forestry. Agriculture has declined drastically during the last decade, so the lack of
employment opportunities has caused out- migration and ageing of the population.
4.1. Suure-Jaani town: way to the centre of networks and then to the” central periphery”
Suure-Jaani (SJ) town has long history being a Valula (as it was called this time) parish
centre already since 1428. The name Suure-Jaani comes from Holy John - church saint. SJ
and its surrounding has many sites with special meaning in Estonian cultural history:
Lôhavere stronghold, 12-13 century resistance centre with an important symbolic status, is
located 4 km from town centre; Olustvere manor house - one of the best saved and most
beautiful manor complexes is located 6 km away; several famous composers have been
living in this area. Suure-Jaani was a centre of national awakening during the second half
of the 19th century. Local people are well aware and proud of their rich history.
Local Valula church manor started to sell ho using estates since 1891 and several
dozens of houses were built within a short period of time. First private house owner was a
craftsman - a baker. By the end of 19th century a local service centre (alevik) was formed,
where basic (parish) school, doctor’s office, tavern, apothecary, 3 shops, 5 bakeries and
several other craftsmen and businesses were operating.
Local market was opened in 1903, kindergarten in 1908, library initiated by the
local educational society in 1909, post office in 1910, dairies cooperative in 1911, local
bank in 1919. There were 141 houses with 1040 inhabitants in 1922. Local cultural life was
active: a chore, an orchestra, and a theatre society were operating.
Suure-Jaani became an independent small town (alev) in 1924 and town (linn) in
1938, when there were 12 shops, 2 restaurants, 2 bakeries, a hotel, post-office, and several
artisans in 1939. There was also a shoe factory, co-operative dairy, and co-operative
farmers society, which was purchasing machinery and organised marketing its members
production. Population was growing, but not as fast as before. At the same time, the share
of urban-type employment increased.
Soviet occupation stopped development of Suure-Jaani in 1940: all co-operative
societies were dismissed, industries and shops nationalised. There was a short higher
activity period 1950-1959, when Suure-Jaani was a small rajoon centre, but since then, no
particular development took place until the 1990s. Almost all investments to the production
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