Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital,

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, and west of Estonia's second-largest city,

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. The city sits off the coast of

Pärnu Bay Pärnu Bay () is a bay in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Livonia (Gulf of Riga), in southern Estonia. Geography It has an area of 411 km2.Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (, , ) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and t ...

, which is a part of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. In the city, the

Pärnu River Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

drains into the Gulf of Riga. Pärnu is a popular summer

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

resort town among Estonians with many hotels, restaurants and large beaches. The city is served by

Pärnu Airport Pärnu Airport (, ) is an airport in Estonia. The airport is situated northwest of Pärnu. Overview In October 1937, the Pärnu town council designated an area of for the building of an airport. Operations at the new airport began in 1939. D ...

History

Pärnu or Old Pärnu (, , ), which was founded by the bishop of Ösel–Wiek , suffered heavily under pressure of the concurrent town, and was finally destroyed . Another town, Embeke (later , ) was founded by the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

, who began building an

Ordensburg ''Ordensburg'' (plural ''Ordensburgen'') is a German language, German term meaning a "castle of a (military) order". It is used specifically for the fortified structures built by Crusades, crusading German Military order (religious society), m ...

nearby in 1265. The latter town, then known by the German name of , was a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

and an important ice-free harbor for

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. The

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

took control of town between 1560 and 1617; the

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

ns fought the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

nearby in 1609. Sweden took control of the town during the 16th-century

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

as part of

Swedish Livonia Swedish Livonia () was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northe ...

, although it was not formally ceded by Poland-Lithuania until the 1660

Treaty of Oliva The Treaty or Peace of Oliva (; ; ) was one of the peace treaties ending the Second Northern War (1655–1660).Frost (2000), p. 183 It was signed on .Evans (2008), p. 55 The Treaty of Oliva, the Treaty of Copenhagen in the same year, and the T ...

. Sweden then lost Livonia to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in the 1710 Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia and the 1721

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

, following the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. It belonged to the

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

until 1917, when it was transferred to the short-lived Autonomous Governorate of Estonia. The city is occasionally referred to as ''Pyarnu'', an incorrect reverse-

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

from the Russian . The town became part of independent Estonia in 1918 following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

. The city was occupied by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

along with the rest of Estonia in 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and its German population fled the town. It was briefly occupied by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 1941 until 1944 before it was reoccupied by the Soviet Union during its counteroffensives. Pärnu then continued as being part of the

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit (Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the Occupation o ...

from 1944 to 1991, when Estonia restored its independence. During the

, the University of Dorpat (

) was relocated to Pärnu from 1699 to 1710. The university has still maintained a branch campus in Pärnu to this day (1,000 students in the 2004/2005 school year).

Geography

Districts of Pärnu

There are seven districts in Pärnu: Ülejõe, Rääma, Vana-Pärnu, Kesklinn, Rannarajoon, Eeslinn and Raeküla.

Climate

Pärnu lies within the temperate humid continental climate zone.

Waterbodies

, Sauga River, Reiu River, Pärnu Moat,

Pärnu Bay Pärnu Bay () is a bay in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Livonia (Gulf of Riga), in southern Estonia. Geography It has an area of 411 km2.

Demographics

Economy

Today Pärnu is an economically balanced region with a comprehensive range of industries. Foreign investments and new businesses with up-to-date technologies have enhanced job creation and higher competitiveness of the businesses in the world markets. Several enterprises of Pärnu region stand out as the best in Estonia. Significant flows of exports from Pärnu region and South-Estonia pass through the Port of Pärnu which lies at the mouth of the Pärnu River. In recent years, the port has developed into an important regional harbour for south-western and southern Estonia. Pärnu's fame as a rehabilitation and holiday resort dates back to the middle of the 19th century. The foundation of the first bathing facility in 1838 is considered the birth date of Pärnu resort. Today Pärnu has all desirable qualities of a modern holiday resort – it has spas and rehabilitation centres, hotels, conference and concert venues, golf courses and tennis courts, restaurants and pubs. It's long tradition as a resort has made Pärnu well known in Finland and Scandinavian countries.

Tourism

The majority of the tourists in Pärnu are Finns, Swedes and Russians. German, Latvian, and Norwegian tourists have also become more common. In 1837, a tavern near the beach was made into a bathing establishment. The establishment accommodated 5–6 bathrooms that provided hot seawater baths in summer and operated as a sauna in winter. The wooden building was burnt down in the course of

. In 1927, the present stone building of Pärnu Mud Baths was erected at the same site. Since 1996 Pärnu has been known as Estonia's Summer Capital. Starting from 2015 the city of Pärnu hosts the annual Weekend Festival, the largest dance music festival in the Nordic and

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

region. Stages are headlined by DJs from across the

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

spectrum, with audiovisual support. Some of the past and upcoming artists to perform include

Martin Garrix Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix (or Ytram and GRX), is a Dutch Republic, Dutch DJ and record producer who was ranked number one on ''DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—20 ...

