estonia, saaremaa- positively surprising. saaremaa local governments association
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Estonia, Saaremaa- Positively surprising.
Saaremaa Local Governments Associationwww.saaresol.ee www.visitsaaremaa.eewww.kuressaare.ee
Area45,227 km2 (similar in size to Denmark or the Netherlands)
Population1.34 million (68% Estonians, 25 % Russians)Capital Tallinn (403,000)
Official language
Estonian (belongs to Fenno-Ugric language group,
similar to Finnish language)
Currency
Estonia joined eurozone in January 2011
The largest island:
Saaremaa
Member of EU and NATO
since 2004
Member of Schengen zone
since 2007
Estonia is the heart of the Baltic Sea.
Estonia - the best kept secret of Scandinavia
• By geographic location we belong to the Baltic region
• By language we belong to Scandinavia
• By allies we belong to Europe
• By the prevailing religion we belong to Germany
• By history we belong to Sweden, Denmark, Livonia and Russia• By climate we belong to the North
General Facts about Saaremaa
• Area: 2922 km² (7% of the territory of Estonia)
• Five permanently inhabited islands: Saaremaa (the largest island of Estonia and second largest in the Baltic Sea), Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka, Vilsandi
• More than 700 smaller islands and islets
• Coastline: 1200 kilometres
Saare County
• Saaremaa Local Governments Association =
16 local municipalities: Town Kuressaare and 15 rural municipalities
• Saare County Government• Population 35 231 (2,6% of Estonian population)• Main town Kuressaare (15 122 inhabitants)• Territory 2,922 km² (6,5% of Estonian territory)• Saare County consists of islands: Saaremaa • – the main and biggest; Muhu, Ruhnu, • Abruka, Vilsandi
Saare county enterprises Electronical companies – 3 Boat-building companies – 3 Buiding companies – 6…. Tourism
- accomodation places - 214 –incl. over
4000 beds
- hotels and spaa’s -22
- B & B, holiday houses, questhouses etc. Agriculture & fishery Services – incl. trade, transport , real estate market
Tourism
• Estimated number of visitors per year 500 000 (Mobile positioning survey)
• 61% domestic visitors, 39% foreign visitors (most of them from Finland, Latvia, Sweden and Germany)
• Kuressaare town has only 15 000 permanent inhabitants, while there are 1,230 beds in the spas, making Kuressaare probably the most spa-dense town in the world.
The Geopark on Saaremaa
Saaremaa and its islets are famous for the richness of geological heritages or geotopes. The most famous geotope on the island of Saaremaa is Kaali meteorite crater field, 9 meteorite craters (the main crater and 8 collateral ones) are located on the one square kilometre. This is the most impressive crater field in the whole Eurasia.
Kaali main crater
Crater no. 4
Panga Cliff is the highest (22 m) and the most
famous
Activities and involvement of Saaremaa Local Governments into the planning and protection of landscape
• Many interests of stakeholders cross on the landscape of Saaremaa coastline and protected green areas.
• The role of municipalities is to compose the comprehensive planning
• The comprehensive plan has to describe all restrictions and permissions of land use.
• Municipalities have to compile the building ordinance
Saaremaa Green-net- restrictions of planning (the thematic plan, 2008)
NATURA 2000- the Nature Directive
NATURA 2000 – the Bird Directive
Building heritages
THANK YOU!
Erika Thalheim Saaremaa Local Governments Association