Narva History Facts and Timeline

(Narva, Ida-Virumaa, Estonia)

Estonia's third-largest city lies at the extreme eastern end of the country, alongside the border with Russia and within the county of Ida-Virumaa (Ida-Viru).

Its location near the mouth of the Narva River (flowing out of Lake Peipus) always ensured that it would be a sought-after spot in the Baltics. Like most of Estonia, the history of Narva is a tale of power struggles between the Danes, the Swedes, the Germans and also the Russians.

Danish Rule

The Danes were the first European power to impose their rule on Northern Estonian during the 13th-century Northern Crusades. Seeking to promote Christianity in the region, the Danes built Narva Castle on a small hill overlooking their existing riverside village. Gradually a town grew out of the village and surrounded the walled castle, enjoying good trade relations with the rest of the region.

Sold to the Germans

In 1346, the Danish king decided to sell off all his landholdings in Northern Estonia to the Livonian Order, a subgroup of the Germanic Teutonic Knights. During the Middle Ages, the Knights helped promote trade from Narva throughout the Hanseatic League's domain. However, Narva itself was never incorporated into the Hanseatic League, and so it remained a rather small insignificant town. In this period, the Ivangorod Fortress was built along the river by Russia's Ivan III Vasilyevich in the year of 1492.

The Swedes and the Russians

At the beginning of the Livorian War (1558 to 1583), Russian forces captured the city. A subsequent period of Narva history began that saw control of the city swing back and forth between the Swedes and the Russians. While the Russians controlled Narva, the city was one of their preferred commercial ports, but their reign was short-lived. In 1581, Sweden finally took full control of the city and made it part of their nation.

The Swedish era was a good period in Narva's history, as development went apace. The Swedes built the original Old Town during this time, and after a massive fire in 1659, they rebuilt this part of Narva entirely out of stone. A thriving commercial trade sector helped bolster the city centre in just 20 years. The Baroque style of the Old Town didn't change until it was unfortunately levelled in WWII. It was the city's main claim to fame in Europe for centuries until its sad demise.

Estonian Independence

In the wake of WWI, Estonia gained its first independence from Russia. Narva was the starting point for the Estonian War of Independence in November 1918. By the following day, Russia's army had taken the city and occupied it until the beginning of 1919.

WWII was an even worse period for Narva, as nearly the whole city was destroyed during the Battle of Narva. This included its lovely Baroque Old Town, which was levelled in March 1944 by Soviet planes. Today, only three of the original Baroque buildings remain in the Old Town, including the historic Town Hall.

When Estonia achieved independence from the USSR in 1991, Narva became a border town. Due to its proximity to Russia, Narva has always had a large Russian population and after the second independence, the city went through some tough periods of ethnic intolerance. Today, the city's population is about half Estonian and roughly 40 percent Russian, with the remaining percentage comprising other undefined denominations. This makes it one of Estonia's most ethnically diverse cities.