Võhma (Viljandi)

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Võhma (Viljandi)
coat of arms
coat of arms
 flag
flag
State : EstoniaEstonia Estonia
Circle : Viljandimaa lipp.svg Viljandi
Coordinates : 58 ° 38 '  N , 25 ° 33'  E Coordinates: 58 ° 38 '  N , 25 ° 33'  E
Height : 53  m
Area : 1.9  km²
 
Residents : 1,544 (2006)
Population density : 813 inhabitants per km²
Time zone : EET (UTC + 2)
Telephone code : (+372) 243
 
Mayor : Avo Põder
Postal address : Tallinna 15
70603 Võhma
Website :
Map of Estonia, position of Võhma (Viljandi) highlighted

Võhma (German Wöchma ) is a small town in Viljandi County in Estonia . Although the village has only 1544 inhabitants, it has had town charter since August 10, 1993, making it one of the smallest towns in the country.

history

After the completion of the Tallinn – Viljandi - Mõisaküla railway line, a small rural village emerged around the Võhma station, which grew rapidly in the years that followed through the establishment of an agricultural cooperative and a dairy. A significant step in the development of the place was the establishment of a slaughterhouse in 1928, to which Võhma owed a steady boom over the next decades. In World War II Võhma was severely affected, the German troops mined the meat factory before its withdrawal from the area, but the mines were defused in time by some local workers.

Even during the period under Soviet rule, the slaughterhouse remained the center of economic life and provided the community with a certain level of prosperity. From 1972 to 1975 a new slaughterhouse was built on the outskirts, from where, thanks to the siding, meat and sausage products were delivered directly to Leningrad . In the 1980s over 800 people were employed in the meat factory.

The independence of Estonia in August 1991 brought about the decline of the slaughterhouse due to the loss of the market in the east (new national borders, customs duties). In 1994 the slaughterhouse had to file for bankruptcy, after a rescue attempt with a dramatically reduced workforce, the factory gates closed forever in 1996. This plunged the city into a deep social crisis and at times stood almost exemplary of the risks of the young state on the way from a planned to a market economy. Unemployment was around 25% in the late 1990s.

It was not until the turn of the millennium that economic life began to recover. In the summer of 2000, a candle factory began production, and in the following years a sewing shop (now the largest employer with around 80 employees), a mineral water bottling plant and various small businesses were added.

Geography and landmarks

Võhma is almost in the geographical center of Estonia on the northern border of Viljandi County. The Tallinn – Viljandi railway runs through the city and the main Tallinn – Viljandi road passes it directly. The city is surrounded by swampy and boggy land and is about 10 km north of Soomaa , the largest floodplain in Europe.

Famous sons and daughters of the city

Jaak Aab , Estonian Minister of Social Affairs from 2005 to March 2007 and member of the XI. Parliament was mayor from 1996 to 2002 and is still living in the city today.

The Estonian national soccer player Jarmo Ahjupera was born here.

Web links