Local architecture of Pärnu | Our Cultures – Our Treasures Erasmus+ Estonia

Pärnu Kuninga Street Basic School’s Year 6 looked into the local architecture of Pärnu.

This was part of a task:

Outdoor activities and cultural trips will be organised at each partner school, in order students to discover the main features of their local architecture. They will learn about the architectural symbols and heritage of their region through outdoor learning.

During one English lesson the students were divided into groups and looked for information about particular buildings or statues in Pärnu. They prepared to introduce it to the rest of their class. The walk took about 2 hours.

We started off with our own school as it is one of the important buildings in Estonia.

Photo by: Urmas Lekk. Pärnu Kuninga St Basic School was built in 1875 in neoclassical style. In the years 1875-1944, the Pärnu Boys’ High School worked in this building. From here, important people came to the Estonian state, who performed prominently and influentially in the fields of culture and science, politics and social life.
Of the eleven men who were at the helm of the Estonian state, five were with this school – Akkeli, Jaakson, Päts, Teemandi and Uluotsa. Alumni of the school are chess grandmaster Paul Keres, whose bust is in front of the school building, and well-known opera singer Tiit Kuusik, beloved musician and composer Valter Ojakäär. In the school building you can see busts of Jüri Vilms and Theodor Pool in the school hall.

Lydia Koidula was an Estonian poet and prose writer. In total, she wrote 4 plays, 86 prose works and over 300 poems.
The monument is in Lydia Koidula Park. It is recognised as a national cultural monument. The monument opened in 1929. The autor is Amandus Adamson.

Silvi Raska

The Red Tower is a part of the medieval fortress of Pärnu, a prison tower built in the South-eastern corner of the city wall in the 15th century. It is the only defensive tower of the Hanseatic town of New-Pärnu that has been preserved.

Seegi Maja (the Almshouse) is known to be the oldest building in Pärnu. It was built in 1658 on the remains of the old almshouse of the Holy Spirit’s Church as a shelter to the sick and the cripples. According to research on the wooden raft under the basement of the building, the old almshouse dates back to 1250-1350. The building was restored to look the way it did in the 17th century.

Tallinn gate is the only surviving 17th century gate with an embankment in the Baltic Countries; until 1710, it was known as Carl Gustav (the King’s) Gate. From the gate, a bridge led across the trench to a postal road to Tallinn. The author of the gate is probably Erik Dahlberg; he constructed similar King’s Gates and bastions in Narva and Riga as well.
During the teardown of the fortification in the 19th century, only the Tallinn Gate was preserved, as well as the embankments and the trench that leads to the Venus Bastion at the riverside – the so called Vallikäär.

Pärnu Vallikäär Park enchants with an illuminated promenade running along the shore, a romantic pedestrian bridge arching over the moat, and Estonia’s highest fountain built in the middle, visible during summer.
The amphitheatre-like concert venue is waiting to be part of the cultural pleasures. At Bastion Venus, there is a restored forge where you can see the forging. You can get a visual picture of the development of Pärnu from a fortress city to the present day from three models. The passage between the earthen fortifications has been opened and the Tallinn Gate, which marked the beginning of the former post road, has been restored.

Villa Ammende is one of the best examples of the early Art Nouveau style in Estonia. The building was designed and built by F. Mieritz and J. Gerassimov from St. Petersburg. The grand villa with a large garden was built in 1905 and belonged to the Ammende family. The façades and interiors of the house were diverse and abundant, rich in detail yet also very stylish.
The family went bankrupt after the First World War and the villa was sold to the City of Pärnu. The house has been used as a sanatorium, casino, and a club.
The villa has now been turned into a luxurious hotel and restaurant, offering modern comforts in a renovated historic town mansion.

The monument represents the balcony of the historical Endla Theatre in the original size. The authors are Eelma, Aas and Mutsu.

They chose granite as material for it. One of the most important aims of the monument was to make the message or the text of the manifest visible. The manifest of independence is written on the wall of the balcony in the old and modern language, and Braille – for blind people.

The manifesto was read out for the first time on February 23^rd, 1918 from the balcony of Endla Theatre and Society House which stood where Pärnu Hotel is today.

The Kuursaal (Resort Hall), restaurant and music salon built in the 1880s have served as the centre of Pärnu’s cultural life throughout their history. The Kuursaal was reopened with its current appearance in 2003, and since that time has held the title of Estonia’s largest pub.

Completed in 1768, the St. Catherine’s Church is the most style pure and ample baroque church in Estonia. The design of facades represent baroque, the six broaches are finished with slender needle-shaped tips that add lightness and festiveness to the building. Since church is built a century before the majority of orthodox churches, it differs from them from architectural point of view but at the same time it has influenced the development of orthodox church architecture in whole Baltics.
Interesting to know! Pärnu St. Catherine’s Church was built by order and with financing of Russian queen Catherine the II. To this day Pärnu Russian congregation operates in the church.

The neo-classicist building of the mud baths is one of the most important symbols of the Pärnu resort. It was built in 1926- 1927 in place of a bathing hose that was burned down in world war. The history of the bud baths and resort can be traced back to 1838, when the seaside bathing offered warm sea baths in summer and sauna pleasures in winter. During the Soviet times, the it continued serving people but after the independence of Estonia, it remained empty. Now it is again a cosy spa.

Rüütli 40a is a bank and residence in Pärnu at 40a Rüütli Street. The architects are Kotli and Soans.
The building was built in 1939-1945 at the Pärnu branch of Eesti Pank. After World War II until 1967 it was used as a theatre.
Today, it houses a museum of new art and office space. There are also four apartments in the house.

Rüütli Street was created in the 17^th century when the Kingdom of Sweden began to build a modern sea fortress in Pärnu.
Its 915 metres long. Rüütli street is built in 17^th century. The street starts in Õhtu street and ends in Vanapargi street. Rüütli Street is only for pedestrians.
The buildings are from 17th-20th century. Important shopping street, and even today there are several shops, establishments, and cafes along the street.
Rüütli was one of the first streets in Pärnu to be paved with asphalt in 1938.

The musician Raimond Valgre who played in Pärnu in 1930s and brought the town a lot of fame, can today be found sitting in the park near Kuursaal, as a bronze statue. The author of the statue is Rait Pärg.
You too can sit down next to the beloved Estonian composer and enjoy his beautiful compositions.

In Pärnu, Supeluse Street, which runs from the city centre to the beach, is car-free from June until the end of August. The street is conquered by pedestrians, cyclists, and the like. The street’s cafes and restaurants are buzzing even after sunset. Various street festivals are held here in the middle of beach architecture.