Jõhvi is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in northeastern

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, and the administrative centre of the Ida-Viru County. The town is also an administrative centre of Jõhvi Parish. It is situated about 50 km west of the Estonia–Russia international border.

History

Jõhvi was first mentioned as a village in 1241 in

Liber Census Daniae The Danish Census Book or the Danish book of land taxation ( la, Liber Census Daniæ), ( da, Kong Valdemars Jordebog) dates from the 13th century and consists of a number of separate manuscripts. The original manuscripts are now housed in the Da ...

when it was ruled by

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Historical names of Jõhvi were ''Gewi'' and ''Jewe''. In the 13th century a church was built there and Jõhvi became the centre of the local church parish. On 1 May 1938, the government of Estonia upgraded the official status of Jõhvi from "borough" to that of an independent "town". During the period of

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

(1944–1991), Jõhvi was administratively not a town, but a district of the city of

Kohtla-Järve Kohtla-Järve is a city and municipality in northeastern Estonia, founded in 1924 and incorporated as a town in 1946. The city is highly industrial, and is both a processor of oil shales and is a large producer of various petrochemical products ...

. In 2005, the town of Jõhvi was united with the parish of Jõhvi. During the period of the Soviet occupation, large numbers of immigrant workers from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and other parts of the

former USSR The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

were brought in to populate the rapidly growing city of Kohtla-Järve, including the then district of Jõhvi. The population in the Jõhvi area which had been, as of 1934 census, over 90% ethnic Estonian, became overwhelmingly non-Estonian in the second half of the 20th century. According to more recent data, about 55% of the town's population are ethnic

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

Population

Jõhvi population by year * the year 1917. 1,300 people * on April 1, 1938. 2525 people * on January 1, 1999 12,922 ; * the year 2000. 12,112 people of whom 6,482 (53.5%) were Russians and 4,022 (33.2%) Estonians; * the year 2003. 11,743 people * the year 2005. 11,533 people * According to the 2011 census, 10,775 people of whom 3,718 (34.5%) are Estonians. Eestlaste arv ja osatähtsus elukoha (asula) järgi, 31. detsember 2011
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Climate

Gallery

File:Jõhvi church.jpg, Jõhvi church File:Administratiivhoone Jõhvis, Jõhvi keskväljak.JPG, Central square File:Johvig peasissepaas.JPG, Jõhvi Gymnasium File:Jõhvi promenaad.JPG, Jõhvi promenade File:Concert Hall in Jõhvi.jpg, Jõhvi Concert Hall File:Jõhvi Central Library.JPG, Jõhvi Central Library File:Johvi town, Estonia.jpg, Jõhvi at night File:Kaljo Kiisk Monument.jpg, Monument ''in memoriam'' of

Kaljo Kiisk Kaljo Kiisk (3 December 1925 – 20 September 2007) was a Soviet and Estonian actor, film director, screenwriter and politician. He was best known for his roles as Kristjan Lible from ''Spring'' ( et, Kevade), ''Summer'' (''Suvi'') and ''Autu ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johvi Cities and towns in Estonia Former municipalities of Estonia Kreis Wierland