Piirissaar

About

Piirissaar (earlier Borka, Mezha or, Zhelachek) is an Estonian island located in Lake Peipus. It is located in Tartu County and is administered as part of Tartu Parish. Before the 2017 administrative reform, the island encompassed Piirissaare Parish, which, before its dissolution, was the smallest rural municipality by population in Estonia. As of the 2011 census, Piirissaar had 53 residents, down from 104 in 2000. Piirissaar is the second largest island in Lake Peipus with a size of 7.8 km2 (4.8 mi2). It is located c. 15 km (9.3 mi) from the mouth of the Emajõgi river. Piirissaar is located c. 1 – 2 meters (3.3 – 6.6 ft) above the water level in Lake Peipus. The island was first permanently settled during the Great Northern War by a group of Orthodox Old Believers seeking to escape the religious reforms of Moscow Patriarch Nikon and trying to avoid enrollment in the military. Most of the island's inhabitants still belong to this confession. The inhabitants of Piirissaar are diligent gardeners and vegetable growers, especially onion growers. Until the collapse of the Russian Empire, the island was split between Livland and St. Petersburg governorates. Its Estonian (Piirissaar means Border Island) and Russian (Mezha means Border) names derive from the borderland status of the island. Since 1920 the whole island was left with Estonia,

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.