Editing Saaremaa (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Estonia}}
{{See also|Oeselians|Viking Age in Estonia}}
[[File:OeselLivTrty1241.jpg|thumb|right|The 1241 Treaty between [[Livonian Order]], [[Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek]] and [[Oeselians]] at [[National Archives of Sweden]]]]

According to [[archaeological]] finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited from at least [[5000 BCE]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eestiajalugu.ee/?event=Show_event&event_id=4253&layer=260&lang=est#4253|title=Saaremaa esimesed asukad &#124; Histrodamus.ee|website=www.eestiajalugu.ee}}</ref> [[Nordic Iron Age]] [[Salme ships|ship burials]], dated to 700–750&nbsp;CE, have been found in [[Sõrve Peninsula]]. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between the islanders and [[Vikings]]. Saaremaa was {{citation needed span|date=August 2019|text=the wealthiest county of ancient Estonia}} and the home of notorious pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle of [[Henry of Livonia]] describes a fleet of sixteen ships and 500 Osilians ravaging the area that is now [[Skåneland|southern Sweden]], then belonging to [[Denmark]].

Probably around 1000, [[Gunnar Hámundarson]] from Iceland took part in a Viking raid at Eysýsla (Saaremaa). There he obtained his famous [[atgeir]], by taking it from a man named Hallgrímur. ''[[Njáls saga]]'' tells the following:

{{blockquote|Thence they held on south to Denmark and thence east to Smálönd and had victory wherever they went. They did not come back in autumn. The next summer they held on to Rafala ([[Tallinn]]) and fell in there with sea-rovers, and fought at once, and won the fight. After that they steered east to Eysýsla (Saaremaa) and lay there somewhile under a ness. There they saw a man coming down from the ness above them; Gunnar went on shore to meet the man, and they had a talk. Gunnar asked him his name, and he said it was Tófi. Gunnar asked again what he wanted.

"Thee I want to see," says the man. "Two warships lie on the other side under the ness, and I will tell thee who command them: two brothers are the captains—one's name is Hallgrímur, and the other's Kolskeggur. I know them to be mighty men of war; and I know too that they have such good weapons that the like are not to be had. Hallgrímur has an atgeir which he had made by seething-spells; and this is what the spells say, that no weapon shall give him his death-blow save that atgeir. That thing follows it too that it is known at once when a man is to be slain with that atgeir, for something sings in it so loudly that it may be heard a long way off—such a strong nature has that atgeir in it.}}

The [[Chronicle of Henry of Livonia]] describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred pirates from Saaremaa ravaging the area that is now southern [[Sweden]], then belonging to [[Denmark]]. The XIVth book of [[Gesta Danorum]], [[Saxo Grammaticus]] describes a subsequent battle on [[Öland]] in 1170 in which the Danish king [[Valdemar I of Denmark|Valdemar I]] mobilized his entire fleet to curb the incursions of pirates from "[[Courland|Couronia]]" (Courland) and Saaremaa.

Perhaps the most renowned raid by the inhabitants of Saaremaa occurred in 1187, with the [[Pillage of Sigtuna|attack on the Swedish town]] of [[Sigtuna]] (other candidates as raiders are [[Karelians]] and [[Curonians]]). Among the casualties of this raid was the Swedish archbishop [[Johan (archbishop of Uppsala, died 1187)|Johannes]]. Archaeological excavations have not verified the traditions of destruction of the town. Normal life in Sigtuna continued until town started to slowly lose its importance during 13th century due to navigability problems caused by [[post-glacial rebound]].<ref name="Tarvel">[[Enn Tarvel]] (2007). [http://haridus.opleht.ee/Arhiiv/7_82007/38-41.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011191449/http://haridus.opleht.ee/Arhiiv/7_82007/38-41.pdf|date=2017-10-11}} ''Sigtuna hukkumine''. Haridus, 2007 (7-8), p 38–41</ref>

In 1227, Saaremaa was conquered by the [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] during the [[Livonian Crusade]] but the resistance of the local inhabitants remained strong. The crusaders founded the [[Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek]] there. When the Order was defeated by the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuanian]] army in the [[Battle of Saule]] in 1236, the Saaremaa islanders rebelled. The conflict was ended by a treaty that was signed by the Osilians and the Master of the Order. In the following year, the Sword-Brothers were absorbed into the [[Teutonic Knights|Teutonic Order]]. As the crusaders' hold on Saaremaa got stronger, Christianity also became more established on the island, and to this day Saaremaa has a unique set of medieval churches in [[Kirikuküla, Kaarma Parish|Kaarma]], [[Karja church|Karja]], [[Kihelkonna St. Michael's Church|Kihelkonna]], [[Muhu St. Catherine's Church|Muhu]], [[Pöide Church|Pöide]], [[Püha, Saare County|Püha]] and [[Valjala church|Valjala]] churches. The crusader's fortress [[Kuressaare Castle]], known in German as Schloss Arensburg, was built by the [[Teutonic Order]] for the bishops of Ösel–Wiek (Estonian: Saare-Lääne). Construction began in 1380 and it is one of the most well-preserved medieval castles in Estonia and bears testimony to the late Medieval Age.

During the 14th–16th centuries, and possibly earlier, inhabitants of Saaremaa started to resettle into areas surrounding the Baltic Sea and, for example, to establish villages on the [[Livonian coast]].

Most of Saaremaa was ruled directly by the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, while some parts were enfeoffed to the Livonian Order. In 1559, the bishopric and Saaremaa were sold to Denmark, becoming part of [[Danish Estonia]]. From 1570 until 1645 the entire island was under Danish possession.
[[File:Johannes Pääsuke 214 312.jpg|thumb|right|Local shipbuilders at work (Saaremaa, 1913)]]
In 1645, Saaremaa was ceded from [[Denmark–Norway]] to [[Dominions of Sweden|Sweden]] by the [[Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645)|Treaty of Brömsebro]]. In 1721, along with the rest of [[Duchy of Livonia (1629–1721)|Livonia]], Saaremaa (then known by its Swedish name of Ösel) was ceded to the [[Russian Empire]] by the [[Treaty of Nystad]], becoming a part of the [[Governorate of Livonia]].

In 1840, the first spa opened in Kuressaare (then known as Arensburg), and the town experienced renaissance and became a popular seaside resort.

During World War I, the West Estonian Archipelago was conquered by [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] in October 1917 ([[Operation Albion]]) and remained occupied by Germans until the end of hostilities in November 1918. Thereafter Saaremaa became part of the newly independent [[Republic of Estonia]]. Most of the local [[Baltic German]] population of the island was [[Heim ins Reich|resettled to Germany]] following the August 1939 [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|Nazi–Soviet Pact]]. During [[World War II]], the island was first occupied by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Red Army]] in June 1940 and, along with the rest of Estonian territory, formally annexed into the [[Stalin]]ist [[Soviet Union|USSR]] in August 1940. On 8 August 1941, Soviet Naval Aviation started a {{ill|1941 Soviet bombing of Berlin|ru|Бомбардировки Берлина советской авиацией в 1941 году|lt=bombing campaign}} on Berlin from Saaremaa. The island was then invaded and occupied by [[Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] later ([[Operation Beowulf]]). German troops were expelled and the island was reoccupied by the Soviet Red Army in the [[Moonsund operation|Moonsund Landing Operation]] in October and November 1944. In 1946, the Soviet military authorities declared Saaremaa a [[closed city|restricted zone]] closed to all non-local civilians, i.e., mainland Estonians and foreigners. It remained a restricted area until 1989. Estonia regained full independence in August 1991.