THROUGH TIME

A brief overview of the history of Kuressaare shows how the island was passed on from one mighty ruler to another.

In 1227, the Teutonic Knights finally broke the resistance in Saaremaa, thus thwarting the Estonian fight for freedom. The islanders had persisted in protecting their freedom for longer than the rest of Estonia. This was the beginning of the time of the Bishops and their holdings, and Saaremaa was turned into an almost separate feudal state - the Saare-West Bishopric. A fortress was built as the local stronghold of the Bishop and around it developed a settlement that was, until 1918, called Arensburg, after the fortress.
In 1559, Bishop Münchhausen sold his estates in Saaremaa to Frederik II, the King of Denmark, and that began the Danish time of occupation. Then, in 1563, Arensburg received the status of a city.
In 1645, the Queen of Sweden gave the island to her favourite Count, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, and the Swedish rule began. A period of modernising the town began. The town hall and scales house were built, and the street plan, which is still the mostly in place, was developed.
The Russian occupation began in the beginning of the 18th century, with renovations after the Northern War and lasted until 1917. To justify itself as a capital of the region, the city needed many new stone buildings. Vice-Governor Campenhausen wanted to turn the whole island into a groomed garden: grand manors in the countryside and the squires' houses in the city. The heavy, classicist farmhouse-like buildings with sculptured dolomite details on the Lossi, Tallinna, Kohtu, Kauba, Tolli and Pikk streets originate from the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th.
In 1858, a steamboat started regular trips between Saaremaa and Riga, and, in 1889, between Muhu and the mainland.
The end of the Czarist regime and during the time of the Estonian Republic - until 1940 - were the high times for the resort.
During the Soviet occupation, the city was called Kingissepa after a famous communist. Many people were forced to move to the city from the countryside. Buildings with big gardens were created which are still nice to look at and walk in. Saaremaa was a border zone where even other Estonians needed permission from the locals to enter. On June 23, 1988 Kuressaare's historical name was restored.