Otepää Parish (Estonian: Otepää vald) is a rural municipality in Valga County, southern Estonia.[1] It includes the town of Otepää, which is referred to as the "winter capital" of Estonia.

The parish was formed in 2017 by merging of the former Otepää Parish, Sangaste Parish, 7 villages of Palupera Parish, and 12 villages of Puka Parish.[1]

Riga-Tartu road in Otepää parish

Settlements

The parish has one town, two small boroughs and 52 villages.

Town

Otepää

Small boroughs

Puka - Sangaste

Villages

Ädu - Arula- Ilmjärve - Kääriku - Kähri - Kassiratta - Kastolatsi - Kaurutootsi - Keeni - Kibena - Koigu - Kolli - Komsi - Kuigatsi - Kurevere - Lauküla - Lossiküla - Lutike - Mäeküla - Mägestiku - Mägiste - Mäha - Märdi - Makita - Meegaste - Miti - Neeruti - Nõuni - Nüpli - Otepää küla - Pedajamäe - Päidla - Pilkuse - Plika - Põru - Prange - Pringi - Pühajärve - Räbi - Raudsepa - Restu - Risttee - Ruuna - Sarapuu - Sihva - Tiidu - Tõutsi -Truuta - Vaalu - Vaardi - Vana-Otepää - Vidrike

Neighboring parishes

Elva, Nõo, Kambja, Kanepi, Antsla, Valga ja Tõrva vald.

Religion in Otepää Parish (2021) [2]
  1. Unaffiliated (84.6%)
  2. Lutheran (9%)
  3. Orthodox (2%)
  4. Others Christians (0.5%)
  5. Others Religions (1.3%)
  6. Unknown (2.6%)

See also

Interesting facts

  • Otepää is first mentioned in writing in the Novgorod Chronicle in 1116.
  • The name Otepää (Odenpe, Odempe) means bear's head.
  • In 1841, the Pühajärve war took place, where the local peasants started to oppose the landlord.
  • In 1941, the Otepää postage stamp was put into circulation in Otepää.[3]
  • On October 3, 1991, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was in Otepää. He blessed Pühajärve and planted a commemorative oak next to the church.
  • Otepää has only one traffic light.[4]

References

  1. ^ "X-GIS(3) Portal". xgis.maaamet.ee. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

58°03′N 26°29′E / 58.050°N 26.483°E / 58.050; 26.483


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