Valga, Estonia
Valga () is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County and Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is and that of Valka is . Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement. Location and transport. The distance to Tartu is , Pärnu , Tallinn , Riga and Pskov . Valga is situated at  the junction of roads and railways. The Hummuli–Tartu–Riga railway is connected via Tapa with the Tallinn–Narva–St Petersburg main line. After closing April 2008 for extensive repair work Edelaraudtee railway services from other parts of Estonia to Valga re-opened in January 2010. From 2014 all domestic train services in Estonia are operated by Elron who runs three services a day from Valga to Tartu. The journeys either operate as through services to Tallinn or have a connection available at Tartu. The journey to Tartu takes around one hour and 15 minutes. Valga is also an international  railway junction; since April 2008 three daily trains operated by Pasažieru Vilciens from Riga which previously terminated at Lugaži have been extended across the border to Valga. The journey time to Riga is between 3h12m and 3h30m. With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and the abolition of systematic border controls between Estonia and Latvia, it was announced that common public bus transport would be launched between Valga and Valka. During the Cold War, Valga was home to Valga air base. Districts of Valga. There are six districts of Valga: Activity. Since 1944, a local newspaper, "Valgamaalane", has  been published (3 times a week). Since 2003, there has also been a local newspaper "Walk" (in the Russian language). There also is a local correspondence office of Estonian Television ("Eesti Televisioon") and a local radio – "Raadio Ruut". The former municipality of Valga concluded several cooperation agreements. The nearest was an agreement (from the year 1995) with the neighbouring town of Valka. There were also cooperation agreements with Oakland, Maryland (US) and Östhammar Municipality (Sweden). There were long-term friendly relations with Hallsberg Municipality in Sweden and the towns of Lübz in Germany and Tornio in Finland. Valga is developing  quickly. Since 1996, the populace's quality of life has improved due to the renovation of several buildings, including the Central Library, Valga Stadium, the Museum, Valga Hospital, and the Culture and Hobby Centre. Step by step, the schools and kindergartens are also being modernized. Since 2003, a new water treatment plant has improved the quality of water in the town. In the private sector, there have been extensive investments in trade, light industry, and forestry. Sports. Valga is home to several notable Estonian sports teams. Warrior Valga, is a football club that currently plays in the III liiga. Warrior  Valga played in the Meistriliiga from 2003 to 2006. Valga, is a basketball club that currently plays in the Estonian top-tier Korvpalli Meistriliiga and the Baltic Basketball League. Climate. Valga lies within the temperate humid continental climate zone. International relations. Twin towns – Sister cities. There former municipality of Valga, Estonia was twinned with: City Twins Association. The former municipality of Valga was a founding member of City Twins Association that was founded in Imatra, Finland on 13 December 2006. In addition to sister towns, Valga had a cooperation through the association with following cities: Notable residents. Kazimierz Świątek (Belarusian : Казімір Свёнтак, 1914 – 2011), first cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in independent Belarus