Narva, a town on Estonia’s northeastern frontier, is also home to our Narva College. For many of the town’s 64,000 inhabitants, the festive opening of the college’s new and long-awaited building on the Town Hall Square tonight is a huge event to celebrate and remember.
While you may think of Narva as another boring provincial town, there is actually much more hidden in it. Narva is a different Estonia – and here is why.
The new building of Narva College has an unusual beak-shaped roof and stands next to the Town Hall. Photo by Andres Tennus.
1. View, feel and taste Russia
If you haven’t been to Russia, or have only visited Moscow or St. Petersburg and would like to experience more, head to Narva. With 82 percent of its population ethnically Russian and just under four percent Estonian, Narva is pretty much a Russian town.
It might even feel a bit schizophrenic: You will hear Russian spoken ubiquitously, whereas the written language of street names, business signs, and advertising is mostly Estonian.
It’s not just the language, though. It’s also the Russian culture, food, and even the physical presence of Russia across the river. Nice views of the two neighbouring countries can be enjoyed from the balcony of the college’s library in the new building.
View of Narva and the neighbouring Russia from the balcony of the Narva College’s library. Photo by Merilyn Merisalu.
2. Time travel in Narva
The frontier location of Narva is the key to the town’s past and its present. The historic border has been located there from the Middle Ages already, along the banks of the rapid river dividing and uniting the two civilisations: the Catholic European north and the Orthodox Slavonic east.
Outside of its military past, Narva has also been a centre of international trade. In Viking times the trade route named in ancient chronicles as ‘The Way from Varangians to Greeks’ started here.
The dramatic history materialised in the architectural ensemble of two fortresses – one in Narva and the other in Ivangorod, Russia – towering at a distance of an arrow’s flight on two opposite river banks. You can still feel the tension reigning between these two.
Narva’s golden age was in the 17th century under Swedish rule, when the downtown area with its Baroque style architecture was built. Unfortunately, only a fraction of its former glory survived World War II.
And, of course, you’ll find many traces of the Soviet period in Narva.
This is how Narva looked before the fatal bombing in 1944. Photo by Inga Külmoja.
3. Experience the fall of the Industrial Era
The currently abandoned Krenholm Manufacture was established in 1857; its main production fields included spinning of linen, as well as weaving and rendering of textiles. The quality must have been high, as in 1900 Krenholm’s production earned the Grand Prix at the world exhibition in Paris.
Krenholm was a town within a town: In addition to the production buildings, the factory complex included worker’s barracks, shops, a sauna, and even a hospital. The factory ran a two-grade school for the numerous underaged and illiterate employees.
During the Soviet period, Krenholm, with its 40,000 workers, was one of the largest textile factories. It was privatised in 1994 and since then it has reduced its scale of operations by several degrees.
Today the large factory complex stands almost unused, as if embodying the fall of the Industrial Era. However, locals say that the complex recently received new owners whose long-term ambition is to bring the glorious times back to Krenholm, investing into the tourism infrastructure, and erecting magnificent hotels and large-scale conference centres.
You can get an insight into the nature of Krenholm by exploring the photographic series “The Fall of the Manufacture” by the Estonian artist Marge Monko. The series, along with other work, won Monko the Henkel Art.Award. competition last month, in which she came out on top amongst 931 entries.
The abandoned Krenholm Manufacture is located in a picturesque location. Photo by Merilyn Merisalu.
4. Visit Narva College in its new building
The University of Tartu’s Narva college is much more than a college in Narva. Standing next to the Town Hall on the grounds of what used to be the Stock Exchange Building, it is also a cultural hub of the town. Locals and visitors alike are welcome to enjoy themselves in the ‘Facebook Hall’, use the wireless Internet, and admire the new building with a strange roof. In fact, the new building is slightly shifted from the old location: Its beak-shaped roof is the would-be roof of the old Stock Exchange Building from the backside.
The cafe – which might well become the best in town soon – will open its doors in the college, too. Exhibitions and film screenings are also on the way. So grab a pillow in the ‘Facebook Hall’, sit down, and experience the flow of time: the past and the present, the old and the modern, the Russian and the Estonian.
This is how the ‘Facebook Hall’ looked a month prior to the official opening. The sitting area will be equipped with cosy and inviting cushions. Photo by Andres Tennus.
And finally, let me encourage you on your way to Narva with a few practical tips and hints from both locals and guests, kindly shared by our colleagues at Narva College (Cheers to Liudmila Prima!):
- Narva is safer than you may have heard from the Estonian media. It may feel a bit unsafe at night in some places though.
- Use taxis in Narva – they’re cheap.
- You might need a local guide to explore the most beautiful places.
- Don’t be confused if a shop vendor greets you with such enthusiasm as if you were her old friend. Similarly, it shouldn’t surprise you too much if some shop vendors don’t seem that polite at all.
Already been to Narva or live there? Please share your tips in the comments!
