Valga (
German: Walk) is a town in southern
Estonia and the capital of
Valga County and
Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of
Valka in northern
Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres (6.4 square miles) and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the
Schengen Agreement.
Location and transport
The distance to
Tartu is 89 km (55 mi),
Pärnu 144 km (89 mi), Tallinn 245 km (152 mi), Riga 175 km (109 mi) and
Pskov 170 km (106 mi).
Valga is situated at the junction of roads and railways.
The
Valga-
Võru-
Koidula railway runs to the town. Trains stopped running in 2001. At the time, the railway only ran to Piusa, as the Koidula border station was yet to be built. Along the line, there was a morning and evening trip in each direction as of 1995, and a trip in the midday that only went to
Võru. An international train to
St. Petersburg ran in the night.[2] Trains were extended in 1997 to
Veski, when the train line
Tartu-PiirTP was cut back from the Russian border to
Orava.[3] Freight trains on the
Valga-
Võru-
Koidula line have been cut back significantly after the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4]
The
Tartu-Valga railway line also serves this station. After closing April 2008 for extensive repair work
Edelaraudtee railway services from other parts of
Estonia to Valga re-opened in January 2010.[5][6] From 1 January 2014 all domestic train services in Estonia are operated by
Elron. The journeys at 6:35am, 12:01pm, and 6:02pm run to
Tallinn. The train at 7:36am goes only to
Tartu. All
trains arriving the station from
Estonia begin in Tallinn, as of January 2, 2024.[7]
Valga is also an international railway junction; since April 2008, from Riga. Currently two trains run daily, operated by
Pasažieru Vilciens. These trains previously terminated at
Lugaži, but have been extended across the border to Valga.[8]
The train service from
Latvia by
Pasažieru Vilciens was updated in 2016, the
morning train to Riga leaves at 5:12am, and the
afternoon ones leave 2:52pm on weekdays and 4:52pm on weekends. There are two trains to
Riga everyday.[9] The Latvian trains use track 2, and the Estonian trains use track 1.[10]
With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and the abolition of systematic
border controls between Estonia and Latvia, it was announced that common public bus transport would be launched between Valga and
Valka.[11]
Since 1944, a local newspaper, Valgamaalane, has been published (3 times a week). Since 2003, there has also been a local newspaper "
Walk" (in the
Russian language). There also is a local correspondence office of
Estonian Television (Eesti Televisioon) and a local radio – "Raadio Ruut".
The former urban municipality of Valga has established partnerships with many towns, mostly in foreign countries, which are listed in a special subsection below.
Valga is developing quickly. Since 1996, the populace's quality of life has improved due to the renovation of several buildings, including the Central Library, Valga Stadium, the Museum, Valga Hospital, and the Culture and Hobby Centre. Step by step, the schools and kindergartens are also being modernized. Since 2003, a new water treatment plant has improved the quality of water in the town.
In the private sector, there have been extensive investments in trade, light industry, and forestry.
1286: Valga (under
German name Walk) appears for the first time in the credit register of the city of
Riga.
1298, 1329, 1345: Walk suffers from looting raids made by
Lithuanians who are led by Grand Duke
Gediminas and
Algirdas on the second and third occasions.
1902: In the building of the Temperance Society the social society Säde is founded;
Andres Alver, the county medical officer, is elected chairman. The Valga-
Marienburg narrow-gauge railway is opened.
1908 24 June: Estonian military commander
Alfons Rebane is born in Valga.
1908: The Girls' Progymnasium is changed into the
Gymnasium with Marta Pärna as principal.
1909: The construction of the Säde building is begun (architect
Georg Hellat).
1913: 16194 inhabitants lived in the town (51% of them Estonians, 25.1% Latvians, 15.5% Russians, 4.0% Germans, 2.1% Jewish).
1917: A
Germanzeppelin flies over the town and drops forty high-explosive bombs without hitting the main target, the railway station.
1918 11 January: The Council of Delegates of Valga County Workers, Soldiers and Landless Men gains power in the town. On 12 February the
German Army occupies Valga.
1919 11 January: The Valga Estonian Gymnasium is opened at 22 Kesk Street. For the first time in the history of secondary education in Valga the teaching language is
Estonian instead of German. At the end of January, 107 victims of
Bolshevik acts of terror are found in five mass graves around Valga; 67 people are taken away as hostages. On 31 January the
Battle of Paju takes place and consequently Valga is freed from the Bolsheviks.
1920 1 July: The
British envoy
Colonel S. G. Tallents conclusively establishes the border between
Estonia and
Latvia, putting an end to their
disputes and the city of Valga is divided into Estonian and Latvian areas based on ethnicity. Valga proper, as far as Konnaoja and Luke graveyard, remains intact under
Estonian rule.
1921 11 February: The decree of the
Estonian government establishes the territory of Valga county. Valga becomes a county centre.
1940 17 June: The
Soviet occupation begins and with it the political repressions against Estonians and Latvians in Valga/Valka, including the mass deportations in June 1941.
1944 19 September: In the course of heavy fighting Valga is liberated from the German occupation of Estonia. It is immediately replaced by the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
1988. The Valga Society for the Protection of Antiquities is founded. On 27 November, on the initiative of the Society, the beginning of the War of Liberation is commemorated at the memorial for those killed in the war.
1989 24 February: The first
Estonian flag of the re-established independence period is hoisted on the flagpole of 12 Aia Street.
1992 24 May: The
Russian army base in Valga is taken over, and later on becomes the border guard's post.
1993 17 October: The first free elections of the municipal council after the restoration of independence take place.
1994 31 January: On the 75th anniversary of the battle of Paju a memorial to it is opened. On 21–25 June, worldwide days of Valga county people take place.
The former municipality of Valga was a founding member of
City Twins Association that was founded in
Imatra,
Finland on 13 December 2006. In addition to sister towns, Valga had a cooperation through the association with following cities:[31]
^T.Rosenberg. Künnivaod. ("Plow furrows"). Research on Estonian agrarian history of the 18th-20th centuries. The town of Valga in the first quarter of the 19th century. Tartu University Press. Learned Estonian Society, Tartu, 2013 (in Estonian), p. 239.