The 8 Best History Museums in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru County

The Narva Castle is one of the main attractions of the city. In the seventh decade of the 13th century, the Danes established a castle as a residence for the Danish King’s vice-Regent. The Narva Castle is one of the most diverse and best preserved defense structure in Estonia. The area of the castle is 3.2 hectares, and the highest point is the Tall Hermann Tower (51 meters), which offers views over Narva, the Kreenholm factory and Ivangorod Fortress across the river in Russia. Today you can visit the museum in the castle, were the displays explain the history of Narva and the castle.

This museum in Sillamae has been open since 1995 and was based on the private collection of the oil shale chemical factory.Today the museum has 6 different halls with exhibitions charting the history of the town. One is the 1950s room, which depicts life during the era. Others examine the life of a Vaivara municipality farmer, life at the end of the 18th century, and the household items used in the first half of the 20th century. The mineral hall is unique and provides an overview of the origins of Estonia’s dolomite, limestone and granite. There is also an exhibition of gemstones.Did you know…?*For many years Sillamae was closed to the outside world because of its uranium enrichment plant

The building of Sillamäe Cultural Center, built in 1949, has been declared an architectural monument, which has preserved both the inside and outside of the 40s and 50s of the last century. years of Stalinist-style architecture. In the basement of the building, in a former bomb shelter, there is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Soviet-era period of the city. The Cultural Center has a total of 8 amateur activities, many of which have become famous both in Estonia and abroad. Today, more than 200 people participate in our teams. In addition to the beautiful architecture, the cultural center is a venue for various concerts and events, and individual rooms as well as the entire building are offered for rent.

Sinimaed have been a visible landmarkfor navigators for a long time. For soldiers it has been a fighting arena. Today You can see a partially restored trench line in Tornimae and a monument, establised to honor those who died fighting in the battles of Sinimae. You can learn about the history of Sinimae by visiting Vaivara museum of war-history nearby or travel along Vaivara historical path.Interesting to know: Sinimae is a quite unique relief in Estonia. Three conjunct hills located on a flat plateau are large clods that were teared from the edge of limestone bluff during the incursion of inland ice.

Operating since 1996, the exposition and collections primarily include writings, printed materials and photo collections from the past and present of the Aseri Rural Municipality and its surrounding region. The history of the Aseri Cement Factory and Ceramics Factory are on display along with an overview of the 100-year-old clay industry in Aseri. There is a retrospective of the four ancient villages in the area and the development of 18 local villages. Four local manors are examined along with the local agricultural development to the present day and almost 40 years of collective farming in the area. There is information on the region’s educational and cultural life; the history of four schools; community activities and amateur social life. Five family trees are on display.