Viljandi vanadel fotodel: fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos
Gespeichert in:
| Format: | Buch |
|---|---|
| Sprache: | Estonian English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
[Tallinn]
Tänapäev
2007
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | Abstract Inhaltsverzeichnis |
| Beschreibung: | Text estn. und engl. - Zsfassung in engl. Sprache |
| Beschreibung: | 156 S. zahlr. Ill. |
| ISBN: | 9789985625903 |
Internformat
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Datensatz im Suchindex
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| adam_text | і я
π
o i
Introduction
Viljandi was first mentioned in writing under the name Yiuende in 1211 when the
ancient local stronghold of Estonians was besieged by the allied forces comman¬
ded by the Order of the Brethren of the Sword. According to the chronicles by
Henry of
Ovonia
there was a wooden stronghold with twofold fortifications that
could not be conquered on the first attempt
-
only priests were allowed to enter
the besieged stronghold.
Already during the Estonian ancient fight for freedom the Germans started to
build a stone castle here that soon became the residence of the powerful com¬
mander of the Order. Immediately after the German conquest a town sprang up
on the northern side of the commander s castle the town bylaws and burghers of
which were first mentioned in
1238.
In the first decades of the 14th century
Viljandi became a member of the mighty
Hanseatic
League. The peaceful life of
the town, developing on the
hasis
of Riga town bylaws and charters confirmed by
commanders of the Order, was interrupted by the Iivonian War and the follo¬
wing Polish-Swedish wars that finally led Viljandi to a long period of stagnation.
The town lost the bylaws and became totally dependent on the local manor.
The new upswing of Viljandi began in the last quarter of the 18th century
when, thanks to the reforms carried out by Empress Catharine II, it became a
district centre and the town bylaws were also restored. The 19th century brought
Viljandi once again among significant settlements
-
handicraft and trade started
to develop, the number of burghers increased. By the turn of the 19th and 20th
centuries Viljandi occupied its full and ecjual position among the provincial
towns of the Iivonian district
-
this was facilitated by the well-developed agri¬
cultural background of the town.
The selection of pictures in this book from the photo collection of Viljandi
Museum reflects the appearance of the town and its closest surroundings from
the last decades of the 19th century until the
1930s.
From among hundreds, the
selection was made in favour of those that are important in the contemporary
history of the town or that mirror bigger changes in the urban space during the
first half of the 20th century.
Ain-Andris Vislapuu
*
V
і
1
j a n
d
і ^
Summary
135
Aerial photo of Viljandi from the height of
800
metres,
1926.
The military aerial photograph was taken from the northeast and it covers almost the whole territory
of Viljandi as it then was
-
only part of Uueveski district in the north towards Tallinn as well as part
of Kivistiku district towards Tartu in the east are cut out. The old cemetery and
Kantreküla
quarter
that were a bit separated from the land of the town are visible above right. Below right we see
Uueveski district that has already been divided into construction plots but is still sparsely populated.
Panorama of Viljandi from the opposite shore of the lake,
1932.
Photo by M.
Teng.
The town started to rise on the northern side of the Order Castle, in the former fields, after the
conquest of the crusaders in the 13th century. According to the currently known data, the burghers
and town bylaws of Viljandi were first mentioned in
1283.
During the Middle Ages Viljandi belonged
to the mighty
Hanseatic
League. After the
Livonian
War and the following Polish-Swedish wars
Viljandi declined. During the Swedish rule the destroyed town was donated to private individuals and
was ruled by the manor. The outlawed situation lasted even during the tsarist period until the last
quarter of the 18th century. Only after the reforms by the Empress Catherine II (Catherine the Great),
in
1783,
Viljandi again acquired its town bylaws and lands, and continued to develop in the same line
with other provincial towns of the Russian Empire. In
1932
Viljandi was a small town of the young
independent Estonian state that offered safe life to its burghers and peaceful recreation milieu for its
visitors.
View of the town from the tower of St. Paul s Church,
1907
or
1908.
On the left the windmill once located at the crossroad of
Turu
and Kaalu Streets; in the right corner
the building of
Klinke
stagecoach station-cum-guesthouse on the site of the present sports facilities.
Almost the whole land of Viljandi town as well as the outskirts by Tallinn Street are visible in the
picture. Until the end of the tsarist period the lands of the town lay on a very small plot. This was
primarily determined by the fact that Viljandi was surrounded by manorial lands from four sides, as
the Viljandi manor refused to give up the rented lands. Even the local German municipality was not
very eager to obtain new lands for the town. Together with the suburbs the number of Estonian
property owners would have increased rapidly and during the elections of the municipality the power
could have been easily passed over to the Estonians.
