A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Valga | |
|---|---|
 Valga Town Hall, Jaani (St. John´s) Church and Railway Station | |
| Motto(s): 1 linn, 2 riiki (1 city, 2 countries) | |
  Valga Location in Estonia | |
| Coordinates: 57°47′N 26°02′E / 57.783°N 26.033°E | |
| Country | Estonia |
| County | Valga County |
| Municipality | Valga Parish |
| First mention | 1286 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 16.54 km2 (6.39 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 65 m (213 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
| • Total | 11,792 |
| • Rank | 11th |
| • Density | 710/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity (2021) | |
| • Estonians | 59.2% |
| • Russians | 26.3% |
| • Latvians | 5.65% |
| • Ukrainians | 3.02% |
| • other | 5.83% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 68230 |
Valga (German: Walk) is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County and Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres (6.4 square miles) and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement.
Location and transport
The distance to Tartu is 89 km (55 mi), Pärnu 144 km (89 mi), Tallinn 245 km (152 mi), Riga 175 km (109 mi) and Pskov 170 km (106 mi).
Valga is situated at the junction of roads and railways.
The Valga-Võru-Koidula railway runs to the town. Trains stopped running in 2001. At the time, the railway only ran to Piusa, as the Koidula border station was yet to be built. Along the line, there was a morning and evening trip in each direction as of 1995, and a trip in the midday that only went to Võru. An international train to St. Petersburg ran in the night.[2] Trains were extended in 1997 to Veski, when the train line Tartu-PiirTP was cut back from the Russian border to Orava.[3] Freight trains on the Valga-Võru-Koidula line have been cut back significantly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4]
The Tartu-Valga railway line also serves this station. After closing April 2008 for extensive repair work Edelaraudtee railway services from other parts of Estonia to Valga re-opened in January 2010.[5][6] From 1 January 2014 all domestic train services in Estonia are operated by Elron. The journeys at 6:35am, 12:01pm, and 6:02pm run to Tallinn. The train at 7:36am goes only to Tartu. All trains arriving the station from Estonia begin in Tallinn, as of January 2, 2024.[7]
Valga is also an international railway junction; since April 2008, from Riga. Currently two trains run daily, operated by Pasažieru Vilciens. These trains previously terminated at Lugaži, but have been extended across the border to Valga.[8]
The train service from Latvia by Pasažieru Vilciens was updated in 2016, the morning train to Riga leaves at 5:12am, and the afternoon ones leave 2:52pm on weekdays and 4:52pm on weekends. There are two trains to Riga everyday.[9] The Latvian trains use track 2, and the Estonian trains use track 1.[10]
With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and the abolition of systematic border controls between Estonia and Latvia, it was announced that common public bus transport would be launched between Valga and Valka.[11]
During the Cold War, Valga was home to Valga air base.
Districts of Valga
There are six districts of Valga:
- Kesklinn
- Laatsi
- Pilpaküla
- Puraküla
- Kapsamõisa (Raudteetaguse)
- Tambre.[12]
Activity
Since 1944, a local newspaper, Valgamaalane, has been published (3 times a week). Since 2003, there has also been a local newspaper "Walk" (in the Russian language). There also is a local correspondence office of Estonian Television (Eesti Televisioon) and a local radio – "Raadio Ruut".
The former urban municipality of Valga has established partnerships with many towns, mostly in foreign countries, which are listed in a special subsection below.
Valga is developing quickly. Since 1996, the populace's quality of life has improved due to the renovation of several buildings, including the Central Library, Valga Stadium, the Museum, Valga Hospital, and the Culture and Hobby Centre. Step by step, the schools and kindergartens are also being modernized. Since 2003, a new water treatment plant has improved the quality of water in the town.
In the private sector, there have been extensive investments in trade, light industry, and forestry.
Demographics
| Ethnicity | 1922[13] | 1934[14] | 1941[15] | 1970[16] | 1979[17] | 1989[17] | 2000[18] | 2011[19] | 2021[20] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | |
| Estonians | 6997 | 74.0 | 8919 | 82.3 | 7941 | 88.9 | 9635 | 57.4 | 10052 | 54.4 | 9383 | 52.9 | 8970 | 62.6 | 7886 | 64.3 | 7110 | 59.2 |
| Russians | 443 | 4.69 | 368 | 3.39 | 209 | 2.34 | 5241 | 31.2 | 6164 | 33.4 | 6140 | 34.6 | 3913 | 27.3 | 3224 | 26.3 | 3160 | 26.3 |
| Ukrainians | - | - | 6 | 0.06 | - | - | 554 | 3.30 | 766 | 4.15 | 720 | 4.06 | 421 | 2.94 | 386 | 3.15 | 363 | 3.02 |
| Belarusians | - | - | - | - | - | - | 170 | 1.01 | 322 | 1.74 | 307 | 1.73 | 211 | 1.47 | 156 | 1.27 | 159 | 1.32 |
| Finns | - | - | 1 | 0.01 | 7 | 0.08 | 121 | 0.72 | 136 | 0.74 | 126 | 0.71 | 99 | 0.69 | 55 | 0.45 | 40 | 0.33 |
| Jews | 393 | 4.16 | 262 | 2.42 | 0 | 0.00 | 73 | 0.43 | 31 | 0.17 | 24 | 0.14 | 13 | 0.09 | 7 | 0.06 | 3 | 0.02 |
| Latvians | - | - | 1037 | 9.56 | 606 | 6.79 | 382 | 2.27 | 448 | 2.43 | 456 | 2.57 | 334 | 2.33 | 262 | 2.14 | 679 | 5.65 |
| Germans | 182 | 1.92 | 143 | 1.32 | - | - | - | - | 273 | 1.48 | 241 | 1.36 | 36 | 0.25 | 27 | 0.22 | 34 | 0.28 |
| Tatars | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | - | - | 28 | 0.15 | 27 | 0.15 | 18 | 0.13 | 13 | 0.11 | 10 | 0.08 |
| Poles | - | - | 35 | 0.32 | 20 | 0.22 | - | - | 68 | 0.37 | 68 | 0.38 | 35 | 0.24 | 24 | 0.20 | 15 | 0.12 |
| Lithuanians | - | - | 6 | 0.06 | 4 | 0.04 | 34 | 0.20 | 24 | 0.13 | 41 | 0.23 | 32 | 0.22 | 29 | 0.24 | 23 | 0.19 |
| unknown | 13 | 0.14 | 18 | 0.17 | 4 | 0.04 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 46 | 0.32 | 30 | 0.24 | 102 | 0.85 |
| other | 1427 | 15.1 | 47 | 0.43 | 139 | 1.56 | 585 | 3.48 | 162 | 0.88 | 189 | 1.07 | 195 | 1.36 | 162 | 1.32 | 312 | 2.60 |
| Total | 9455 | 100 | 10842 | 100 | 8930 | 100 | 16795 | 100 | 18474 | 100 | 17722 | 100 | 14323 | 100 | 12261 | 100 | 12010 | 100 |
| Year | 1881 | 1897 | 1922 | 1934 | 1959 | 1970 | 1979 | 1989 | 2000 | 2011 | 2017 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 4,200 | 10,900 | 9,500 | 10,800 | 13,300 | 17,000 | 18,500 | 17,700 | 14,323 | 12,261 | 12,452 | 12,010 |