ESTONIA - A POTTED HISTORY

For those looking for a quick, neat, concise history of Estonia, you need look no further...

12th Century

First record of a port existing near the current location of Tallinn

1219:

Danes seized the key fort in the region to spread Christianity. The fort was then renamed as Tallinn, meanting "Danish Town" in Estonian

13th Century:

Attracts lots of German merchats and becomes a Hanseatic port.

24th Feb 1918

Estonia is granted independence under Treaty of Tartu, named after the large university city in central Estonia.

1918-40:

First period of true independence.

August 1939:

Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by the German and Soviet Union foreign secretaries, Ribbentrop and Molotov, leaving Estonia to the Russian dominated Soviets in their grand game of European Chess.

July 1940:

New Estonian parliament "overwhelmingly elected" to accept membership of the Soviet Union.

June 1941:

Invaded by Germany after Hitler tore up the his pact with Stalin.

1944:

German troops flee Estonia as the Soviet Army rolled in.

1944-1991:

Soviet Occupation

Aug 1989

600 km human chain, stretching from Tallinn to Vilnius is formed as an acto defiance to the Soviet occupiers

November 1989:

Estonian becomes the official state language.

20th August 1991:

Declaration of Independence

1st May 2004:

Joins the EU