# Kunda, Estonia

Kunda is a town in Viru-Nigula Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia, located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Kunda is best known for its cement factory, port, and archaeological heritage.

## History

Evidence of some of the oldest prehistoric communities in Estonia—hunting, and fishing communities that existed around 6500 BC—were found near Kunda. This settlement gave the name to the Kunda culture.
The first written record of Kunda dates back to 1241, when it was mentioned as a village. In 1443 it was mentioned as a manor.
Kunda was granted official borough rights on May 1, 1938.

## Demographics

Ethnic composition 1922-2021 :
| Ethnicity | 1922 | 1922 | 1934 | 1934 | 1941 | 1941 | 1959 | 1959 | 1970 | 1970 | 1979 | 1979 | 1989 | 1989 | 2000 | 2000 | 2011 | 2011 | 2021 | 2021 |
| Ethnicity | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % |
| Estonians | 2102 | 91.0 | 1728 | 92.8 | 1433 | 97.5 | 2768 | 73.3 | 3400 | 65.1 | 2945 | 61.0 | 2513 | 49.9 | 2283 | 58.6 | 2176 | 63.6 | 2043 | 68.2 |
| Russians | 97 | 4.20 | 77 | 4.13 | 25 | 1.70 | - | - | 1442 | 27.6 | 1468 | 30.4 | 2037 | 40.4 | 1278 | 32.8 | 1041 | 30.4 | 802 | 26.8 |
| Ukrainians | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | - | - | 118 | 2.26 | 134 | 2.78 | 166 | 3.30 | - | - | 82 | 2.40 | 55 | 1.84 |
| Belarusians | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 95 | 1.82 | 92 | 1.91 | 83 | 1.65 | - | - | 34 | 0.99 | 26 | 0.87 |
| Finns | - | - | 9 | 0.48 | 2 | 0.14 | - | - | 102 | 1.95 | 106 | 2.20 | 104 | 2.06 | - | - | 37 | 1.08 | 26 | 0.87 |
| Jews | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | 3 | 0.06 | 2 | 0.04 | 2 | 0.04 | - | - | 2 | 0.06 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Latvians | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.07 | - | - | 2 | 0.04 | 11 | 0.23 | 4 | 0.08 | - | - | 5 | 0.15 | 5 | 0.17 |
| Germans | 73 | 3.16 | 33 | 1.77 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0.08 | 7 | 0.14 | - | - | 7 | 0.20 | 3 | 0.10 |
| Tatars | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 0.21 | 13 | 0.26 | - | - | 1 | 0.03 | 3 | 0.10 |
| Poles | - | - | 1 | 0.05 | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | - | - | 14 | 0.29 | 13 | 0.26 | - | - | 6 | 0.18 | 5 | 0.17 |
| Lithuanians | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | 8 | 0.15 | 7 | 0.14 | 14 | 0.28 | - | - | 11 | 0.32 | 7 | 0.23 |
| unknown | 1 | 0.04 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.20 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 12 | 0.31 | 1 | 0.03 | 3 | 0.10 |
| other | 37 | 1.60 | 15 | 0.81 | 5 | 0.34 | 1008 | 26.7 | 56 | 1.07 | 35 | 0.72 | 81 | 1.61 | 326 | 8.36 | 19 | 0.56 | 21 | 0.70 |
| Total | 2310 | 100 | 1863 | 100 | 1469 | 100 | 3776 | 100 | 5226 | 100 | 4828 | 100 | 5037 | 100 | 3899 | 100 | 3422 | 100 | 2997 | 100.08 |

## International relations
### Twin towns — Sister cities

The former municipality of Kunda was twinned with:
* Gdynia, Poland

## Climate

Climate data for Kunda, Estonia (normals 1991–2020, extremes 1849–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.8 (60.4) | 27.6 (81.7) | 33.1 (91.6) | 34.1 (93.4) | 33.9 (93.0) | 34.4 (93.9) | 29.0 (84.2) | 21.2 (70.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 11.8 (53.2) | 34.4 (93.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1 (30) | −1.2 (29.8) | 2.6 (36.7) | 8.8 (47.8) | 14.7 (58.5) | 18.9 (66.0) | 21.8 (71.2) | 20.9 (69.6) | 16.1 (61.0) | 9.5 (49.1) | 4.0 (39.2) | 0.9 (33.6) | 9.7 (49.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.3 (26.1) | −4.0 (24.8) | −0.8 (30.6) | 4.4 (39.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 14.4 (57.9) | 17.5 (63.5) | 16.5 (61.7) | 12.2 (54.0) | 6.7 (44.1) | 1.9 (35.4) | −1.1 (30.0) | 6.2 (43.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.7 (21.7) | −6.7 (19.9) | −4 (25) | 0.8 (33.4) | 5.3 (41.5) | 10.1 (50.2) | 13.2 (55.8) | 12.4 (54.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 4.0 (39.2) | −0.2 (31.6) | −3.2 (26.2) | 2.9 (37.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −33.1 (−27.6) | −34.9 (−30.8) | −27.7 (−17.9) | −19 (−2) | −5.3 (22.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | 2.9 (37.2) | 2.7 (36.9) | −3.4 (25.9) | −10.6 (12.9) | −19.7 (−3.5) | −34.9 (−30.8) | −34.9 (−30.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38 (1.5) | 29 (1.1) | 27 (1.1) | 29 (1.1) | 41 (1.6) | 68 (2.7) | 61 (2.4) | 76 (3.0) | 54 (2.1) | 61 (2.4) | 52 (2.0) | 38 (1.5) | 573 (22.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.0 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 9.5 | 8.6 | 10.5 | 9.3 | 11.9 | 10.5 | 10.1 | 107.7 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 87 | 85 | 80 | 75 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 80 | 81 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 81 |
| Source 1: Estonian Weather Service ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA/NCEI (precipitation day, 1991-2020) ||||||||||||||

## Notable people

* Argo Aadli (born 1980), theatre and film actor
* Armin Öpik (1898–1983), paleontologist
* Ernst Öpik (1893–1985), astronomer and astrophysicist
* Jüri Parijõgi (1892–1941), writer and scholar
* Knudåge Riisager (1897–1974), composer, son of expatriate Danish parents (his father running the cement factory), spent his first 3 years in Kunda.
* Michael Wittlich (1866–1933), chemist and professor