View source for Sillamäe

{{Short description|Town in Ida-Viru, Estonia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Sillamäe
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Estonia|Town]]
| image_skyline      = Sillamäe Mere pst 2018 01.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Sillamäe.svg
| flag_size          = 125px
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = Sillamäe vapp.svg
| shield_size        = 75px
| image_blank_emblem = 
| blank_emblem_type  = <!-- defaults to Logo -->
| blank_emblem_size  = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| pushpin_map        = Estonia
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Estonia
| coordinates        = {{coord|59|23|35|N|27|46|27|E|region:EE|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{Flag|Estonia}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Counties of Estonia|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[File:Ida-Virumaa lipp.svg|24px]] [[Ida-Viru County]]
| established_title  = First mention
| established_date   = 1502
| government_type    = 
| leader_party       = [[Estonian Centre Party|Centre Party]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Tõnis Kalberg
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="Statistics Estonia"/>
| area_total_km2     = 12.15
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vana.stat.ee/ppe-55713|title=Sillamäe linn - Valik andmeid - Piirkondlik portree Eestist|access-date=6 November 2020|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718170112/https://vana.stat.ee/ppe-55713|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_total   = 11824
| population_as_of   = 2025
| population_rank    = [[List of cities and towns in Estonia|10th]]
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone           = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| utc_offset         = +2
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset_DST     = +3
| elevation_m        = 18
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = 40231 to 40233
| area_code          = (+372) 033
| registration_plate = I
| website            = {{url|www.sillamae.ee/}}
| iso_code           = EE-735
}}

'''Sillamäe''' ([[Estonian language|Estonian]] for 'Bridge Hill'; also known by the Germanised names of ''Sillamäggi'' or ''Sillamägi'') is a town in [[Ida-Viru County]] in the northeastern part of [[Estonia]], on the southern coast of the [[Gulf of Finland]]. It has a population of 11,824 (as of 2025) and covers an area of 12.15&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="Statistics Estonia">{{cite web |title=Population figure and composition |url=http://pub.stat.ee/px-web.2001/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=Po0291&ti=POPULATION+NUMBER%2C+AREA+AND+DENSITY+BY+ADMINISTRATIVE+UNIT+OR+TYPE+OF+SETTLEMENT%2C+1+JANUARY&path=../I_Databas/Population/01Population_indicators_and_composition/04Population_figure_and_composition/&lang=1 |publisher=[[Statistics Estonia]] |access-date=6 October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tutvustus ja asukoht {{!}} Sillamäe linn |url=https://sillamae.ee/et/linn-uudised-kontakt/linnainfo/tutvustus-ja-asukoht |access-date=2025-09-07 |website=sillamae.ee |language=et}}</ref> Sillamäe is located at the mouth of the [[Sõtke River]]. Its population is predominantly Russian-speaking.

==History==
The locality of Sillamäggi was first mentioned in 1502 when the area was under the control of the [[Livonian Order]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JzoPAAAAYAAJ&q=sillamagi&pg=PA169 |title= Liv- est- und kurländisches Urkundenbuch |series= 2 |volume = 2| editor1-last= Arbusow |editor1-first= Leonid |year= 1905 |location= Riga |page= 170}}</ref> The bridge across the [[Sõtke River]] and a mill in Sillamäggi were documented in 1700.<ref>{{cite book |title= Baltisches historisches Ortslexikon. Teil 1. Estland|year= 1985 |isbn= 3-412-07183-8 |page= 549 |last1= Feldmann |first1= Hans |publisher= Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar }}</ref>

In the 1800s, Sillamäggi developed into a resort village offering a more tranquil experience than the nearby resort town of [[Narva-Jõesuu|Hungerburg]]. The Russian physiologist [[Ivan Pavlov]] owned a [[dacha]] in Sillamäggi and vacationed there during summer breaks from 1891 to 1917. Among other famous vacationers of Sillamäggi were the poet [[Konstantin Balmont]] (1905), painter [[Albert Benois]] (1898 and 1899), physicist [[Paul Ehrenfest]] (1908–1912), botanist [[Andrei Famintsyn]] (1890s), historian [[Mikhail Gershenzon]] (1911–1914), inventor [[Boris Rosing]] (1902–1911), and composer [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]] (1868).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.slib.ee/ru/kraevedenie/izvestnye-lyudi-zhivshie-v-sillamyae |script-title= ru:Известные люди, посещавшие Силламяэ |publisher= Sillamäe Public Library |language= ru |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141006130629/http://www.slib.ee/ru/kraevedenie/izvestnye-lyudi-zhivshie-v-sillamyae |archive-date= 6 October 2014 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

