Narva

People settled in the area from the 5th to 4th millennium BC, as witnessed by the archeological traces of the Narva culture, named after the Narva river.[6] The fortified settlement at Narva Joaoru is the oldest known in Estonia, dated to around 1000 BC.[7] The earliest written reference of Narva is in the First Novgorod Chronicle, which in the year 1172 describes a district in Novgorod called Nerevsky or Narovsky konets (yard). According to historians, this name derives from the name of Narva or Narva river and indicates that a frequently used trade route went through Narva, although there is no evidence of the existence of a trading settlement at the time.[8]

Narva's favourable location at the intersection of both trade routes and the Narva river was behind the founding of Narva castle and the subsequent development of the castle's surrounding urban settlement. The castle was founded during the Danish rule of northern Estonia in the second half of the 13th century; the earliest written record of the castle is from 1277.[9] Narvia village is mentioned in the Danish Census Book already in 1241. A town developed around the stronghold and in 1345 obtained Lübeck City Rights from Danish king Valdemar IV.[10] The castle and surrounding town of Narva (Narwa, in German) became a possession of the Livonian Order in 1346, after the Danish king sold its lands in Northern Estonia. In 1492 Ivangorod fortress across the Narva river was established by Ivan III of Moscow.

Trade, particularly Hanseatic long-distance trade remained Narva's raison d'être throughout the Middle Ages.[9] However, due to opposition from Tallinn, Narva itself never became part of the Hanseatic League and also remained a small town – its population in 1530 is estimated at 600–750 people.[9]

Swedish Lion Monument in Narva

Captured by the Russians during the Livonian War in 1558, for a short period Narva became an important port and trading city for Russia as a transshipment centre of goods from Pskov and Novgorod. Russian rule ended in 1581 when the Swedes under the command of Pontus De la Gardie conquered the city and it became part of Sweden. During the Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595), when Arvid Stålarm was governor, Russian forces attempted to regain the city without success (Treaty of Teusina, May 1595).

During the Swedish rule, the Old Town of Narva was built. Following a big fire in 1659 that almost completely destroyed the town, only stone buildings were allowed to be built in the central part of the town. Incomes from flourishing trade allowed rebuilding of the town center in two decades.[10] Until World War II, the baroque Old Town underwent practically no changes, and thus became renowned all over Europe. Towards the end of Swedish rule, the defence structures of Narva were greatly improved. Beginning in 1680s, an outstanding system of bastions, planned by the renowned Swedish military engineer Erik Dahlbergh, was built around the town. The new defences were among the most powerful in Northern Europe.[10]

Peter I of Russia pacifies his marauding troops after taking Narva in 1704 by Nikolay Sauerweid, 1859

During the Great Northern War of 1700–1721, Narva became the setting for the first great battle between the forces of King Charles XII of Sweden and Tsar Peter I of Russia (November 1700). Although outnumbered four to one, the Swedish forces routed their 40,000-strong opponent. Russia subsequently conquered the city in 1704.

View of Narva in the 1750s

After the war, the bastions were renovated. Narva remained on the list of Russian fortifications until 1863, though there was no real military need for it.[10] During Russian rule Narva formed part of the Saint Petersburg Governorate.

In the middle of the 19th century, Narva started to develop into a major industrial town. Ludwig Knoop established the Krenholm Manufacturing Company in 1857. The factory could use the cheap energy of the powerful Narva waterfalls, and at the end of the century became, with about 10,000 workers, one of the largest cotton mills in Europe and the world.[11] In 1872, Krenholm Manufacturing became the site of the first strike in Estonia.[12] At the end of the 19th century, Narva was the leading industrial town in Estonia – 41% of industrial workers in Estonia worked in Narva, compared to 33% in Tallinn.[12] The first railway in Estonia, completed in 1870, connected Narva to Saint Petersburg and to Tallinn.

The Resurrection of Christ Cathedral, Narva (constructed 1890–1896)

In August 1890, Narva was the site of a key meeting between German Kaiser Wilhelm II and Russian Tsar Alexander III.

The status of Narva was resolved in a July 1917 referendum, when the district population, at that time roughly equally divided between ethnic Russians and Estonians, voted to attach itself to the newly autonomous and soon to be independent republic of Estonia.[13] Narva became part of an independent Estonia in 1918, at the end of World War I. The town saw fighting during the Estonian War of Independence. The war started when Russian Bolshevik troops attacked Narva on 28 November 1918, capturing the city on the next day. The Russian Red Army retained control of the city until 19 January 1919.[14]

A 1929 plan of Narva (including Ivangorod, part of Narva at the time)

Heavy battles occurred both in and around Narva during World War II. The city was damaged in the German invasion of 1941 and by smaller air raids throughout the war, but remained relatively intact until February 1944.[3] However, as the focus of the Battle of Narva, the city was destroyed by Soviet bombardment and fires and explosions set by retreating German troops.[15] The most devastating action was the bombing raids of 6 and 7 March 1944 by the Soviet Air Force, which destroyed the Baroque old town.[10][3]

By the end of July 1944, 98% of Narva had been destroyed.[3] After the war, most of the buildings could have been restored as the walls of the houses still existed, but in early 1950s, the Soviet authorities decided to demolish the ruins to make room for apartment buildings.[3][16] Only three buildings remain of the old town, including the Baroque-style Town Hall.[17] The civilian casualties of the bombing were low as the German forces had evacuated the city in January 1944.

