- Piirissaar
Piirissaar is an
Estonia n island located inLake Peipus . It is located inTartu County .Piirissar is the largest island in Lake Peipus with a size of 7.8 km². It is located c. 15 km from the mouth of the
Emajõgi River. Piirissaar is located c. 1 - 2 meters above the sea level in Lake Peipus.The island was first permanently settled during the
Great Northern War by a group of OrthodoxOld Believers seeking to escape the religious reforms of MoscowPatriarch Nikon and trying to avoid enrollment in the military. Most of the island's inhabitants still belong to this confession.The German
Luftwaffe inflicted major damage on the island in February 1944.Three villages are located on the island, Piiri, Saare and Tooni and form the municipality Piirissaare. The number of inhabitants has dropped from c. 700 in 1920 to 86 by 2006. The remaining inhabitants are mostly occupied by
fishing and cultivation ofonion s.Piirissaar has been a nature preserve as part of the
Natura 2000 programme since 1991.ee also
List of islands of Estonia External links
* [http://piirissaar.pri.ee/est.index.php Island website] et icon ru icon
"This article is based on the corresponding article on the
German Wikipedia , accessed on 3 December 2006."
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