View of the Old Town across Tartu Street from the northeast
at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the middle the towers of the old Town Hall and St. John s Church. The silhouette lacks one of the
best-known landmarks of Viljandi
-
the water tower. Even from this side Viljandi was bordered by
manorial domains. Felliner
Anzeiger
newspaper characterized the situation as follows: As we know,
the territory of Viljandi town is, literally speaking, very narrow. We lack space for further extension.
New buildings can be set up in the heart of the town only in places where old houses are
demolished
...
View of the old city centre towards Tartu from the belfry of St. John s Church,
early 20th century. Photo by J.
Riet.
In the middle the light building of Viljandi Municipal School in Great Market and, behind it, the belfry
of the old Town Hall. In general outline the streets of Viijandi s Old Town follow the mediaeval plan
but its general appearance comes from the late 18th and the 19th centuries. Today the Old Town has
a lot of greenery as, in September
1944,
drunken Soviet soldiers accidentally burnt down a big part
of the Old Town. Although some stone buildings were completely fit for restoration, the post-war
Communist city government still decided to establish two parks there.
View of the ruins of the Order Castle and the Old Town across the lake,
1920s.
Ruins of the Order Castle, also known as Castle Hills, serve as the best known historical mark of
Viljandi. The ruins consist of three steep-sloped hills where a stone castle with mighty threefold
outworks were built during the rule of the Order. The fourth outwork was made up by the town that
was surrounded by a town wall. After the Polish-Swedish wars in the 17th century the castle ceased
to function as a fortification and fell into oblivion for a long period. The ruins were occasionally
used for obtaining bricks and granite stones. New life emerged there in the second half of the 19th
century and in the early 20th century when the area gradually started to be used as a resting place.
Ruins of Viljandi Order Castle in the summer of
1878,
view from the southeast.
Photo by Th. John (Tartu)
The picture shows archaeological excavations on
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill), commenced on the
initiative of
Theodor Schiemann,
a teacher of history at the
Livonian
County Grammar School,
later a professor at the University of Berlin, and with the financial support of
Friedrich
von
Ditmar, a
retired major general and owner of
Uue-Vändra
manor. The collection of archaeological finds from
I36
γ
1878-1879
formed the basis for the Ditmar Museum that was first maintained by the organizing
committee of the excavations, later by Viljandi Literary Society and was located in the rooms of the
county grammar school. This institution is considered the predecessor of the present Viljandi
Museum.
Ruins of the Order Castle from the south with the steeple of St. John s Church
in the background, early 20th century. Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
The picture shows
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) that held barracks of the knights
-
a convent building of red
bricks which was a typical structure of the order in the Middle Ages. The convent building was
surrounded by granite outworks. The so-called Big Wall on the left is the outer wall of the western
wing of the former convent building; the triangular wall fragment on the right belongs to the
former chapel of the castle and is known under the name „Monk . According to the chronicles the
construction of Viljandi Order Castle started in
1224,
the convent building was most likely completed
in the early 14th century. During the Middle Ages the Order Castle was the residence of the politically
significant commander of Viljandi. The castle located in a strategically significant place was
destroyed during the
Livonian
War and the Polish-Swedish wars in the second half of the 16th
century and the early 17th century.
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) has got its name after a 25-metre deep well
that was found and cleaned out during the excavations in
1878-1879.
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) in August
1923,
view from the northeast.
Photo by J.
Riet.
After getting the permission from the manor, in
1863,
and building the first roads there the ruins of
the castle soon developed into a public place. According to the agreement the site could be used for
walking and organising public events. The archaeological excavations of
1878-1879
aroused still
more interest in this area. After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia this place was taken
over by the municipality and gradually it developed into a popular recreation area of the people of
Viljandi. Already quite early open-air performances were organised there, the first being Salome
performed by Ugala Theatre In the summer of
1920.
The picture shows another open-air play,
King Oedipus , from August
1923.
View of
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) from the second outwork
at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Postcard by G.
Schürmann
publisher
In the middle the gate of the outwork with a dike that connects
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) with another
outwork. During the Middle Ages the site of the dike was most likely occupied by a bridge.
Establishing roads and lanes in the Castle Park, the ruins of
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) were used as
building material. According to the notes of contemporaries, in some places the thickness of the
layer of ruins extended to nine metres.
View of Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) from the southwest,
early 20th century. Photo by J.
Riet.
