Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) 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 o ...

Valga County Valga County ( et, Valga maakond or ''Valgamaa'') is a first-level administrative unit and one of 15 counties of Estonia. It comprises the former area of Valga District. The present-day county was created on 1 January 1990. The capital and lar ...

, southern

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, an ...

, it is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer capital"

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

). During the 2005–2006 season it became the site for

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

events. The name "Otepää" means "Ott's Head" in South Estonian, where ''ott'' is an euphemism for "bear".

History

The first settlement in Otepää was in 6th century BC. It has been inhabited continuously since the 6th-7th centuries. Otepää was historically important as the site of a viking hill fort and medieval castle. The fortress was first mentioned in Russian sources in 1116 when the princes of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

undertook a expedition against

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

and Otepää. The conquest of Estonia during the

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around th ...

began with an attack on the fortress at Otepää in 1208. The fort was attacked again in 1217, when Christianized southern Estonians stopped the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...

advances. The fort at Otepää was finally conquered in 1224 by German crusaders. Hermann of Dorpat, the first Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Dorpat (1224–1248) within the Livonian Confederation, built an episcopal castle at Otepää, which was the first stone fortress built in Estonia. During the 14th century the importance of Otepää waned as

, which was the seat of the Bishopric, grew in importance. The castle at Otepää was destroyed, but there is no written evidence of when the castle was abandoned. Archaeologist have argued that the castle was inhabited as late as 1477. But it is more commonly believed that the castle was razed by the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after th ...

in 1396 during a conflict with the Bishopric of Dorpat. The earliest surviving

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

in Europe has been found in the castle of Otepää and it dates to at least 1396. In 1862, the settlement was named Nuustaku and granted town privileges. In 1876, Tartu Estonian Farmers' Society and Estonian Farmer's Society held the first agricultural fair at Nuustaku church manor. On June 4, 1884 the flag that was to become the national flag of Estonia was dedicated in the Nuustaku Church as the flag of the Estonian Students' Society. The name Nuustaku was changed to Otepää in 1922. Otepää became a town in 1936.

Geography

Otepää is situated in a landscape known as the

Otepää Upland Otepää Upland ( et, Otepää kõrgustik) is hilly area of higher elevation in Southern Estonia. Upland's area is about 1200 km2. The highest point of upland is Kuutsemägi (217 m). Part of upland is taken under protection ( Otepää Nature ...

. The area is hilly and contains numerous lakes, including Lake

Pühajärv Pühajärv ("Holy lake") is a lake in Estonia, near the town of Otepää. The Väike Emajõgi river flows out of the lake. See also *List of lakes of Estonia ''This is a list of lakes (including reservoirs) in Estonia.'' Largest lakes All ...

Demographics

Government and Politics

Otepää's municipal status was briefly restored in 1989 when the local government re-emerged in Estonia. In 1999, Otepää City was merged with the Pühajärve rural municipality, which became known as the Otepää Rural Municipality. Otepää Parish is the local government administrative unit that governs Otepää City.

Gallery

File:Otepää kirik 2012.jpg, Otepää St. Mary's Church File:Otepää Piiskopilinnuse varemed.JPG, Ruins of Otepää Bishop castle File:Pühajärv lake 2008.jpg, The beach of Lake

in Otepää. File:Statue of Estonian War of Independence in Otepää 1.jpg, Monument of

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

File:Tehvandi-Suusastaadion-2011-jaanuar.jpg, Tehvandi skiing stadium File:Tehvandi cropped.jpg, Tehvandi ski jumping hill File:Kristina Šmigun 2007.jpg,

2006–07 FIS Cross-Country World Cup The 2006–07 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season for cross-country skiers. It was the 26th official World Cup season in cross-country skiing for men and ladies. The season began on 28 October 2006 with 800m sprin ...

, Kristina Šmigun in the focus. File:Otepää kultuurimaja.JPG, Otepää House of Culture File:Otepää - wmee-125.jpg, Otepää rectory and flag museum

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otepaa Cities and towns in Estonia Ski areas and resorts in Estonia Castles of the Teutonic Knights Former municipalities of Estonia Kreis Dorpat