Rakvere ( or
Wesenbergh) is a
town in northern
Estonia and the county seat of
Lääne-Viru County, 20 km south of the
Gulf of Finland.
History
The earliest signs of human settlement dating back to the 3rd-5th centuries
AD have been found on the present theatre hill. Probably to protect that settlement, a wooden stronghold was built on the present Vallimägi. When it changed owners in 1220, the
Danes started to erect buildings from stone. A settlement called
Tarvanpea was first mentioned in the
Chronicle of Henry of Livonia in 1226. The new
Danish stronghold was called
Wesenbergh in
Middle Low German for the first time in 1252. The
Battle of Rakovor between the
Danish and
German knights and
Russians occurred nearby in
18 February 1268.
On
12 June 1302, Rakvere was granted
Lübeck rights. When the Danish king sold
Danish Estonia to the
Livonian Order in 1346, a large castle was built on top of the previous stronghold. The
Ordensburg was protected by towers and courtyards. The building of a
Franciscan monastery was started in 1508.
During the
Livonian War from 1558-1581, Rakvere was under
Russian rule and was heavily damaged.
Sweden ruled over the town briefly before it passed to the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1602;
Poles destroyed the castle in 1605. After being returned to Swedish control in that year, a mansion was built on the ruins of the monastery. During the
Great Northern War, Rakvere was burned down in 1703. With the
Treaty of Nystad, Rakvere passed to the
Russian Empire, where it remained until Estonia's independence in 1918 following
World War I.
During the first period of independence many prominent buildings were built, such as the market building, the old bank building (current
SEB Eesti Ühispank), and Rakvere Gymnasium. In 1930 the town stadium was opened. Local newspapers started to emerge, including the county paper
Virumaa Teataja, which was first published in 1925. The idea of Rakvere's own professional theatre started to take shape as well. The construction of the theatre house was completed at the end of the 1930s and it was festively opened on
24 February 1940. The theatre survived
World War II and is active to this day.
The Rakvere castle seen from the Tarvas statue
Tarvas statue
Rakvere is also known now for its Tarvas
statue of an
aurochs, which was made by the Estonian sculptor
Tauno Kangro. It is thought to be the largest animal statue in the
Baltic countries.
It is situated on the edge of Vallimägi hill and was erected for the town's 700th birthday. Along with the
granite block it sits on, the statue is seven meters long, four meters high and weighs about seven tons.
The statue is made out of
bronze. The names of the companies and private people who financed it are engraved in the granite block.
Twin towns
Distances
