Valgjärv (also ) is a lake in Estonia. It is located in the village of Jeti in Tõrva Parish, Valga County. The lake is one of the deepest in Estonia.
Physical description The lake has an area of . The lake has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . It is long, and its shoreline measures .
Names The name () is a common designation for lakes in Estonia (compare also the similar Finnish hydronym Valkeajärvi). The naming motivation is considered to be clear water with a shallow light sandy bottom in some areas of the lake. Some lakes named Valgjärv may also have been named to contrast with neighboring lakes called Mustjärv (). The variant name , referring to the village of Koorküla immediately to the northwest, disinguishes the lake from other Estonian lakes named Valgjärv.
History The inhabitants of the region have long known that there are manor buildings in the lake. An oral tradition, written down in the 17th century, told of a manor lord that wanted to marry his sister. The wedding was held in the manor against the permission of the local priest. During the wedding, it started to rain, and in the morning a lake was noticed at the site of the manor. Diving studies were carried out in the lake as early as 1640, and it was found that the information was at least partially correct. At a depth of about two meters, wooden structures can still be found, which were documented in 1958 in research by the archaeologist Jüri Selirand. At that time, divers found the remains of dwellings built on piles in the middle of the lake. The piles had been erected on the crest of a ridge running along the bottom of the lake. The pieces of wood were then dated to the second half of the first millennium (i.e., between AD 500 and 1000). The dating was also confirmed by artefacts. Investigations were completed in the 1980s and early 1990s, and they resulted in the discovery of the remains of a bridge built on piles.
See also List of lakes of Estonia
References