Narva was nearly completely destroyed in 1944 duringWorld War II.[4] During the Soviet era of Estonia in 1944–1991, the city's original inhabitants were not permitted to return, and immigrant workers fromSoviet Russia and other parts of the formerSoviet Union (USSR) were introduced.[5][4] Narva’s population, 65% ethnic Estonian as of the 1934 census, became overwhelmingly non-Estonian in the second half of the 20th century.[5] According to more recent data, 46.7% of the city's inhabitants arecitizens of Estonia, 36.3% are citizens of theRussian Federation, while 15.3% haveundefined citizenship.[6]
People settled in the area from the 5th to 4th millennium BC, as evidenced by archeological findings of theNarva culture, named after the Narva river.[7] The fortified settlement at Narva Joaoru is the oldest known in Estonia, dated to around 1000 BC.[8] The earliest known written reference of the toponym Narva is in theFirst Novgorod Chronicle, which in the year 1172 describes a district inNovgorod calledNerevsky orNarovsky konets (yard). According to historians, this name probably derives from the name of the then village of Narva, or from the Narva river, and indicates that a frequently used trade route went through Narva, albeit no evidence of the existence of a trading settlement in Narva at the time has been found so far.[9]
Narva's favorable location at the intersection of both trade routes and the Narva river was behind the founding ofNarva castle and the subsequent development of the castle's surrounding urban settlement. The castle was founded during theDanish rule of northern Estonia in the second half of the 13th century; the earliest written record of the castle is from 1277.[10]Narvia village is mentioned in theDanish Census Book already in 1241. A town developed around the stronghold and in 1345 obtainedLübeck City Rights from Danish kingValdemar IV.[11] The castle and surrounding town of Narva (Narwa, in German) became a possession of theLivonian Order in 1346, after the Danish king sold its lands in Northern Estonia. In 1492,Ivangorod fortress across the Narva river was established byIvan III ofMoscow.
Trade, particularlyHanseatic long-distance trade remained Narva'sraison d'être throughout the Middle Ages.[10] However, due to opposition fromTallinn, 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.[10]
During theSwedish rule, thebaroque Old Town of Narva was built. Following a large fire in 1659 that almost completely destroyed the town, only stone buildings were allowed to be built in its central part. Income from flourishing trade allowed rebuilding of the town center in two decades.[11] Until World War II, the baroque architecture of the Old Town underwent practically no changes, and it 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 ofbastions was designed by renowned military engineerErik Dahlbergh and built around the town. The new defences were among the most powerful in Northern Europe.[11]
After the Great Northern War, the bastions were renovated. Narva remained on the list of fortifications of theRussian Empire until 1863, although there turned out to be no real military need for it.[11] Administratively the city of Narva, including its then suburb of Ivangorod (Jaanilinn) was a part of theSaint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire until 1917.
In the middle of the 19th century, Narva developed into a major industrial city.Ludwig Knoop established theKrenholm Manufacturing Company in 1857. The factory used the affordable energy of the powerful Narva waterfalls, and at the end of the century became, with about 10,000 workers, one of the largestcotton mills in Europe and the world.[12] In 1872, Krenholm Manufacturing became the site of the firststrike in Estonia.[13] 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% inTallinn.[13] The first railway in Estonia, completed in 1870, connected Narva toSaint Petersburg and to Tallinn.
In August 1890, Narva was the site of a key meeting between German KaiserWilhelm II and Russian TsarAlexander III.
A 1929 plan of Narva, including the suburb of Jaanilinn (Ivangorod), part of Narva at the time
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 state of, Estonia.[14] Narva became part of the independent Republic of Estonia in 1918, at the end ofWorld War I. The town saw fighting during theEstonian War of Independence. The war started when RussianBolshevik troops attacked Narva on 28 November 1918, capturing the city on the next day. The Russian bolshevik troops retained control of the city until 19 January 1919.[15]
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.[4] However, as the focus of theBattle of Narva, the city was destroyed by Soviet bombardment and fires and explosions set by retreating German troops.[16] The most devastating action was thebombing raids of 6 and 7 March 1944 by theSoviet Air Force, which destroyed theBaroque old town.[4][11]
By the end of July 1944, 98 per cent of Narva had been destroyed.[4] After the war, most of the buildings could have been restored as the walls of the houses still existed, but in the early 1950s, the Soviet authorities decided to demolish the ruins to make room for apartment buildings.[4][17] Only three buildings remain of the old town, including theBaroque-styleTown Hall.[18] The civilian casualties of the bombing were low as theGerman forces had evacuated the city in January 1944.
