Saaremaa

Saaremaa (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈsɑːremɑː]; Danish: Øsel; English (esp. traditionally): Osel; Finnish: Saarenmaa; Swedish & German: Ösel) is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km² (1,032 sq mi). The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island is Kuressaare, which has about 15,000 inhabitants; the whole island has over 30,966 inhabitants.

Etymology

The island is called Saaremaa in Estonian, and in Finnish Saarenmaa — literally "isle land" or "island land". In old Scandinavian sagas, Saaremaa is called Eysysla and in the Icelandic Sagas Eysýsla, which means exactly the same as the name of the island in Estonian: "the district (land) of island". This is the origin of the island's name in Danish Øsel, German and Swedish, Ösel, Gutnish Oysl, and in Latin, Osilia. The name Eysysla appears sometimes together with Adalsysla, "the big land", perhaps 'Suuremaa' or 'Suur Maa' in Estonian, which refers to mainland Estonia. In Latvian, the island is called Sāmsala, which means "the island of Saami".

Saare County

Saare County (Estonian: Saare maakond), or Saaremaa, (Latin: Osilia or Oesel; German: Ösel) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. The county borders Lääne County to the east and Hiiu County to the north. In January 2013 Saare County had a population of 30,966 – constituting 2.4% of the population of Estonia.

County government

The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by a Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Estonian government for a term of five years. Currently, the Governor position is held by Kaido Kaasik.

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality (Estonian: linn – town) and 13 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Saare County.

Urban municipality:

Rural municipalities:

Saaremaa (disambiguation)

Saaremaa is an island in the Baltic Sea belonging to Estonia. Saaremaa may also refer to: