Have you ever visited a place where castles/fortresses from opposing groups face each other? If not yet, then you might want to add Narva to your bucket list. Narva is a town along the Estonian border with Russia. Geographically, it is the easternmost town of Estonia. The Narva River separates the two countries here before draining into the Baltic Sea. On either side of the river are two impressive buildings — the Narva Castle and the Ivangorod Fortress. The Narva Castle or the Hermann Castle was established in the 13th century when the area was part of the Danish Realm. On the other hand, the Ivangorod Fortress was established in the 15th century by the then Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan III. However, archaeological findings indicate that the earliest settlement in this area was in the 5th to 4th millennium BC. Today, Narva is the third largest city in Estonia after Tallinn and Tartu. Narva is connected to Ivangorod in Russia through a ‘Friendship Bridge’ making it possible to visit the two historic buildings in one trip, provided you have the necessary documents and the borders are open.
How to reach Narva?
Narva lies on the European route E20 that connects Shannon Airport in Ireland to Saint Petersburg in Russia. From Tallinn, the Estonian capital, Narva is 216 km towards the east and is connected by both busses and trains. The buses, which ply more frequently than trains, take about three hours while the latter takes a half hour less. Tickets can be booked on the T-pilet and Elron websites for the buses and trains respectively.
What to do in Narva?
Visit the Herman Castle: The obvious thing that you would do if you are drawn to this town is to visit the castle which is currently a museum and presents the detailed history of this area. My favourite part was the audio-visual presentation of how the earliest settlements came to be in this place and how the place developed to be the town we know today. You can also climb up the castle tower to have a look at the Ivangorod Fortress on the other side of the river.
Walk along the Narva River: The Narva Riverfront offers the best places to put the two castles in a single frame. The promenade, which is in the immediate vicinity of the international border, stretches between the Narva Harbour in the north and the Narva Joaoru recreational area in the south. The northern stretch of the promenade is overlooked by the walls of the Bastion Victoria on the Estonian side while the southern stretch follows the walls of the Ivangorod fortress on the other side of the river. It is along this stretch where you can find the remains of the oldest known fortified settlement in Estonia dating back to 1000 BC.
Explore the Narva Bastions: The 17th-century Narva fortifications consisted of seven bastions that protected it from enemy attacks. When I visited, only six of them were preserved and could be visited. Of these, the Victoria Bastion was the most powerful one with a 16-metre-high front wall facing the river. It is today possible to explore the interiors of the Victoria Bastion on guided tours but must be pre-reserved during the off-season. An unlikely attraction that you might encounter inside is the bats. These local bats including some rare species call the bastion casements their home, especially during the winter months. The top of this Victoria Bastion and the nearby Pax Bastion has been converted into a public park and is accessible at all times.
Where to eat?
I would like to specifically mention two places that I visited during my trip. The first one is Ravintola Petchki-Lavotchki at the Fama Keskus which serves traditional Russian food. I had seen some recommendations for this restaurant on the internet but it was the interestingly decorated exterior that attracted me inside. If I can recall correctly, I tried stroganoff for the first time here and it definitely did not disappoint. The other was a cosy cafe called Bublik. Cafe Bublik is recommended for its pastries and mouth-watering dumplings. Here, I tried Pelmini and would recommend you too. If you haven’t heard the name before, it is a meat-stuffed dumpling of Russian origin and is often regarded as the ‘heart of Russian cuisine’.
Bonus:
Rakvere castle: If you happen to be visiting Narva from Tallinn or heading towards it, you could potentially make a stopover at Rakvere midway and visit another medieval castle. The Rakvere Castle is ideally a small theme park representing everyday life in the 16th century. Among other things, here you can explore a medieval torture chamber, a death room and even hell.
For more pictures, visit my page on 500px.com or Instagram.
Disclaimer: This post is based on my weekend trip to Narva in November 2023.
DFickleMind 