Sillamäe

Submitted by editor on Mon, 06/06/2011 - 18:25

Sillamäe

Sillamäe
—  Town and municipality  —

Flag
Coat of arms
Sillamäe is located in Estonia
Sillamäe
Location in Estonia
Coordinates: 59°23′35″N 27°46′27″E / 59.39306°N 27.77417°E / 59.39306; 27.77417Coordinates: 59°23′35″N 27°46′27″E / 59.39306°N 27.77417°E / 59.39306; 27.77417
Country  Estonia
County Ida-Virumaa lipp.svg Ida-Viru County
Government
 - Mayor Jelena Koršunova (Centre Party)
Area
 - Total 10.54 km2 (4.1 sq mi)
Population (01.01.2010)
 - Total 16,183
 - Density 1,535.4/km2 (3,976.6/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Website www.sillamae.ee

Sillamäe (Russian: Силламяэ) is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of 16,183 (as of 1 January 2010) and covers an area of 10.54 km².

During the Soviet regime in Estonia, Sillamäe was a closed town mainly because of the chemical factory (Silmet) in there which produced fuel rods and nuclear materials for the Soviet nuclear power plants and weapon facilities. During 1946–1952, locally-mined Dictyonema argillite (a type of oil shale) was used for uranium production. Later uranium was imported from various locations from the Eastern Bloc, mainly Czechoslovakia. Uranium ore from the Bihor mine operated by Sovromcuarţ (one of the SovRoms operated jointly by the Soviet Union and Romania) was also processed at Sillamäe. Rumor has it that the first Soviet nuclear bomb was created from the uranium mined at Sillamäe.

There are several seaside resorts located near Sillamäe (e.g. in Toila and Narva-Jõesuu), especially popular during the Soviet era.

In 2005, a port was opened in Sillame. From 2006 to 2007 there was a regular ferry service between Sillamäe and Kotka, Finland.

The current mayor of Sillamäe is Jelena Koršunova from the Centre Party.

Demographics

Population:
1940: 2,642
1965: 9,838
1994: 20,104
2004: 16,806

Ethnicity (2000):
Russians: 85.8%
Estonians: 4.2%
Ukrainians: 3.0%
Belarusians: 2.8%
Finns: 1.0%
Others: 3.2%





  • Town hall of Sillamäe

  • Sillamäe thermal power station

  • Port of Sillamäe

  • Sillamäe beach

  1. ^ a b "Linnavalitsus". Sillamäe. http://www.sillamae.ee/index.php?page=34. Retrieved 6 October 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c "Population figure and composition". Statistics Estonia. http://pub.stat.ee/px-web.2001/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=Po0291&ti=POPULATION+NUMBER%2C+AREA+AND+DENSITY+BY+ADMINISTRATIVE+UNIT+OR+TYPE+OF+SETTLEMENT%2C+1+JANUARY&path=../I_Databas/Population/01Population_indicators_and_composition/04Population_figure_and_composition/&lang=1. Retrieved 6 October 2010. 
  3. ^ Dyni, John R. (2006) (PDF). Geology and resources of some world oil-shale deposits. Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5294. U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5294/pdf/sir5294_508.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
  4. ^ Lippmaa, E.; Maremäe, E. (2000). "Uranium production from the local Dictyonema shale in North-East Estonia". Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal (Estonian Academy Publishers) 17 (4): 387–394. ISSN 0208-189X. 
  5. ^ Maremäe, E. (2001). "Extraction of uranium from local Dictyonema shale at Sillamäe in 1948–1952". Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal (Estonian Academy Publishers) 18 (3): 259–271. ISSN 0208-189X. 
  6. ^ Diehl, Peter (1995). "Uranium production in Europe". WISE. http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/439-440/chapter1.html. Retrieved 6 October 2010. 
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