Hargla

Hargla ( German Harjel, Võro Harglõ ) is a village (Estonian küla ) in the Estonian Valga County. It belongs to the municipality Taheva. Hargla has 228 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2007).

The area of Hargla is very rural. Through broad glacial valleys, the rivers flow Koiva, Mustjõgi, Peetri and Hargla.

In the Middle Ages belonged to the eastern part of the area to the Bishopric of Dorpat, the western part to Urvaste. Probably the first church was built in 1667 Hargla ( destroyed in the Great Northern War). With the adoption of the Swedish King Charles XI. from April 21, 1694 Urvaste ( ADSEL ) were united to the parish Hargla ( German Urbs ), Karula ( Karolen ) and Gaujiena.

Landmark Hargla today is the built 1817-1821 in neo-gothic style church with its massive tower. The building is typical of the architecture of the representative Livonian country churches of that time. To the east is the cemetery was built around 1773 with the grave chapel of the Baltic German Major General Wassermann (1781 ) family.

Approximately 3 km north of Hargla is the 124 m high Essemägi. The German researcher Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve led in the 19th century his astronomical- geodetic studies to measure the circumference of the earth by. In his writings Struve praises the beauty of the local forests.