Enchanting Estonia

Of the three Baltic states, Estonia is the most northern and shares linguistic relations with Finland.

As the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991 and Estonia regained its independence, it went on to become one of the most prosperous eastern European members of the European Union. In 2004, Estonia became a member of the EU and NATO.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Estonia was ruled by Denmark, the German knights of the Livonian Order, and Sweden at different points in time. In the 18th century, Estonia became a province of the Russian Empire.

In 1918, following the end of World War I and the fall of the Russian Empire, it had its first period of independence.

The former Soviet republic became independent in 1991. With an area of 45,227 km² this country is slightly larger than Denmark or slightly smaller than the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Vermont combined.