Jõhvi

This article is about the town in Jõhvi Parish, Ida-Viru County. For the village in the same parish, see Jõhvi village.
Jõhvi
Town

Flag

Coat of arms
Jõhvi

Location in Estonia

Coordinates: 59°21′27″N 27°25′37″E / 59.35750°N 27.42694°ECoordinates: 59°21′27″N 27°25′37″E / 59.35750°N 27.42694°E
Country  Estonia
County Ida-Viru County
Municipality Jõhvi Parish
Founded 1938
Area
  Total 7.62 km2 (2.94 sq mi)
Population (2013)
  Total 10,775
  Density 1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi)
Ethnicity
  Estonians 34.5%
  Russians 55.7%
  other 9.6%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 71501 to 71599
Area code(s) (+372) 22
Website www.johvi.ee

Jõhvi (German: Jewe, Russian: Йыхви) is a town in north-eastern Estonia, and the capital of Ida-Viru County. The town is also an administrative centre of Jõhvi Parish. It is situated 50 km from the Russian border.

Ethnic Estonians are a minority in Jõhvi, as about 55% of the town's population are either ethnic Russians who arrived in Estonia during the period of Soviet rule of Estonia (1944 - 1991) or their descendants.

History

Jõhvi was first mentioned as a village in 1241 in Liber Census Daniae when it was ruled by Denmark. Historical names of Jõhvi were Gewi and Jewi. In the 13th century a church was built here and Jõhvi became the centre of the local church parish.

On 1 May 1938 Konstantin Päts renamed the Jõhvi borough a town along with nearly all Estonian boroughs. Up to 1991, Jõhvi was a district of Kohtla-Järve. In 2005 the town of Jõhvi was united with the parish of Jõhvi.

Gallery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jõhvi.