In the 1920s and 1930s, Sillamäe and the surrounding countryside saw the rise of the [[Oil shale in Estonia|oil shale]] mining industry in the area. From 1927 to 1929, the Swedish company ''Estländska Oljeskifferkonsortiet'' built an [[shale oil extraction|oil shale processing plant]] and a power station at the location of Türsamäe Manor, on the western side of Sillamäe. This plant reached a total capacity of 500 tonnes per day in the mid-1930s. A small harbour was constructed in Sillamäe to support the plant's activities, but it was destroyed during World War II.

During the Nazi occupation, several concentration camps were established in the vicinity of Sillamäe to employ slave laborers in the local mines. Upon withdrawal from Sillamäe in 1944, German forces sabotaged the processing plant. The German defensive positions on the hills east of Sillamäe, known as [[Sinimäed]], formed the [[Battle of Tannenberg Line|Tannenberg Line]] during the [[Battle of Narva (1944)|Battle of Narva]].
 
In 1946–1948, the former oil shale processing plant in Sillamäe was rebuilt by the Soviets to extract [[uranium oxide]] from the locally mined [[graptolitic argillite]] ore (a type of [[oil shale]]).<ref name=dyni>
{{Cite web| last =Dyni| first =John R.| title =Geology and resources of some world oil-shale deposits. Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5294| publisher = U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey| year =2006| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5294/pdf/sir5294_508.pdf| access-date =25 October 2008}}</ref><ref name=lippmaa>{{Cite journal | last =Lippmaa | first = E.| title = Uranium production from the local Dictyonema shale in North-East Estonia| journal =Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal | publisher = Estonian Academy Publishers | volume = 17| issue = 4| pages = 387–394| year =2000| issn = 0208-189X|author2=Maremäe, E. | doi = 10.3176/oil.2000.4.09| s2cid = 252613304| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name=maremae>
{{Cite journal | last = Maremäe | first = E. | title = Extraction of uranium from local Dictyonema shale at Sillamäe in 1948–1952| journal =Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal | publisher = Estonian Academy Publishers | volume = 18| issue = 3| pages = 259–271| year =2001| doi = 10.3176/oil.2001.3.07 | s2cid = 252630936 | issn = 0208-189X | doi-access = free}}</ref> During that time, many war prisoners were employed at the construction and mining activities in Sillamäe. The uranium extraction process at the Sillamäe plant was developed in collaboration with a nearby [[Narva]] pilot plant (known as Cloth Dyeing Factory)<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lippmaa| first1 = E.| last2 = Maremäe| first2 = E.| year = 2003| title = The beginnings of uranium production in Estonia| journal = Oil Shale| volume = 20| issue = 2| pages = 167–174| publisher = Estonian Academy Publishers| doi = 10.3176/oil.2003.2.08| s2cid = 252658633| issn = 0208-189X| doi-access = free}}</ref> and produced mainly a 40% uranium concentrate at the onset of plant production. The local mining operations continued until 1952. In the following years, richer uranium ores were imported to the Sillamäe plant from various locations of Central Asia and the [[Eastern Bloc]], mainly from mines in [[Czechoslovakia]], [[East Germany]], [[Hungary]], [[Poland]] and [[Romania]] including the [[Bihor County|Bihor]] mine operated by Sovromcuarţ (one of the [[SovRoms]] operated jointly by the Soviet Union and [[Communist Romania|Romania]]).<ref name="WISE">{{cite web|last=Diehl|first=Peter|title=Uranium production in Europe|url=http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/439-440/chapter1.html|publisher=[[Nuclear Information and Resource Service|WISE]]|access-date=6 October 2010|year=1995|archive-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629021553/http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/439-440/chapter1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1970, the plant started to process [[loparite]] ore from the [[Kola Peninsula]] producing [[tantalum]] and [[niobium]] chemicals. Later, it also started to extract [[rare earth element|rare earth metal]] oxides. In 1982, the plant began the production of reactor-grade [[enriched uranium]] (2–4.4% <sup>235</sup>U) in form of [[uranium dioxide|UO<sub>2</sub>]]. Uranium production at Sillamäe continued to supply nuclear materials for the Soviet [[nuclear power plant]]s and [[nuclear weapon|weapon]] facilities until 1989. From 1950 to 1989, the plant produced about 98,681 tonnes of uranium (mostly as [[Triuranium octoxide|U<sub>3</sub>O<sub>8</sub>]]) and 1354.7 tonnes of enriched uranium.<ref>{{cite book |title= Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Turning a Problem into a Resource: Remediation and Waste Management at the Sillamäe Site, Estonia|first1= A.|last1= Lippmaa|first2= E.|last2= Maremäe|chapter= Uranium Processing at Sillamäe and Decommissioning of the Tailings}}</ref>

