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Loksa is a town and
By the end of the 19th century, there were 36 dwellings in Loksa. By 1934, their number had grown to 150. Loksa soon became the administrative centre of Loksa Parish which was part of
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the population of Loksa has decreased by more than one fifth. This has been mainly caused by growing unemployment, resulting from closure and downsizing of several companies not fit for new economic climate.
In 2000, there were 1,650 inhabitants in labor force, 750 of whom were working somewhere else.
As of 2011, Estonians made up 30.6% of the towns population and Russians 58.6%.
The history of education in Loksa dates back to December 1867 when teacher Jakob Janter started to teach 20 children in a local farm house. The first schoolhouse was built in 1903, but this building burned down in 1927. Restoration work took two years and was completed in 1929.
With the influx of Russian workers in the late 1940s, three classes for Russian-speaking children were created in 1948. Loksa primary school was upgraded to secondary school in 1952 and renamed Loksa 1. Secondary School, the name it bears also today. Until 1988, both Russian and Estonian children studied in the same school.
In the end of the 1980s, both Russian- and Estonian-speaking community had grown big enough to justify creation of a second school. Loksa 2. Secondary School for Russian-speaking children was established in 1988 and is still operational, since 1996 under the name of Loksa Russian Gymnasium.
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in Harju County
Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...
, Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, best known for its shipping industry. Loksa is the northernmost town in Estonia.
The town is located on the estuary of the Valgejõgi River, which drains into Hara Bay, Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...
.
As of April 1, 2022, the town had a population of 2471.
Etymology
The village of Loksa, the town's namesake and predecessor, was first mentioned in 1631 as ''Lox''. Later on, the village was also referred to as ''Locksa'' and ''Loxa'', until it became known as Loksa in 1798. The name is speculated to come from the word ''loks'' (local dialect), which means either a marsh or a lake that dries up during the dry-season.History
The village of Loksa was first mentioned in 1687 but this area is known in modern times as the village ofKotka
Kotka (; ) is a town in Finland, located on the southeastern coast of the country at the mouth of the Kymi River. The population of Kotka is approximately , while the Kotka-Hamina sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is th ...
.
The development of what is known these days as the town of Loksa started around 1874 when the landlords of Kolga established a new brickyard
A brickyard or brickfield is a place or Yard (land), yard where bricks are made, pottery firing, fired, and stored, or sometimes Commerce, sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed ...
outside Loksa village. Around this factory a new market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
was born.
In 1903, a shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...
was established, boosting the community's further growth. From Loksa, bricks were transported to Reval (Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
), Helsingfors (Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
) and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Although no ships were built in Loksa, the shipyard was heavily engaged in repairing ships from 1905 onwards.
By the end of the 19th century, there were 36 dwellings in Loksa. By 1934, their number had grown to 150. Loksa soon became the administrative centre of Loksa Parish which was part of Harju County
Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...
until 1949 and of Viru County from 1949 to 1950.
From 1950 to 1957, Loksa was the administrative centre of Loksa District. After a new administrative reform in 1957 Loksa became part of Harju District. The brickyard was closed down in 1981, but the shipyard continued to be expanded until the end of the Soviet occupation and remains the town's main employer.
With the restoration of the Republic of Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
in 1991, Loksa again became the seat of the restored Loksa Parish, and it was elevated from market town to town on August 25, 1993. A military drill in 2010 made the beach near Loksa the site of the first American amphibious landing exercise in what had been Soviet territory.
Demographics
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the population of Loksa has decreased by more than one fifth. This has been mainly caused by growing unemployment, resulting from closure and downsizing of several companies not fit for new economic climate.
In 2000, there were 1,650 inhabitants in labor force, 750 of whom were working somewhere else.
As of 2011, Estonians made up 30.6% of the towns population and Russians 58.6%.
Religion
Education
The history of education in Loksa dates back to December 1867 when teacher Jakob Janter started to teach 20 children in a local farm house. The first schoolhouse was built in 1903, but this building burned down in 1927. Restoration work took two years and was completed in 1929.
With the influx of Russian workers in the late 1940s, three classes for Russian-speaking children were created in 1948. Loksa primary school was upgraded to secondary school in 1952 and renamed Loksa 1. Secondary School, the name it bears also today. Until 1988, both Russian and Estonian children studied in the same school.
In the end of the 1980s, both Russian- and Estonian-speaking community had grown big enough to justify creation of a second school. Loksa 2. Secondary School for Russian-speaking children was established in 1988 and is still operational, since 1996 under the name of Loksa Russian Gymnasium.
References
External links
* {{Authority control Populated places in Harju County Cities and towns in Estonia Municipalities of Estonia Kreis Harrien Port cities and towns in Estonia