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.[5][4] The city whose population had been 65% Estonian according to the last census in 1934, became overwhelmingly non-Estonian.[5] The main reason behind this was a plan to build a secreturanium processing plant in the city, which would turn Narva into aclosed town.[17] In 1947 nearbySillamäe 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 thepostwar years, and thus also shaped its later evolution.[19] 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.[19]
In January 1945,Jaanilinn (Ivangorod), the suburb on the eastern bank of the river was separated from Estonia (and from Narva) by the Soviet authorities, and the settlement aroundIvangorod fortress was made administratively part of the neighboringLeningrad Oblast of theRussian SFSR. In 1954, Ivangorod became officially a town in its own rights.
The Narvatown hall, surrounded bySoviet-era apartment blocks, is one of the few buildings which were restored after World War II.
After Estoniaregained 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" innortheastern Estonia was becoming increasingly popular, but this was contradicted by polls showing 87% of the region's population opposed secession from Estonia.[14]
In 1993, dissatisfaction with newly enactedcitizenship 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 andSillamäe, a nearby town.[14] Although 97% voted in favor of the referendum, turnout in Narva was a mere 55%, and there were credible charges of vote rigging.[14]
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 newconstitution of Estonia (adopted in 1992) recognizes the 1920Treaty of Tartu border to be currently legal.
The Russian Federation, however, considers Estonia to be a successor of theEstonian 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.[20][21][22] 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.[23] However the treaty was not ratified by the parliaments of either Russia or Estonia.[24]
Overall, by 2014, Russian residents were happy with their status as both Estonian andEuropean Union citizens and lived peacefully alongside their compatriots.[25]
Those on the Estonian side mainly crossed to buy cheaper petrol,groats, cleaning products, pasta and sugar.[26] Those crossing from the Russian side wanted to make use of the availability of non-sanctioned goods, entertainment facilities and overall better infrastructure.[26]
The invasion and subsequent conflict seriously reduced cooperation between the two neighbors, especially as visas became difficult to obtain and the residents of Narva increased the take up inEstonian citizenship.[26] Narva took in many Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war[26] and previously popular Russian TV stations among older Russophone residents were banned by the Estonian government.[26]
On 10 June 2022, the Estonian foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to protest about remarks by PresidentVladimir Putin praising Peter the Great for having captured Narva in the early 18th century.[27]
In August 2022, a Soviet T-34 tank memorial was removed from a stretch of road between the city center andNarva-Jõesuu, to mixed responses. It was moved to theEstonian War Museum near Tallinn.[28] 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.[29]
On 1 January 2013 Narva's population was 59,888, down from 60,454 inhabitants a year earlier.[32] The population was 83,000 in 1992.[33] 95.7% of the population of Narva are nativeRussian speakers,[34] and 87.7% are ethnicRussians.[3] Most non-Estonians are ethnically Russian, Belarusian, or Ukrainian immigrants or the children of immigrants, though 69% of Narva residents in the early 1990s had been born in Narva or had lived there for more than 30 years.[14] EthnicEstonians account for 5.2% of total population.[3] Much of the city was destroyed during World War II and for several years during the following reconstruction the Soviet authorities largely prohibited the return of Narva's pre-war residents (among whom ethnic Estonians had been the majority, forming 64.8% of the town's population of 23,512 according to the 1934 census),[35] thus radically altering the city's ethnic composition.[13] Nevertheless, ethnic Russians had already formed a significant minority: 29.7% of the city's population were Russian in the census of 1934.
