Estonia Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Estonia appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 9 different states, among them Russian Empire, Estonia, Teutonic Knights, Sweden, USSR.
EstoniaExplore the history of Estonia in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Estonia, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1100 | Kievan Rus' 19% |
| 1200 | Principality of Novgorod 25% |
| 1300 | Teutonic Knights 75% · Denmark 25% |
| 1400 | Teutonic Knights 100% |
| 1492 | Teutonic Knights 100% |
| 1500 | Teutonic Knights 100% |
| 1600 | Poland-Lithuania 56% · Sweden 44% |
| 1650 | Sweden 100% |
| 1700 | Sweden 100% |
| 1783 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1800 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1815 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1880 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1900 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1914 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1920 | Estonia 100% |
| 1930 | Estonia 100% |
| 1938 | Estonia 100% |
| 1945 | USSR 100% |
| 1960 | USSR 100% |
| 1994 | Estonia 100% |
| 2010 | Estonia 100% |
Historic cities in Estonia
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Estonia?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Estonia belonged to Russian Empire, Estonia, Teutonic Knights, Sweden, USSR, Poland-Lithuania, along with 3 other states.
What was Estonia part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Estonia lay within Teutonic Knights.
What was Estonia part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Estonia lay within Russian Empire.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.