<b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Estonia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Estonia">Estonia</a></b>, officially the <b>Republic of Estonia</b>, is a country on the eastern coast of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Baltic_Sea" class="extiw" title="w:en:Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a> in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Finland" class="extiw" title="w:en:Finland">Finland</a> on the other side, to the west by the Baltic Sea with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Sweden" class="extiw" title="w:en:Sweden">Sweden</a> on the other side, to the south by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Latvia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Latvia">Latvia</a>, and to the east by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:_Lake_Peipus" class="extiw" title="w:en: Lake Peipus">Lake Peipus</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Russia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Russia">Russia</a>.  The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland and of 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea.
<p>The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 9,000 BC. The people of Ancient Estonia became some of the last European pagans to adopt - following the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Livonian_Crusade" class="extiw" title="w:en:Livonian Crusade">Livonian Crusade</a> in the 13th century.  After centuries of successive rule by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Teutonic_Order" class="extiw" title="w:en:Teutonic Order">Teutonic_Order (Germans)</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Duchy_of_Estonia_(1219%E2%80%931346)" class="extiw" title="w:en:Duchy of Estonia (1219–1346)">Danes</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Estonia_under_Swedish_rule" class="extiw" title="w:en:Estonia under Swedish rule">Swedes</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Duchy_of_Livonia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Duchy of Livonia">Duchy of Livonia  (Poles)</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Russian_Estonia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Russian Estonia">Russians</a>, a distinct <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Estonian_national_awakening" class="extiw" title="w:en:Estonian national awakening">Estonian national identity</a> began to emerge in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This culminated in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Treaty_of_Tartu_(Russian%E2%80%93Estonian)" class="extiw" title="w:en:Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Estonian)">independence from Russia</a> in 1920 after a brief <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Estonian_War_of_Independence" class="extiw" title="w:en:Estonian War of Independence">War of Independence</a> at the end of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:WWI" class="extiw" title="w:en:WWI">World War I</a>. Initially democratic prior to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Great_Depression" class="extiw" title="w:en:Great Depression">Great Depression</a>, Estonia experienced authoritarian rule from 1934 during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Era_of_Silence" class="extiw" title="w:en:Era of Silence">Era of Silence</a>. During <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:WWII" class="extiw" title="w:en:WWII">World War II</a> (1939–1945), Estonia was repeatedly contested and occupied by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Soviet_Union" class="extiw" title="w:en:Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Nazi_Germany" class="extiw" title="w:en:Nazi Germany">Germany</a>, ultimately being incorporated into the former. After the loss of its <i>de facto</i> independence, Estonia's <i>de jure</i> state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and the Estonian government-in-exile. In 1987 the peaceful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Singing_Revolution" class="extiw" title="w:en:Singing Revolution">Singing Revolution</a> began against Soviet rule, resulting in the restoration of <i>de facto</i> independence on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:1991_Soviet_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt" class="extiw" title="w:en:1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt">20 August 1991</a>.
</p><p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:P%C3%A4rnu" class="extiw" title="w:en:Pärnu">Pärnu</a></b> is the fourth largest city in Estonia, located in southwestern Estonia on the coast of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:P%C3%A4rnu_Bay" class="extiw" title="w:en:Pärnu Bay">Pärnu Bay</a>, an inlet of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Gulf_of_Riga" class="extiw" title="w:en:Gulf of Riga">Gulf of Riga</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Baltic_Sea" class="extiw" title="w:en:Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a>. It is a popular summer resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:P%C3%A4rnu_River" class="extiw" title="w:en:Pärnu River">Pärnu River</a> flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga. Jõesuu Village, in Pärnu County, is where the Navesti River flows into the Pärnu River. The longest suspension bridge in Pärnu County, the <b>Jõesuu Bridge</b>, was built in 1975 and crosses the Pärnu River.
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<br><span style="color:blue;"><i>The <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Scotch_Mist/Poland" class="mw-redirect" title="User:Scotch Mist/Poland">Scotch Mist Gallery</a> contains many photographs of historic buildings, monuments and memorials of Poland and countries that previously comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.</i></span>
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Scotch_Mist" title="User:Scotch Mist">Scotch Mist</a>
CC BY-SA 4.0
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>