Kehra is a town in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia, most known for its pulp and paper mill.
The town is situated on the banks of the Jägala river, and has a station on the Tallinn-Narva railway.
As of January 1, 2023, the town had a population of 2694.
Etymology
Kehra village, the town's namesake, was first mentioned in the Danish Census Book as Ketheræ in 1241. Before 1688, the village had also been referred to as Kecere, Kecnere, Kedere, Kederikull, Kedder, Keyher, Kether, Kädder(e) and Keddar. The village was known as both Kehrakyla and Käihra in 1688, and as Kehra in 1732
Kehra Manor, the town's predecessor, was first established sometime between 1624 and 1637, one kilometer south of the village. Initially it was known as Karrock manor (), later as Jaunack manor (), and by 1688 as Kedder manor. The name stuck around until Estonia first became independent and place names were estonianized.
The following Estonian words are speculated to be the origins of the name Kehra:
keder or kehr (local dialect) () jõekäär, also compared to Käära farm in Kohatu, Estonia () veekeeris, compared to Kehro in Finland ()
History
Early history
In 1940, excavations on the Andevei property in Kehra village uncovered a treasure containing 421 silver coins, most recent of which was minted in 978 AD. Out of the 421 coins, 411 were Samanid, 5 Byzantine, 3 German, 1 Anglo-Saxon, and 1 Bohemian. Remains of iron tools and pieces of earthenware were also found nearby. Based on this, it is speculated that Kehra village was settled at latest by the 11th century.
Kehra village was first mentioned in the Danish Census Book in 1241. According to the book, the village was a part of the Repel parish () and had a size of 10 oxgangs (, ). Half of the village belonged to Lambertus and the other half to Stenhackær. The village was baptized either in 1219 or 1220, likely at the same time as the villages of Saunja, Soodla, Aavere, Anija, Kõlu, Pirsu, Kihmla, and Parila. In 1249, Kehra and Paasiku villages were given to the bishop of Tallinn, whose successors later founded the Fegefyr manor ().
According to the Swedish land audit of 1564–1565, Kehra village was part of the Kiviloo manor and had a size of 13 oxgangs. The village of Jaunack (Janakas, Jannikkas) was first mentioned in the same audit. It was near the mouth of the Aavoja river and had a size of two oxgangs. Kehra and Karrock mills were also first mentioned in the same audit. Kehra mill (Kedder quarn) was located 100 meters upstream from the current car bridge, in the north-eastern corner of the current pulp and paper mill. For some time around the end of the 17th century, the mill was temporarily located 100 meters upstream from the mouth of the Aavoja river, near the village of Jaunack. The mill in its original location was demolished in 1936 to make room for the pulp mill that was going to be built. Karukse mill (Karockas quarn) was likely located around 20–50 meters upstream from the current medical center, near the mouth of the hypothetical Karukse stream and was demolished at an undetermined time.
Manor
The fief on which Kehra manor would be built was granted to Euphemia Kriedt in 1624. In 1637, the recently built manor was owned by Kriedt's son-in-law, Heinrich Bade. Kriedt's grandson-in-law, Gabriel von Elvering, gained ownership of even more fiefs in the 1660s and according to a 1692 map, the manor's lands stretched as far east as Maapaju border point near the current Mustjõe train station. Reitevahe (Arudevahe) inn, which was near the current Lahinguvälja train station, was also a part of the manor.
Von Elverings regained ownership of the manor after the Great Northern War, but were forced to sell it in 1760 to cover debts. Von Breverns, the new owners, lent the manor to Friedrich August von Maydell in the spring of 1820, who subsequently bought it. The manor was rebuilt in the 1820s and is still standing. In 1847, the manor was sold to Dietrich Johann Georg von Tiesenhausen, who sold it to Alexander Georg Matthias von Essen in 1855. In 1864, he gifted the manor to his daughter, Margarethe Gertrude Henriette von Ulrich. Her daughter, Marie Jeanette Katharina von Ulrich, inherited the manor in 1904, when her mother died.