Rakvere
Rakvere is the administrative center, or county seat, of Lääne-Viru County in northern Estonia, about 100 km southeast of Tallinn and 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. In 2022, Rakvere was one of 10 ACES European Towns of Sport. In 2023, Rakvere won the Green Destinations' Silver Award after having been selected in 2021 as part of the Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories.
Rakvere boasts a distinctive architectural feature: the Rakvere door. Reflecting German baroque cabinets of the 17th and 18th centuries and the expressionist style of the 1920s, the wooden Rakvere door has a pointed, raised rectangle in the center. In 2023, there were 15 Rakvere doors on 13 houses.
Name
A settlement called Tarvanpea, which means the 'head of an aurochs', was first mentioned in 1226 in the Livonian Chronicle of Henry. This Danish stronghold was first recorded as Wesenbergh, the Middle Low German adaptation of Tarvanpea, in 1252, and, up until the early 20th century, the town was widely known as Wesenberg. The name Rakovor appears in 1268 in the Russian Novgorod First Chronicle, and present-day Rakvere is associated with Rägavere, in which vere in Estonian refers to a topographical feature. Rakvere has also been referred to as Tarvanpää.History
The earliest signs of a human settlement, dating back to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries AD, have been found on Rakvere's Theatre Hill. Probably to protect this settlement, a wooden stronghold was built on another hill, or mound, nearby, Rakvere's highest point.After the Kingdom of Denmark conquered northern Estonia, it started to erect stone buildings in 1220. The Battle of Wesenberg, with the Danish and Teutonic knights and local militia on one side and the forces of Novgorod and Pskov on the other, occurred near Rakvere on 18 February 1268. The Danish King Erik VI Menved granted Rakvere Lübeck rights on 12 June 1302. After the king sold Danish Estonia to the Livonian Order in 1346, a large stone castle was built on top of the stronghold on Vallimägi. The Ordensburg was protected by towers and courtyards.
In 1502, in the Battle of Smolino, the Catholic Teutonic Order defeated Russian forces and promised Michael the Archangel that they would build monasteries in Livonia. One of them was the Franciscan monastery built on Rakvere's Theatre Hill in 1506 or 1508. In 1517, as the Protestant Reformation began, the books from Rakvere's monastery were moved to the Oleviste Church Library, founded in 1552, in Tallinn and, eventually, to the Center for Old and Rare Books at the Tallinn University Academic Library, founded in 1946.
In 1558, during the first year of the Livonian War, Russian troops captured Rakvere, and, in 1574, Sweden heavily damaged the town after the disastrous Siege of Wesenberg. In 1581, Sweden captured Rakvere and passed it to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1602; Polish troops destroyed the castle in 1605. After Rakvere returned to Swedish control that same year, a mansion was built on the ruins of the monastery. In 1703, during the Great Northern War, Rakvere was burned down. With the capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 and the subsequent Treaty of Nystad in 1721, the town became part of the Russian Empire. It was a part of Russia until 1918 when, following World War I, Estonia became an independent nation.
During the period of independence from 1918 to 1940, Estonia completed its first railway, and Rakvere was at the heart of the crucial Tallinn-Rakvere-Narva-St. Petersburg trade route. Telephone lines had been installed in 1898, and nearly the entire city had electric lights in 1918. Many prominent buildings were built, too, in Rakvere, during this period, including the market building, the old bank building, and Rakvere Secondary School. Local newspapers emerged, including the county paper Virumaa Teataja in 1925. The idea of a professional theatre in Rakvere started to take shape as well. In 1930, during the administration of Mayor Heinrich Aviksoo, the town stadium opened. Later, Anton Soans developed a new master plan from which emerged a private German-language school and a public Estonian-language high school.
With Estonia in World War II, the Soviet Red Army invaded and occupied the country in June 1940. On 14 June 1941, hundreds of Rakvere's residents were deported to Russia. From 7 August 1941 to 19 September 1944, the city was occupied by Germany. In the autumn of 1941, the Dulag 102 prisoner-of-war camp was relocated from Šiauliai to Rakvere, and was later moved to Volosovo. On 19 September 1944, the Soviets bombed the city, killing at least 20 civilians, including two children. The next day the city was re-occupied by the Soviets.
On 20 August 1991, Estonia again declared its independence and Rakvere restored its self-governing status.
On 15 July 2000, a high-end F2/T5 tornado hit Rakvere, killing one person and injuring one other. The tornado damaged 110 homes and destroyed 120 garage buildings. One car was seen airborne.