During its operations, the Sillamäe plant dumped the processing wastes into a tailing pond at the north-western part of Sillamäe near the Baltic Sea shoreline. By the 1990s, the pond presented a serious ecological hazard due to leaching of radioactive and other harmful particulates and dissolved materials into the Baltic Sea.<ref>{{cite news |title=Estonia Tries to Cope with Soviet Nuclear Legacy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-stuart-news-sillame/162074335/ |work=The Stuart News |date=February 21, 1993 | location=Stuart, FL |page=21 |access-date=January 2, 2025 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> In the 2000s, measures were undertaken to secure the containment of the wastes at Sillamäe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.envir.ee/1083729|title=Remediation of Sillamäe's radioactive tailings pond completed|publisher=Estonian Ministry of the Environment|date=28 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221231300/http://www.envir.ee/1083729|archive-date=21 December 2008}}</ref>

In 1957, Sillamäe officially gained town status. By that time, it had already grown beyond the historical boundaries of Sillamäggi and included several neighboring settlements, such as Kannuka and Türsamäe. During the Soviet regime in Estonia, Sillamäe remained a [[closed town]] due to the secrecy and security measures related to the uranium production activities at the local plant.

== Demographics ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Ethnic composition 1959-2021
! rowspan="2" |Ethnicity
! colspan="2" |[[Soviet Census (1959)|1959]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Katus |first1=Kalev |url=https://www.ester.ee/record=b1565334*est |title=Rahvastiku ühtlusarvutatud sündmus- ja loendusstatistika: Ida-Virumaa 1965-1990 |last2=Puur |first2=Allan |last3=Põldma |first3=Asta |publisher=Eesti Kõrgkoolidevaheline Demouuringute Keskus |year=2002 |isbn=9985-820-66-5 |series=Sari C |location=Tallinn |pages=31–32 |language=et, en}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[Soviet Census (1970)|1970]]<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.ester.ee/record=b1655518*est |title=Население районов, городов и поселков городского типа Эстонской ССР : по данным Всесоюзной переписи населения на 15 января 1970 года |publisher=Eesti NSV Statistika Keskvalitsus |year=1972 |location=Tallinn |page=75 |language=ru}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[Soviet Census (1979)|1979]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=http://www.digar.ee/id/nlib-digar:375699 |title=Eesti Vabariigi maakondade, linnade ja alevite rahvastik: 1989. a. rahvaloenduse andmed: statistikakogumik. 1. osa: Rahvaarv rahvuse, perekonnaseisu, hariduse ja elatusallikate järgi |date=1990 |publisher=Statistikaamet |isbn=978-9949-71-932-7 |editor-last= |location=Tallinn |pages=28, 33 |language=et}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[Soviet Census (1989)|1989]]<ref name=":0" />
