Vändra () is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

() in

Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish () is a rural municipality in Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lä� ...

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

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 has a population of 2,191 (in 2016) and an area of 3.28 km² (1.27 sq mi).

Sights

On Old Church Hill there is an underground cemetery called Kabelias, which was used from the 15th to the 18th century, which today is under heritage protection. Vändra church, dedicated to St. Martin, belongs to the EELK Vändra Martin parish, located in Kirikumäe in the village in 1787. The church built in 1841 is single-aisled, the tower was added in 1841. A memorial stone has been erected over the former wooden church and manor. The Vana-Vändra manor house is a ruin, the town's stage stands in the park. The Uue-Vändra manor house was located on the banks of the Käru river, which was burned down during the 1905 revolution and was destroyed in the

Second World War 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 ...

after the Paide road rolled. The former location of the manor is surrounded by the old and species-rich Rõusa Park, which also houses the central building of the Vändra Forestry. In front of the school building is a statue of the Vändra bear, which was donated to the school by the

alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, school A school is the educati ...

of the Vändra Gümnaasium (Vändra Gymnasium). The school garden was built in 1924. It has fruit trees, rock garden, sample beds of summer and perennial flowers and a heated

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

. In 2004, a fountain was built in the school garden for its 80th anniversary. Composer Mihkel Lüdig, who spent the last years of his life in Vändra and was buried in the Vändra cemetery, is commemorated by a memorial plaque standing on the wall of the house opposite the buildings of the former school for the deaf.

History

Vändra was first mentioned as a village in 1515 in ''Wenderskull''. Vändra manor was built in the second half of the 16th century. Since the year 1884, local landowners Ditmars divided the manor into Vana-Vändra manor and Uue-Vändra manor. Southeast of Vändra, Suurejõi, there was a small industrial center by the Pärnu River, where there was a water mill and earlier, a copper factory. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Vändra glass factory was established in the current Võidula manor, which ended its work only in the days of the

Republic of 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 ...

. Vändra became the economic and cultural center of Pärnumaa. The railway reached Vändra in 1928. With nearly 1,000 inhabitants, it was one of the largest church settlements in Estonia. On September 13, 1945, Vändra received the status of a town. From 1950 to 1962, Vändra was the district center. Vändra received the status of a municipality in 1993.

Notable people

* Karl von Ditmar (1822–1892), Baltic-German geologist and explore * Tanel Kangert (born 1987), professional cyclist * Alar Laneman (born 1962), politician * Artur Lind (1927–1989), biologist * Mihkel Lüdig (1880–1958), composer * Ain-Ervin Mere (1905–1969), military officer implicated in the Holocaust trials in Soviet EstoniaEstonian reference
* Andres Metsoja (born 1978), politician * Agnes Oaks (born 1970), ballet dancer * Anton Õunapuu (1887–1919), teacher, soldier and founder of the Boy Scouts movement in Estonia * Tarvo Seeman (born 1969), chess player *

Ants Vaino Ants Vaino (15 February 1940 – 15 June 1971) was an Estonian racing driver. He was born in Vändra, Pärnu County. He began his motorsport career in 1965, coached by Arkadi Nõmmeste. In 1969 and 1970 he won silver medal at Soviet Union champi ...

(1940–1971), racing driver *

Johann Voldemar Jannsen Johann Voldemar Jannsen ( – ) was an Estonian journalist. He was one of the earliest figures of the Estonian national awakening, which he promoted through his newspaper, the ''Eesti Postimees'', and two Estonian Song Festivals. He wrote the nat ...

(1819–1890), journalist and poet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandra Former municipalities of Estonia Boroughs and small boroughs in Estonia Populated places in Pärnu County Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish Kreis Pernau