Valga Vacations, Valga Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Valga Vacation Guide

Valga is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia was one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 km² and that of Valka is 14.2 km². Their populations are respectively 15,330 and 7,100.

As of December 21, 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement. The amazing thing is that the border control was renovated not more than a year or two before the Schengen Agreement went in to action. Therefore it stands like a modern monument of a history that once was.

Valga is situated at the junction of roads and railways. The Tallinn-Tartu-Riga railway is connected via Tapa with the Tallinn-Narva-St Petersburg main line. Valga is an international railway junction. Since there is no railway station in Valka, trains coming from Riga stop at nearby Lugaži, before continuing to Valga.

During the Cold War, Valga was home to Valga air base. With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and the abolishment of systematic border controls between Estonia and Latvia, it was announced that common public bus transport would be launched between Valga and Valka. In April 2008 the three daily trains from Riga which previously terminated at Lugaži were extended across the border to Valga