Estonia - Parnu

Pärnu (German: Pernau; Russian: Пярну, formerly Пернов) is a city on the Baltic Sea coast of Pärnu Bay, in southwestern Estonia. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city, which is served by Pärnu Airport.

The city is occasionally referred to as Pyarnu, an incorrect reverse-transliteration from Russian Пярну.

History

There were two towns on the estuary of the Pärnu River during Middle Ages. The original Perona (later Contemporary Latin Antiqua Perona, German Alt-Pernau or Estonian Vana-Pärnu) was founded by the bishop of Ösel-Wiek ca. 1251, suffered heavily under pressure of the concurrent town, and was finally destroyed ca. 1600. Another town (Embeke, later German Neu-Pernau or Estonian Uus-Pärnu) was founded by the Livonian Order, who began building an Ordensburg nearby in 1265. The latter town, then known by the German name of Pernau, was a member of the Hanseatic League and an important ice-free harbor for Livonia. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took control of town between 1560-1617; the Poles fought the Swedes nearby in 1609. Sweden took control of the town during the 16th century Livonian War, but it was subsequently taken by the Russian Empire in the 1721 Treaty of Nystad following the Great Northern War.

The town became part of independent Estonia in 1918 following World War I.

During the Great Northern War, the University of Dorpat (Tartu) was relocated to Pernau from 1699-1710. The university has a branch campus in Pärnu today (1,000 students in the 2004/2005 school year).