History

In the twelfth century, the island was presumably a peninsula on the west coast of Lake Peipus, which later became an island as the lake water rose. There are no written records of the settlement of Piirissaar. According to folklore, the first inhabitants arrived on the island after the Great Northern War. They were Old Believers fleeing the Russian church reform.

The current name of Piirissaar reflects its status back in the day, as the island was split between the Governorate of Livonia and Saint Petersburg Governorate for a long time. Before the sixteenth century, the island was split between the Diocese of Tartu and the Principality of Pskov.

Piirissaar was completely added to Estonia in 1920 with the signing of the Treaty of Tartu. Today, there are three villages on the island – Piiri, Saare, and Tooni. Until 1862, there was also the village of Porka in the northwestern part of the island, which gave its name to the island – back then, it was called Porka Island.

The first inhabitants of Piirissaar were Estonian and Russian fishermen with their families. Russian fishermen were divided into two different groups – Orthodox and Old Believers. They all had their own cultural space, and their old calendar church holidays and church days were carefully observed. These three different cultures have lived together on the island to this day.

Before World War I, the inhabitants of Piirissaar were wealthy. It was home to professional fishermen who sold their catch in Tartu. After the war, however, times changed, and better fishing spots were located behind the border 3.5 km away and the islanders were no longer the “lords of Peipus”. In 1921, the island was devastated by a fire, which destroyed most of the islanders’ homes and gave the final push to the impoverishment of the islanders. Fishing and cultivation of onions have always been the main occupation on the island.

After Estonia regained its independence, the island had its own local government – Piirissaar rural municipality. Following the administrative reform of Estonian local governments in 2017, Piirissaar is part of Tartu rural municipality. Since 1991, Piirissaar has been included among Natura 2000 areas. In the same year, Piirissaar was also declared a landscape protection area. In the autumn of 2014, Piirissaar landscape protection area, limited-conservation area of Emajõe estuarine area and Emajõe-Suursoo landscape protection area were merged into a single Peipsiveere nature conservation area.

Since 1997, the island has also been included in the list of wetlands of international importance, i.e. Ramsar Sites. The biodiversity and abundance of different amphibians is the main reason why Piirissaar was taken under protection.