Narva is a city municipality in Estonia, the third most populous city in the country and the largest city in Ida-Viru County. The city is mostly Russian-speaking. It has a rich history as the center of Prinarovye and of great political and economic importance for modern Russian-Estonian relations. Population - 54 409 people (as of January 1, 2020).
In the era of the Normans and Varangians, the
Baltic-Mediterranean river route, also known as the “Route from the
Vikings to the Greeks”, passed through the area in which the modern
city of Narva is located.
Its border location played an
important role in the history of Narva. At the beginning of the 13th
century, northern Estonia was conquered by the Danes, right up to
the natural geographical border - the Narova River.
The
Danish Land Register of 1241 mentions the village of Narvia on the
site of part of the territory of the modern city. In ancient Russian
sources, the fortified settlement was first mentioned by the
Novgorod I Chronicle under 1256.
Under 1344, 1420, 1444 in
the same Novgorod first chronicle, as well as in the "dangerous
letter" of the Novgorod governors to the Hanseatic ambassadors in
Dorpat in 1417, this settlement is called Rugodiv.
In the
first half of the 14th century, Narva was given city rights. From
1223 to 1346, Narva belonged to Denmark, and then until 1558 - to
the Livonian Order. At this time the castle of Hermann (XIII-XVI
centuries) was being built, which is a clear evidence of the
strategic importance of the city.
In 1492, to fight Livonia,
the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III built the Ivangorod fortress
opposite Narva (Rugodiva). During the Livonian War, Narva was taken
by Russian troops on May 11, 1558. Tsar Ivan the Terrible planned to
make Narva a large commercial and military port of Russia on the
Baltic Sea. Orthodox churches were built in the city; during the 23
years of Russian rule, many Russian merchants and artisans moved to
it. Narva trade with the cities of Northern Germany, Denmark,
Holland, France and England became very profitable and developed
rapidly. However, for the Kingdom of Sweden and the Commonwealth,
the appearance of Russians in the Baltic Sea was extremely
undesirable, which is why both states entered the war. In the battle
of Wenden in the Livonian theater of operations, a turning point
came. In August 1579, the Swedes made their first attempt to capture
Narva, but retreated, losing about 4,000 people. During the siege of
1581, the Swedes, however, managed to capture the city, after which
about 7000 Russian citizens were massacred in it.
In 1590
Narva was again besieged by the Russian army. In 1595, the Tyavzin
peace was concluded between Russia and Sweden, according to which
Russia forever renounced claims to the cities of Narva and Revel,
but received all the lands east of the Narva River.
With an
attempt to recapture Narva, Peter I began the Northern War. The
Russian army laid siege to the city, but on November 19 (30), 1700,
it was defeated by Swedish troops. Only on August 9 (20), 1704,
Russian troops took Narva. As a result of the Northern War, Estland
and Livonia were ceded to Russia, which was secured by the Nishtad
Peace Treaty of 1721. In 1719, the Revel province was formed, while
Narva remained in the Petersburg province. Later, Narva was removed
from the provincial subordination, and in 1802 it again became part
of the Petersburg province.
After the foundation of the
fortresses of Kronstadt and Sveaborg, Narva lost its strategic
importance. By the middle of the 19th century, Narva had become a
major center of the textile industry thanks to the founding of cloth
and flax factories by A.L. Stieglitz, as well as the emergence of
the Krengolm manufactory. Among the founders of the manufactory
were: Ludwig Knop, Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, Alexey Ivanovich
Khludov, Richard Vasilievich Barlov, Ernst Fedorovich Kolbe.
In 1870, the Baltic railway passed through the city, connecting the
ports of Revel and the Baltic port on the Baltic with St. Petersburg
and the line of the Nikolaev railway. A railway station and a bridge
across the Narova were built.
Significant changes in the fate
of the city took place as a result of the revolutionary events of
1917. On March 30, 1917, the Provisional Government of Russia
adopted a decree "On the temporary structure of administrative
management and local self-government of the Estland province",
according to which the Estonian province (by ethnic composition) was
transferred to the Estonian province (by ethnic composition) of the
Livonia province: Tartu, Vyrusky, Viljandi, Pärnussky and Saarez
counties. On July 2, the Narva Public Committee initiated a movement
for joining Estonia.
After the overthrow of the Provisional
Government, the Narva city government continued negotiations with
the government of Soviet Russia and on November 14, 1917, sent a
petition to Petrograd to separate Narva from the Yamburg district
and transfer it to the Estland province. On November 16, 1917, the
request was granted.