! colspan="2" |[[2000 Estonia Census|2000]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=RL222: RAHVASTIK ELUKOHA JA RAHVUSE JÄRGI |url=https://andmed.stat.ee:443/pxweb/et/stat/stat__rahvaloendus__rel2000__rahvus-emakeel-veerkeelte-oskus/RL222.px/ |access-date= |website=Estonian Statistical Database |language=et}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2011 Estonian census|2011]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=RL0429: RAHVASTIK RAHVUSE, SOO, VANUSERÜHMA JA ELUKOHA JÄRGI, 31. DETSEMBER 2011 |url=https://andmed.stat.ee:443/pxweb/et/stat/stat__rahvaloendus__rel2011__rahvastiku-demograafilised-ja-etno-kultuurilised-naitajad__rahvus-emakeel-ja-keelteoskus-murded/RL0429.px/ |access-date= |website=Estonian Statistical Database |language=et}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2021 Estonian census|2021]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=RL21429: RAHVASTIK RAHVUSE, SOO, VANUSERÜHMA JA ELUKOHA (HALDUSÜKSUS) JÄRGI, 31. DETSEMBER 2021 |url=https://andmed.stat.ee:443/pxweb/et/stat/stat__rahvaloendus__rel2021__rahvastiku-demograafilised-ja-etno-kultuurilised-naitajad__rahvus-emakeel/RL21429.px/ |access-date= |website=Estonian Statistical Database |language=et}}</ref>
|-
!number
!%
!number
!%
!number
!%
!number
!%
!number
!%
!number
!%
!number
!%
|-
|[[Estonians]]
|174
|2.12
|659
|4.88
|689
|4.26
|656
|3.19
|719
|4.18
|685
|4.81
|690
|5.55
|-
|[[Russians]]
| -
| -
|11566
|85.6
|13850
|85.7
|17770
|86.4
|14756
|85.8
|12469
|87.5
|10774
|86.6
|-
|[[Ukrainians]]
| -
| -
|390
|2.89
|482
|2.98
|698
|3.39
|517
|3.01
|354
|2.48
|329
|2.64
|-
|[[Belarusians]]
| -
| -
|390
|2.89
|531
|3.29
|653
|3.18
|479
|2.79
|305
|2.14
|231
|1.86
|-
|[[Finns]]
| -
| -
|155
|1.15
|185
|1.15
|213
|1.04
|185
|1.08
|114
|0.80
|80
|0.64
|-
|[[Jews]]
| -
| -
|20
|0.15
|16
|0.10
|14
|0.07
|16
|0.09
|7
|0.05
|6
|0.05
|-
|[[Latvians]]
| -
| -
|15
|0.11
|16
|0.10
|22
|0.11
|19
|0.11
|13
|0.09
|17
|0.14
|-
|[[Germans]]
| -
| -
| -
| -
|29
|0.18
|40
|0.19
|48
|0.28
|33
|0.23
|37
|0.30
|-
|[[Tatars]]
| -
| -
| -
| -
|63
|0.39
|102
|0.50
|64
|0.37
|48
|0.34
|54
|0.43
|-
|[[Polish people|Poles]]
| -
| -
| -
| -
|30
|0.19
|30
|0.15
|28
|0.16
|19
|0.13
|16
|0.13
|-
|[[Lithuanians]]
| -
| -
|26
|0.19
|32
|0.20
|32
|0.16
|26
|0.15
|17
|0.12
|14
|0.11
|-
|unknown
|0
|0.00
|0
|0.00
|0
|0.00
|0
|0.00
|135
|0.78
|26
|0.18
|18
|0.14
|-
|other
|8036
|97.9
|284
|2.10
|234
|1.45
|331
|1.61
|207
|1.20
|162
|1.14
|173
|1.39
|-
!Total
!8210
!100
!13505
!100
!16157
!100
!20561
!100
!17199
!100
!14252
!100
!12439
!100
|}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Sillamäe (2021) [https://andmed.stat.ee/en/stat/rahvaloendus__rel2021__rahvastiku-demograafilised-ja-etno-kultuurilised-naitajad__usk/RL21452]
|label1 = Unaffiliated 
|value1 = 53.2
|color1 = White 
|label2 = Orthodox 
|value2 = 42.4
|color2 = Pink 
|label3 = Lutheran 
|value3 = 0.9
|color3 = DodgerBlue 
|label4 = Others Christians 
|value4 = 0.7
|color4 = LightBlue 
|label5 = Others Religions 
|value5 = 2.9
|color5 = Yellow 
|label6 =
|value6 =
|color6 =
}}

==Economy==
After uranium processing ceased in 1989 and Estonia regained independence in 1991, industrial activity at Sillamäe experienced significant decline throughout the 1990s resulting in a high unemployment rate among the local population. The Sillamäe plant was privatized in 1997 to form [[AS Silmet]] and continues to produce rare metal and rare earth metal products. It remains the top world producer of niobium and tantalum products including hydroxides, oxides, various grades of metal, metal hydrides, metal powders and NbNi alloy. Among rare earth element products are lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium and samarium-europium-gadolinium carbonates, oxides, metals, chloride and nitrate solutions.