Narva was effectively ethnically cleansed, as the original native inhabitants were not allowed to return after the war, and immigrant Russian-speaking workers from other parts of the USSR were brought in to populate the city.[4][3] The city which population had been 65% Estonian according to the last census in 1934, became overwhelmingly non-Estonian.[4] The main reason behind this was a plan to build a secret uranium processing plant in the city, which would turn Narva into a closed town.[16] In 1947 nearby Sillamäe was selected as the location of the factory instead of Narva, but the existence of such a plan was decisive for the development of Narva in the postwar years, and thus also shaped its later evolution.[18] The planned uranium factory and other large-scale industrial developments, like the restoring of Kreenholm Manufacture, were the driving force behind the influx of internal migrants from other parts of the Soviet Union, mainly Russia.[18]

In January 1945, Ivangorod, the suburb on the eastern bank of the river was separated from Estonia (and from Narva) by the Soviet authorities, and the settlement around Ivangorod fortress was made administratively part of the neighboring Leningrad Oblast of the Russian SFSR. Ivangorod became officially a town by itself in 1954.

The Town Hall, surrounded by Soviet-era apartment blocks, is one of the few buildings which were restored after World War II.

After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, the city's leaders, holdovers from the Soviet era, wanted autonomy, and contended that the notion of a breakaway "Transnarovan Soviet republic" in northeastern Estonia was becoming increasingly popular, but this was contradicted by polls showing 87% of the region's population opposed secession from Estonia.[13]

In 1993, dissatisfaction with newly enacted citizenship and election laws (non-citizens were not allowed to hold office) culminated in the Narva referendum of 16–17 July 1993, which proposed autonomy for both Narva and Sillamäe, a nearby town.[13] Although 97% voted in favor of the referendum, turnout in Narva was a mere 55%, and there were credible charges of vote rigging.[13]

View of Narva in 2014. Ivangorod fortress, in Russia, lies across the river on the right.

After 1991, disputes regarding the Estonian-Russian border in the Narva sector remained, as the new constitution of Estonia (adopted in 1992) recognizes the 1920 Treaty of Tartu border to be currently legal.

The Russian Federation, however, considers Estonia to be a successor of the Estonian SSR and recognizes the 1945 border between the two former national republics. Officially, Estonia has no territorial claims in the area, and which was also reflected in the new Estonian-Russian border treaty signed in Moscow on 18 May 2005.[19][20][21] Russia failed to ratify it because, together with the ratification the Estonian parliament, approved a communiqué, which mentioned the Soviet Occupation.

On 18 February 2014 a new border treaty was signed by both countries.[22] However the treaty was not ratified by the parliaments of either Russia or Estonia.[23]

Overall, by 2014, Russian residents were happy with their status as both Estonian and European Union citizens and lived peacefully alongside their compatriots.[24]

Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, residents mixed relatively freely with the residents across the river in Ivangorod.[25]

The "Narva tank" (a former Soviet war monument, removed in 2022)

Those on the Estonian side mainly crossed to buy cheaper petrol, groats, cleaning products, pasta and sugar.[25] Those crossing from the Russian side wanted to make use of the availability of non-sanctioned goods, entertainment facilities and overall better infrastructure.[25]

The invasion and subsequent conflict seriously reduced cooperation between the two neighbours, especially as visas became difficult to obtain and the residents of Narva increased the take up in Estonian citizenship.[25] Narva took many Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war[25] and previously popular among older russophone residents Russian TV stations were banned by the Estonian government.[25]

On June 10, 2022, the Estonian foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to protest about remarks by President Vladimir Putin praising Peter the Great for having captured Narva in the early 18th century.[26]

In August 2022, a Soviet T-34 tank memorial was removed from a stretch of road between the city centre and Narva-Jõesuu, to mixed responses. It was moved to the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi near Tallinn. [27] In response to the tank's removal, the following month Russian authorities erected a similar T-34 tank monument in Ivangorod near the border crossing point with Narva.[28]

Narva has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with mild to warm, rainy summers with cool nights and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. Narva is one of the coldest settlements in Estonia, being located at the very northeast of the country and bordering Russia.

Neighbourhoods of Narva

Narva is officially divided into 15 neighbourhoods: Elektrijaama, Joaoru, Kalevi, Kerese, Kreenholmi, Kudruküla, Kulgu, Olgina, Paemurru, Pähklimäe, Siivertsi, Soldina, Sutthoffi, Vanalinn and Veekulgu.