Saaremaa

largest island in Estonia

18 dated entries naming Saaremaa, drawn from 16 separate years between 680 BCE and 1919 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Ösel in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

JSON Wikipedia article Wikidata Q951302

7th century BC

680 BCE680 BC—A meteorite hits the Estonian island of Saaremaa, forming the Kaali crater (approximate date).source

11th century

1008Olaf Haraldsson, future king of Norway, makes raids in the Baltic Sea. He lands on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, wins a battle there, and forces the inhabitants to pay tribute.source

13th century

1206King Valdemar II ("the Conqueror") and Archbishop Andreas Sunonis raid Saaremaa Island (modern Estonia), forcing the islanders to submit. The Danes build a fortress, but finding no volunteers to man it, they burn it down themselves and leave the island.source
1222Livonian Crusade – The Danish fail in their attempt to conquer Saaremaa Island from the Estonians.source
1224Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword defeat the Estonians and reconquer the captured strongholds on the Estonian mainland. With the surrender of the Tartu stronghold, only the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu remain under Estonian control.source
1227Spring – Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and their Crusader allies (some 20,000 men) cross the sea ice from mainland Estonia, and defeat the last Estonian strongholds in the Battle of Muhu and the siege of the Valjala Stronghold in the Saaremaa islands. This marks the end of the Estonian campaign in the Livonian Crusade. The Sword Brothers conquer Danish Estonia, and Tallinn is given town rights under Riga law.source
1237Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword are absorbed into the Teutonic Order, as the autonomous Livonian Order. An Estonian rebellion begins on Saaremaa Island (located in the Baltic Sea).source
1241Livonian Crusade: The Estonian rebellion of 1237 is suppressed on Saaremaa Island, by the Livonian Order.source
1260July 13 – Livonian Crusade: The Baltic Samogitians and Curonians of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania decisively defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Durbe. This leads the Estonians of Saaremaa Island to once again rebel against the Livonian Order.source

14th century

1344April 23 – The St. George's Night Uprising: The Livonian Order hangs Vesse, the rebel Estonian Elder of Saaremaa Island.source

16th century

1560April 15 – Denmark–Norway buys the Estonian island of Ösel, from its last prince-bishop.source
1568August - The Swedes takes Sonnenburg on Ösel from the Danes.source

17th century

164513 August — The Second Treaty of Brömsebro is signed, putting an end to the Torstenson War. The island Øsel is ceded to Sweden.source
164513 August - The Treaty of Brömsebro is signed between Sweden and Denmark–Norway, ending the Torstenson War and ceding Jemtland, Herjedalen, Gotland and Ösel (Saaremaa) to Sweden, which also holds the province of Halland for a period of 30 years, as a guarantee.source
1645August 23 (August 13 Old Style) – The Treaty of Brömsebro is signed between Sweden and Denmark–Norway, ending the Torstenson War and ceding Jemtland, Herjedalen, Gotland and Ösel (Saaremaa) to Sweden, which also holds the province of Halland for a period of 30 years, as a guarantee.source

19th century

1896July 27 – A causeway is opened between the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu in Estonia.source

20th century

1918December 5 – Estonian War of Independence: The British light cruiser HMS Cassandra strikes a mine and sinks near Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea, killing 11 sailors.source
1919February 16–21 – Estonian War of Independence: Uniformed peasants in Saaremaa rebel against the government of Estonia; the rebellion is crushed by government forces, leaving more than 200 dead.source