Jõhvi

Jõhvi is a town in northeastern Estonia. It is the main town for both Ida-Viru County and Jõhvi Parish. The town lies about 50 km west of the border between Estonia and Russia. There is also a small village named Jõhvi in the same parish.

History

Jõhvi was first mentioned as a village in 1241 when it was ruled by Denmark. It was known by names like Gewi and Jewe. In the 13th century, a church was built there and Jõhvi became an important place for the local church community.

Later, on May 1, 1938, Estonia made Jõhvi an independent town. From 1944 to 1991, when the Soviet Union controlled the area, Jõhvi was part of the larger city of Kohtla-Järve. In 2005, Jõhvi joined back with the Jõhvi parish.

Demographics

When Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, many workers came to help grow the city of Kohtla-Järve. This included the area of Jõhvi. Because of this, there were fewer Estonians in the local population.

Ethnic composition 1922-1959, 2000-2021
Ethnicity	1922		1934		1941		1959		2000		2011		2021
Ethnicity	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%	amount	%
Estonians	1472	90.9	1874	91.7	1822	89.8	3838	36.5	4022	33.2	3718	34.5	3635	34.7
Russians	106	6.54	124	6.07	85	4.19	-	-	6482	53.5	6004	55.7	5797	55.3
Ukrainians	-	-	1	0.05	-	-	-	-	395	3.26	289	2.68	285	2.72
Belarusians	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	543	4.48	344	3.19	279	2.66
Finns	-	-	2	0.10	104	5.13	-	-	240	1.98	135	1.25	118	1.13
Jews	4	0.25	8	0.39	0	0.00	-	-	23	0.19	17	0.16	13	0.12
Latvians	-	-	4	0.20	4	0.20	-	-	39	0.32	21	0.19	32	0.31
Germans	15	0.93	14	0.69	-	-	-	-	34	0.28	16	0.15	24	0.23
Tatars	-	-	8	0.39	-	-	-	-	29	0.24	30	0.28	34	0.32
Poles	-	-	2	0.10	0	0.00	-	-	51	0.42	33	0.31	32	0.31
Lithuanians	-	-	0	0.00	1	0.05	-	-	39	0.32	27	0.25	28	0.27
unknown	1	0.06	2	0.10	3	0.15	0	0.00	122	1.01	17	0.16	39	0.37
other	22	1.36	4	0.20	9	0.44	6664	63.5	93	0.77	124	1.15	166	1.58
Total	1620	100	2043	100	2028	100	10502	100	12112	100	10775	100	10482	100

Climate

Jõhvi has a humid continental climate. This means the weather changes a lot during the year. Winters are cold with snow, and summers are warm and nice. This type of climate is common in many parts of Estonia and affects the daily lives of its people.

In cinematography

In 2024, a teaser for the film Juvenile Inspektor: The Shadow Over Jõhvi was filmed in Jõhvi. The movie featured actors like Oleksiy Gorbunov, Alexander Ivashkevich, Ella Bardot, and Maxim Pokrovsky. Pavel Gavrilin was the producer and director.