Saare County

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Saare maakond

Flags of Estonian Counties>Flag Coat of arms

Capital Kuressaare
Governor Hans Teiv
Area km² (8th)
Population (as of 2004)
- Population density>Density 11th)
12.1/km² (13th)
ISO 3166-2

Saare County (Estonian: Saare maakond), or Saaremaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa (Ösel), the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it. The county borders Lääne County to the east and Hiiu County to the north.

Contents

1 History
2 County Government
3 Municipalities
4 Geography
5 Miscellaneous topics
6 External links

History

Main article: History of Saaremaa

According to archeological findings, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited at least five thousand years.

County Government

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

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is 1 urban municipality (Estonian: linn - town) and 13 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad - communes) in Saare County.

Municipalities in Saare County

Urban municipality:

1 Kuressaare

Rural municipalities:

2 Kaarma
3 Kihelkonna
4 Kärla
5 Laimjala
6 Leisi
7 Lümanda
8 Muhu
9 Mustjala
10 Orissaare
11 Pihtla
12 Pöide
13 Ruhnu
14 Salme
15 Torgu
16 Valjala

Geography

The largest islands of the county are Saaremaa, Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. Arable land is 570 km² and it has a mild maritime climate. The mean annual air temperature is 6.0 °C and the mean annual precipitation is 509 mm.

Miscellaneous topics

The main religious affiliations are Lutheran, Orthodox and Baptist, but most of the inhabitants are not religious.

See also: List of islands of Estonia

External links

[Saaremaa] - Official website
[Saare County Government] (in Estonian)

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Counties of Estonia
Harju \| Hiiu \| Ida-Viru \| Järva \| Jõgeva \| Lääne \| Lääne-Viru \| Pärnu \| Põlva \| Rapla \| Saare \| Tartu \| Valga \| Viljandi \| Võru