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The electronic dance music, EDM-Pop music, pop duo achieved a breakth ...

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

, Armin van Buuren,

Hardwell Robbert van de Corput (; born 7 January 1988), known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by ''DJ Mag'' in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 in ...

Robin Schulz Robin Alexander Schulz (; born 28 April 1987) is a German musician, DJ, and record producer. On 4 February 2014, he released the first single from his debut album, a remix of "Waves (Mr. Probz song), Waves" by Dutch hip hop artist Mr. Probz. T ...

Afrojack Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), known professionally as Afrojack (stylized in all caps), is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album ''Forget the World ( ...

deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

Knife Party Knife Party are an Australian electronic music duo consisting of Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, two members of the drum and bass band Pendulum. The duo has worked with artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Steve Aoki, MistaJam, Foreign ...

, Desiigner and many more. Pärnu is also known for its seawall. According to legend, if a couple holds hands while journeying along the wall and kisses at its endpoint they will stay together forever.

Notable people

* Elisabeth Aspe, writer * Gustav Fabergé, jeweller * Johann Voldemar Jannsen, journalist and poet * Lili Kaelas, archeologist *

Tõnis Kasemets Tõnis Kasemets (born March 17, 1974) is an Estonian racing driver and a former competitor in the CART Champ Car World Series. He won the 2022 IMSA Prototype Challenge championship. Career Kasemets started racing karts in 1982, winning the Bal ...

, race-car driver who has competed in ChampCar and

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...

* Rein Kask, politician * Egon Kaur, rally driver *

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

, chess grandmaster *

Lydia Koidula Lydia Emilie Florentine Jannsen ( – ), known by her pen name Koidula, was an Estonian literature, Estonian poet. Her sobriquet means '(Lydia of) The Dawn' in Estonian language, Estonian. It was given to her by the writer Carl Robert Jakobson. Sh ...

, poet * Ilmi Kolla, poet * Kaie Kõrb, prima ballerina * Karin Luts, artist * Friedrich Martens, lawyer * Kaili Närep, actress * Rene Pais, professionally known as Syn Cole, DJ and musician * Liisa Pulk, actress * Rasmus Rändvee, singer *

Salme Reek Salme Helene Reek (10 November 1907 – 9 June 1996) was an Estonian stage, film, radio, and television actress and stage director whose career spanned nearly seventy years; sixty-six of which were spent as an actress at the Estonian Drama T ...

, actress *

Georg Wilhelm Richmann Georg Wilhelm Richmann (; – ) was a Russian physicist of Baltic Germans, Baltic German origin who did pioneering work on electricity, atmospheric electricity, and calorimetry. He died by electrocution in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg when st ...

, German physicist * Erika Salumäe, track bicycle racer * David Samoylov, poet * August Sang, poet * Olev Siinmaa, architect * David Shrayer-Petrov, poet, fiction writer, translator, medical scientist * Maxim D. Shrayer, author and literary scholar *

Lilli Suburg Lilli Suburg ( in Rõusa Manor – 8 February 1923 in Valga, Estonia, Valga) was an Estonian journalist, writer and feminist. In 1882, she established a private primary school for Estonian girls in Pärnu, in 1885 she moved it to Viljandi where th ...

, writer * Avo Sõmer, musicologist, music theorist, composer * Kristin Tattar, athlete, disc golf world champion

Honorary citizens

*1886 Konstantin Possiet *1901 Friedrich Fromhold Martens *1934

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts ( – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president from 1938 to 1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades p ...

*2007

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

*2008 Valter Ojakäär *2009 Jüri Jaanson

Gallery

File:Endla teatrihoone 2024.jpg, Endla Theatre File:St. Elizabeth's Church, Pärnu 4.jpg, Nikolai street with St. Elizabeth's Church File:Pärnu rannapromenaad 2014.jpg, Pärnu beach promenade File:Sunset in Pärnu beach (1).jpg, Sunset in Pärnu beach

References

External links

The Official Tourist Information Centre Foundation of Pärnu

Parnu tour overview

MERKO: 2010–2011 Pärnu moat and park area reconstruction, land reclamation and landscaping
with 6 photos * Maxim D. Shrayer
Dunes of Happiness: Fifteen Summers in Estonia
Baltic Worlds (September 2013).
https://there

publicofparnugov.odoo.com/en
fictional country
SONKS! Best hair salon to visit in Pärnu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnu Cities and towns in Estonia Populated places in Pärnu County Gulf of Riga Populated coastal places in Estonia Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Spa towns in Estonia 13th-century establishments in Estonia Populated places established in the 1250s 1251 establishments in Europe Kreis Pernau Members of the Hanseatic League Port cities and towns in Estonia