Narva-Jõesuu is a seaside resort town in northeast

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 ...

. It is located by the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

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 ...

, on the west bank of the

Narva River The Narva, formerly also Narwa or Narova, flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer intermediate lake, Lake Peipus, all togeth ...

, which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. Narva-Jõesuu marks the northeastern terminus of the E9 European Coastal Path, which runs for 5000 km (3125 miles) from Cabo de São Vicente in Portugal. In the past, Narva-Jõesuu was administratively a district of the city of

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

and it officially became a separate town in 1993. It has a population of 2,681 (as of 1 January 2020). As of 2025, the estimated population of Narva-Jõesuu, Estonia, is 2,602 (aznations.com).

History

The town's historical name variants in both Estonian (''Narva jõe-suu'') and Russian (Усть-Нарова, ''Ust'-Narova'') literally mean 'mouth of Narva river'. The place was first documented in a 1503 deed issued by Master of 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 ...

Wolter von Plettenberg Wolter or Walter von Plettenberg ( – February 28, 1535) was Master (''Teutonic Order#Landmeister, Landmeister'') of the Livonian Order from 1494 to 1535, and one of the greatest leaders of the Teutonic Knights. He was an important early B ...

and was the site of an outer harbour of the city of Narva from the 16th century, containing several timber stockyards, sawmills, and small shipbuilding industry. The Narva-Jõesuu Lighthouse was erected in 1808. Thanks to its nearly -long white sand beach lined with pine trees – considered one of the finest in Estonia – Narva-Jõesuu has long been a popular summer destination. In the late 19th and early 20th century it was a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

frequented by the nobility from

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, which is less than to the east, and from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. During 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 ...

period, it was visited in large numbers by residents of Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), particularly the Soviet "

apparatchik __NOTOC__ An '' apparatchik'' () was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the government of the Soviet Union, Soviet government ''apparat'' (Wiktionary:аппарат#Russian, аппарат, appar ...

s" and intelligentsia, many of whom built a ''

dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...

'' (Russian: 'summer house') in Narva-Jõesuu or on the outskirts. In the 1990s, after the restoration of Estonia's independence, Narva-Jõesuu saw few foreign visitors from Russia or elsewhere, and as a result, many hotels and guest houses went out of business. In the 21st century, the town's resort facilities have been renovated, and the number of tourists has an upward trend. However, the number of hotels is still considerably lower compared to the late 1980s.

Demographics

Narva-Jõesuu has a population of 2,681 (as of 1 January 2020). As in the nearby city of

, most residents today are Russian or Russian-speaking, although the percentage of native

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people () are a Finnic ethnic group native to the Baltic Sea region in Northern Europe, primarily their nation state of Estonia. Estonians primarily speak the Estonian language, a language closely related to other Finni ...

is slightly higher in Narva-Jõesuu (13% compared to 4% in Narva).

Gallery

File:Narva-joesuu kuursaal.jpg, Ruins of Narva-Jõesuu ''kuursaal'' (resort hall) File:EU-EE-IV-Narva-Jõesuu-Russia-Estonia board.JPG, Pier in the mouth of

File:Ust-Narva-13.jpg, Narva-Jõesuu Lighthouse File:Ust-Narva-2.jpg, Park in the town centre File:Narva-Jõesuu beach.jpg, Beach life File:EU-EE-IV-Narva-Jõesuu-bank of Narva river in Narva-Jõesuu.JPG, Bank of Narva river in Narva-Jõesuu File:EU-EE-IV-Narva-Jõesuu-Street in Narva-Jõesuu v2.JPG, A street

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narva-Joesuu Cities and towns in Estonia Populated places in Ida-Viru County Spa towns in Estonia Kreis Wierland