A concern in Narva is the spread ofHIV, whichinfected 1.2% of Estonia's population in 2012.[36] Between 2001 and 2008, more than 1,600 cases of HIV were registered in Narva, making it one of the worst areas in Estonia, alongsideTallinn and the rest ofIda-Viru County.[37] The HIV infection rate in Estonia declined in 2014, with 59 new cases in Narva.[38]
Narva is situated in the eastern extreme point of Estonia, 200 km (124 mi) to the east from the Estonian capital Tallinn and 130 km (81 mi) southwest from Saint Petersburg. The capital of Ida-Viru County,Jõhvi, lies 50 km (31 mi) to the west. The eastern border of the city along the Narva river (which drainsLake Peipus) coincides with the Estonian-Russian border. The Estonian part of theNarva Reservoir lies mostly within the territory of Narva, to the southwest of the city center. The mouth of the Narva river to theGulf of Finland is about 13 km (8 mi) downstream from the city.
The municipality of Narva covers 84.54 km2 (32.64 sq mi), of which the city proper occupies 62 km2 (24 sq mi) (excluding the reservoir), while two separate districts surrounded byVaivara Parish, Kudruküla and Olgina, cover 5.6 km2 (2.16 sq mi) and 0.58 km2 (0.22 sq mi), respectively.[49] Kudruküla is the largest of Narva'sdacha regions, located 6 km (4 mi) to northwest from the main city, nearNarva-Jõesuu.
Narva has a warm-summerhumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb) 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.
Climate data for Narva, 1971–2000 normals, extremes 1928–present
Narva'sskyline is dominated by the 15th-century castle, with the 51-meter-tall (167 ft)Pikk Hermann tower as its most prominent landmark. The sprawling complex of theKreenholm Manufacture, located in the proximity of scenic waterfalls, is one of the largest textile mills of 19th-century Northern Europe. Other notable buildings include Swedish mansions of the 17th century, a Baroque town hall (1668–71), and remains ofErik Dahlberg's fortifications.[citation needed]
Across the Narva river lies the Russian Ivangorod fortress, established during the rule of Grand PrinceIvan III of Muscovy in 1492 and also referred to in some contemporary sources as the "Counter-Narva". From the 17th century until 1945, both the fortress and the adjacent suburb of Ivangorod (Estonian:Jaanilinn) were an administrative part of Narva.
TheNarva railway station is located on an international railway line between Estonia and Russia (Tallinn–Narva railway). All passenger trains between Russia and Estonia were cancelled during the pandemic in 2020 and the service has not been resumed. There is a domestic train service between Saint Petersburg and Ivangorod. Hence, it is possible to travel between Narva and Saint Petersburg by train if one crosses the border between Narva and Ivangorod by foot. The walking distance between the border station and Ivangorod train station is about 3.5 km.
Five daily domestic trains run between Narva and Tallinn. Some are express, which takes about2+1⁄2 hours.
Adjacent to the central rail station is a central bus station, which has multiple domestic and international connections (including to Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus etc.). The direct bus routes to Russia ceased on February 1, 2024, since the Russian Federation closed the border between Narva and Ivangorod for traffic - only pedestrians are now permitted to cross the border.[55]
There is a general aviationgrass airfield near Narva (ICAO: EENA). The strip is 600 meters long.
^Raik, Katri (2005). "Miks pidada linna, eriti Narva sünnipäeva?".Narva Muuseumi Toimetised (in Estonian) (5).
^abcKivimäe, Jüri (2004). "Medieval Narva: Featuring a Small Town between East and West". In Brüggemann, Karsten (ed.).Narva and the Baltic Sea Region. Narva: Narva College of the University of Tartu.ISBN9985-4-0417-3.
^abVseviov, David (2001).Nõukogudeaegne Narva. Elanikkonna kujunemine 1944–1970 (in Estonian and Russian). Tartu: Okupatsioonide Repressiivpoliitika Uurimise Riiklik Komisjon.
^"Estonia and Russia: Treaties". Estonian Foreign Ministry. Archived fromthe original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved12 November 2009.Estonia sticks to its former position that it has no territorial claims with respect to Russia, and Narva presently sits peacefully within Estonia's borders. As such, Estonia sees no obstacles for the entry into force of the current treaty.
^Rahvastiku koostis ja korteriolud. 1.III 1934 rahvaloenduse andmed. Vihk II (in Estonian and French). Tallinn: Riigi Statistika Keskbüroo. 1935.hdl:10062/4439.
^"Kliimanormid-Õhutemperatuur" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved24 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Kliimanormid-Sademed, õhuniiskus" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved24 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Kliimanormid-Päikesepaiste kestus" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved24 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Rekordid" (in Estonian). Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved19 March 2021.
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