On 4 April 2011, the American rare earth metal producer [[Molycorp]] announced its acquisition of a 90% stake in AS Silmet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110404005630/en/Molycorp-Acquires-Controlling-Stake-Silmet-Expands-Operations|title=Molycorp Acquires Controlling Stake in AS Silmet, Expands Operations to Europe, Doubles Near-Term Rare Earth Oxide Production Capacity|publisher= Business Wire|date=4 April 2011}}</ref> The deal was valued at $89 million at the time. The company was renamed AS Silmet-Molycorp.

In 2005, a deep-sea port (SILPORT) with facilities able to handle dry bulk, liquid fertilizers and oil was opened in Sillamäe. A regular ferry service between Sillamäe and [[Kotka]], [[Finland]] was inaugurated in 2006, but was forced to shut down in 2007 due to a low load factor. However, the cargo operations continue to show a steady growth. In 2011, the Sillamäe port reached 4.9 million metric tonnes in cargo traffic taking fifth place among the largest ports in the [[Baltic states]] after Tallinn, Riga, Klaipeda and Ventspils.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.vm.ee/?q=en/node/13397 |title= Sillamäe Emerges as No. 2 Port in Estonia by Cargo Volume |publisher= Estonian Review |date= 4 January 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120608194521/http://www.vm.ee/?q=en%2Fnode%2F13397 |archive-date= 8 June 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

There are several seaside [[resort]]s located in the vicinity of Sillamäe ([[Toila]] and [[Narva-Jõesuu]]) that were especially popular during the Soviet era.

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
<div style="break-inside: avoid;">
'''Population''':<br>
1940: 2,642<br>
1965: 9,838<br>
1994: 20,104<br>
2004: 16,806<br>
2025: 11,824
</div><div style="break-inside: avoid;">
'''Ethnicity''' (2000):<br>
[[Russians]]: 85.8%<br>
[[Estonians]]: 4.2%<br>
[[Ukrainians]]: 3.0%<br>
[[Belarusians]]: 2.8%<br>
[[Finns]]: 1.0%<br>
Others: 3.2%
</div>{{end div col}}

<gallery>
File:Sillamäe 2008 2.jpg|Town hall of Sillamäe
File:Sillamae sej.jpg|Sillamäe thermal power station
File:Silport 0011.jpg|[[Port of Sillamäe]]
File:Sillamäe beach 1.jpg|Sillamäe beach
File:Sillamäe at night.jpg|Sillamäe at night
File:Sillamäe kultuurimaja 2012.jpg|Sillamäe cultural centre
File:Sillamäe Catholic Church.JPG|Sts. George and Adalbert Catholic Church
File:Sillamäe Mere pst 2018 02.jpg|Sillamäe Mere puiestee
File:Sillamae b.jpg|Sillamäe next to the Sõtke river
File:July 9 2022 b.jpg|Sillamäe Mere puiestee
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{anl|Beta-M}}, made at Sillamäe 
*[[Eestimaa Õlikonsortsium]]
*[[Institute of Economics and Management]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website|http://sillamae.kovtp.ee}}  (available in [[Estonian language|Estonian]], [[Russian language|Russian]] and English)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100908084954/http://www.estonica.org/en/Nature/Industrial_landscapes_in_Northeast_Estonia/The_metallurgy_factory_and_former_uranium_mine_in_Sillam%C3%A4e/ The metallurgy factory and former uranium mine in Sillamäe] [[Estonica]]

{{Cities of Estonia}}
{{Ida-Virumaa}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sillamae}}
[[Category:Sillamäe| ]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Estonia]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Estonia]]
[[Category:Uranium mines in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Mines in Estonia]]
[[Category:Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Populated places in Ida-Viru County]]
[[Category:Russian communities]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in Estonia]]
[[Category:Kreis Wierland]]