Rakvere
Rakvere is a town in North
Estonia, county seat of L??ne-Viru County, 20 km south of the
Gulf of Finland. Rakvere is mainly known for its historic stone castle atop Vallim?gi hill. The castle was built before 1226 at the site of the Tarwanpe fortress of ancient Vironians, known as
Rakovor in
Russian sources. Rakvere was granted city rights on June 12, 1302. The composer Arvo P?rt spent his childhood in Rakvere.
Encyclopedia
Rakvere is a town in North
Estonia, county seat of Lääne-Viru County, 20 km south of the
Gulf of Finland. Rakvere is mainly known for its historic stone castle atop Vallimägi hill. The castle was built before 1226 at the site of the Tarwanpe fortress of ancient Vironians, known as
Rakovor in
Russian sources. Rakvere was granted city rights on June 12, 1302. The composer
Arvo Pärt spent his childhood in Rakvere.
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 7 meters long, 4 meters high and weighs about 7 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.
Transportation
Railroad
Passenger trains used to stop in Rakvere, but due to lack of passengers the service was suspended for a few years while only cargo trains stopped there and the
railroad station was abandoned. However, in recent years the
Edelaraudtee passanger trains have once again started taking passengers between Rakvere and
Tallinn. Now the town is planning to renovate the train station. There have been rumors that an
electric railway line is going to be extended to Rakvere.
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