Transport
The T5 highway to Pärnu starts near Rakvere, and the T1 Tallinn-Narva highway, part of European route E20, is just to the north of the city. Narva is 114 km to the east of Rakvere. The Tallinn-Narva railway passes through the city, and passenger trains between Tallinn and Narva, operated by Elron, stop at Rakvere several times a day. Daily busses connect Rakvere to Tallinn and Narva, too, as well as to many small towns throughout Lääne-Viru County, including Tapa and Kunda.Geography
Rakvere has a total area of 10.75 square kilometres. There are 19 districts, or neighborhoods, in Rakvere: Kondivalu, Kukeküla, Kurikaküla, Lennuvälja, Lepiku, Lilleküla, Linnuriik, Moonaküla, Mõisavälja, Paemurru, Palermo, Roodevälja, Seminari, Südalinn, Taaravainu, Tammiku, Vallimäe, Vanalinn, and Õpetaja Heinamaa. Although about 15% of Rakvere is covered by forests and parks, it is Estonia's third most densely populated urban area.Demographics
Landmarks
Rakvere Castle ''(Linnus)''
The oldest known archeological traces of the ancient fortress on Rakvere's Vallimägi hill date from the 5th and 6th centuries. Throughout the ages, Rakvere Castle has belonged to Danish kings, knight-monks of the Livonian Order, and the Swedish and Polish states. During the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1629, the castle was partly blown up by Polish troops in 1605, and, later, by the Swedish army. The castle has lain in ruins ever since.Today, permanent exhibitions and seasonal programs and activities in the castle explain everyday life in the 16th century. Visitors can dress as medieval knights and walk through the castle's rooms, including a torture chamber, an alchemist's workshop, and a room of historical artifacts. -->
Rakvere Trinity Church ''(Kolmainu Kirik)''
Trinity Church, Rakvere's Lutheran church, originally called St. Michael Church and dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, dates from the 15th century. It was designed to also be a stronghold in times of trouble. The tower, the masonry stairway, the sharp edges of the windows, and some pillars have been preserved. The church was severely damaged during the Livonian War and during Polish-Swedish conflicts in the 17th century. It was reconstructed from 1684 to 1693, becoming a three-nave chamber from which the name Trinity Church came. In 1703 and 1708, during the Great Northern War, the church was damaged again. It was reconstructed from 1727 to 1730; a Renaissance-style tower was completed in 1752, which was replaced by a neo-Gothic tower in 1852. The church's interior displays fine craftsmanship, including a Baroque pulpit from 1690 made by Christian Ackermann and the altar wall from 1730 by Johann Valentin Rabe. A statute of an egg and a cock that was on the top of the tower is now in the Rakvere MuseumLong Street ''(Pikk Tänav)''
Long, or Pikk, Street is the oldest street in Rakvere. Most Estonian cities have a Pikk Street, which is like a High Street in the United Kingdom or a Main Street in the United States. In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, Pikk Street was Rakveres's main shopping street with banks, shops, restaurants, and guesthouses as well as the residences of the town's wealthiest businessmen. In 2016, during the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Estonian Republic, Rakvere was one of 15 municipalities that won the "Good Public Space" competition and received financing from the European Union Regional Development Fund and Enterprise Estonia to reconstruct approximately 700 meters of Pikk Street as a pedestrian-friendly, historical thoroughfare reminiscent of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The National Heritage Board of Estonia recognized Rakvere's project with its 2020 New Building in a Historical Environment award, and, in 2021, Estonia showcased it at Venice's 17th Biennale of Architecture. A sculpture of eight-year-old by G.S. Hansen is at 22 Pikk Street, and, behind her, are the so-called Carrot Stairs that lead up to Vallimägi and Rakvere Castle with wider steps at the top and narrower ones at the bottom.Rakvere Theatre and Manor House ''(Teater ja mõis)''
Rakvere is reportedly Europe's smallest town with its own professional theatre.The roots of Rakvere Theatre date back to 1882. Following independence, Estonian Land Reform of 1919 gave Rakvere's originally Swedish manor house ' to the local government. On 4 May 1920, Mayor Jakob Liiv created the Rakvere Community Center Society ' to manage the formerly private building. Liiv's leadership helped create Rakvere Theatre. Construction of the theatre building - an addition to the manor house turned community center now cultural center - was completed at the end of the 1930s. Its festive opening was on 24 February 1940. The theatre survived World War II, and it was renovated in 2005. A cinema was built along a wall of the manor's carriage stable in 2016.
Today, Rakvere Theatre presents 10 new productions each season. The theatre has given Estonia many renowned actors, including Volli Käro, Üllar Saaremäe, Indrek Saar, Ülle Lichtfeldt, and Aarne Üksküla. Since 1990, it has organized the biannual event Baltoscandal, which hosts avant-garde plays and groups from all over the world.