Rutja
Rutja | |
|---|---|
Village | |
Rutja | |
| Coordinates: 59°33′N 26°23′E / 59.550°N 26.383°E | |
| Country | Estonia |
| County | Lääne-Viru County |
| Parish | Haljala Parish |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Rutja is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, northern Estonia.[1] It is located on the coast of the Bay of Finland and on the western shore of the Selja River. It borders Karepa to the east.
Rutja has attractive beaches and (mainly pine) forests.
Name
Rutja was attested in historical sources as Heuschlag zu Ruddy (as the name of a meadow) in 1498, Stranddörfern Ruddi u Sulli in 1652, Raudja in 1792, and Rudja in 1871. The Finnish linguist Lauri Kettunen suggested that the name comes from ruttaja 'one who hurries'. In Finnish, hydronyms beginning with Ruta- derived from the dialect word ruta 'mud, slime resulting from plant decomposition', which according to the Finnish onomastician Sirkka Paikkala may have referred to the muddiness of the shore; this could also be the origin of the name of the coastal village of Rutja.[2]
History
Rutja Airfield, a disused Soviet military airfield, is located in Rutja. It was home to the 66th Soviet Attack Air Regiment, which flew as many as 45 Su-17 aircraft.
In 2022, exercises for Operation Saber Strike were held in Rutja.[3]
References
- ^ Classification of Estonian administrative units and settlements 2014 (retrieved 28 July 2021)
- ^ "Rutja". Dictionary of Estonian Place Names. Tallinn: Eesti Keele Instituut. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ Hunder, Max; Balmforth, Tom (January 19, 2023). "Germany to Send Tanks to Ukraine". The Dickinson Press. Dickinson, ND. p. 9. Retrieved June 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.