established. In 1789 a tavern was opened in the nearby Nõmme farmstead. Hence the name "Kilingi-Nõmme", Kilingi derived from the Schilling surname. In the 1870s when most of the manor's land was handed out to Orthodox believers, the settlement started to develop faster. Local congregation was established in 1845, and a parish school three years later. Kilingi-Nõmme was then the centre of the surrounding Saarde Parish.[2][3]

After the establishment of sawmill, flour mill and spinning factory, Kilingi-Nõmme gained the borough rights in 1919 and eventually the town rights on 1 May 1938.[2]

On 20 April 1937, a fire in an elementary school killed 17 students and injured 50.

In 1896, a PärnuMõisakülaRūjienaValga narrow gauge railway (750 mm (2 ft 5+12 in)) was built, the station in Kilingi-Nõmme was opened in 1917, before that the nearest station was Woltveti 1.7 km (1.1 mi) southeast in Tihemetsa. In 1975 the narrow gauge railway was closed and a new 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) Russian gauge railway (1,524 mm (5 ft)) was opened in 1981 as part of the TallinnPärnuRiga railway. Eventually this was also closed in 2000 and dismantled in 2008.

After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, Kilingi-Nõmme served as a sovereign municipality, but merged with neighbouring Saarde and Tali parishes in 2005, and became the centre of the new Saarde Parish.[2]

Population[edit]

As of the 2011 census, the town's population was 1,763.[4]

Population development[2]
Year 1900 1928 1934 1959 1970 1979 1989 2000 2003 2006 2008 2010
Population ca 500 1422 1663 2141 2319 2507 2504 2223 2207 2144 2106 2082

Notable people[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Population by sex, age and place of residence after the 2017 administrative reform, 1 January. Statistics Estonia.
  2. ^ a b c d "Kilingi-Nõmme" (in Estonian). Eesti Entsüklopeedia. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Kiling-Nõmme" (in Estonian). eestigiid.ee. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Population by place of residence (settlement), sex and age". Statistics Estonia. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2013.

External links[edit]

Media related to Kilingi-Nõmme at Wikimedia Commons