Otepää

Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, 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). During the 2005–2006 season it became the site for FIS Cross-Country World Cup events.

This article is about the town. For the village in Otepää Parish, see Otepää village.
Otepää
Town
Otepää Town Hall
Otepää
Location in Estonia
Coordinates: 58°03′26″N 26°29′54″E
Country Estonia
County Valga County
Municipality Otepää Parish
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total2,167
 • Rank35th
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The name "Otepää" means "Ott's Head" in South Estonian, where ott is an euphemism for "bear".[2]

History

The first settlement in Otepää was in 6th century BC.[3]

Otepää borough gained its town rights on 1 April 1936.[3]

In 1935, the city got its first mayor, Julius Niklus.[3]

In 1939, the population of the city was at 2,300.[3]

The earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found in the ancient castle of Otepää and it dates to at least 1396.[4]

See also

References
  1. Population by sex, age and place of residence after the 2017 administrative reform, 1 January. Statistics Estonia.
  2. Otepää - Dictionary of Estonian Place names.
  4. Ain Mäesalu: Otepää püss on maailma vanim Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • Media related to Otepää at Wikimedia Commons
  • Otepää travel guide from Wikivoyage
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