Viljandi Order Castle suffered badly during the
Livonian
War and the Polish-Swedish wars. Since the
Swedish rule it was no longer used as a military fortification. Soon both the Viijandi manor and the
town started to use this place as an inexhaustible storage of building materials
-
why collect stones
from distant fields if this task had been done already centuries ago. Removing stones from the ruins
continued for a long period. The picture shows the dismantling of mediaeval foundations in the
second outwork. The stones were most likely used for erecting a new building.
Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) in the summer of
1927.
Since the early 20th century, besides serving as a pasture for the sheep of the manor. Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) became a place for holding different sports and cultural events and it
continues to be used for the same purpose even today. For example, the first Viljandi competition in
light athletics was held there in
1913.
This time the photographer has captured a moment from the
Fourth Music Day of
Šakala
County at the beginning of July,
1927.
Sixty four choirs and twelve
orchestras took part. Besides listening to music and songs, an open-air play Outlaw was
performed by Ugala Theatre. On this occasion a special temporary stage was set up on the side of
the hill facing the lake. To make the surroundings more cosy the municipality headed by August
Maramaa planted trees on Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill). On summer Sundays the strollers were
entertained by a brass band for whom a special bandstand was built.
Philosophy Lane in the Castle Park, early 20th century.
Photo by A. Livenstroem.
Philosophy Lane or Thinkers Grove as the Estonians called it was started in the 1880s. The trees
were brought there from the park of the County Grammar School. The name of the lane most likely
derives from the fact that this area was quite separated from the other parts of the Castle Park
which enabled people of Viljandi to reflect upon life there in peace.
137
View of the suspension bridge from
Kaevumägi (VUell
Hill),
1937.
The suspended bridge , officially opened on
1
December
1931,
was given to the town of Viljandi
by the owner of Tarvastu manor,
Karl von Mensenkampff.
The portals and Iron parts of the bridge
were produced In
1879
in Riga Felser
&
Co company. The bridge was commissioned by the
Mensenkampff
family to facilitate access to the family burial chapel in the ruins of Tarvastu castle.
The reconstruction cost
2500
kroons, a hefty sum of money at that time. Before opening the bridge a
weight test of
200
poods
(1
pood
= 16.38
kg) was carried out. A new decree was passed stating that
only peaceful traffic on foot were allowed on the bridge; it was forbidden to run, jump, sway, write
on parts of the bridge, etc. Only twenty persons were allowed to stay on the bridge at any time.
The suspension bridge was last reconstructed in
1995.
View of the
Vares
(Crow) Bridge from the First
ICirsimägi
(Cherry Hill),
1920s.
Photo by M.
Teng.
Establishing a direct connection between Lossi Street and the ruins of the castle was planned already
during the tsarist period but it was postponed due to the decisive resistance from the manor.
Building a connecting road between First
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) and Lossi Street was decided on an
extraordinary meeting of the town council on
20
May
1925.
Producing a project was entrusted to
Johannes
Fuks,
a student of architecture at the University of Danzig. The construction of the bridge
was commenced at the end of August and completed on
9
November of the same year. Although
even a contest was organised to find a suitable name for the bridge, and the name Castle Bridge
won, the bridge was still popularly called
Vares
Bridge after the mayor of the time, Doctor Jaan
Vares.
View of Liberty Square from Tallinn Street,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Tasują
Avenue bordering the square in the northern-southern direction and Vaksall Street In the
eastern-western direction are most likely of ancient origin. In the town regulations from
1481
they
are correspondingly named Notteri and
Kõpu
Roads. The first ran from the gate of the castle towards
Riga Gate, i.e. from the so-called
Kirsimägi
storage to the beginning of Kauba Street; the other
started from the gate and ran towards
Kõpu.
During the tsarist period an orchard of Viljandi manor
occupied the site of the square.
View of Liberty Square from the southeast from St. John s Church,
1930.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The municipality started to turn the area into a square for festive occasions in the second half of the
1920s.
The stone fence surrounding the former manorial orchard was demolished, the trees were
cut down and the surface was levelled. After long debates, in
1926,
the site was chosen for the
monument of soldiers from
Šakala
County who were killed during the War of Independence.
In the same year the construction of the Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia was started. The
surroundings were tidied up and flower beds were made on the square. The municipality wanted to
make the square more presentable in the second half of the
1930s
when a competition was
organised. The returned projects foresaw extensive demolition and construction work but these
plans did not realize due to the Soviet occupation and the following war.
The bankers are moving in. View of the new bank building on Liberty Square,
1927.
The Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia was built in
1926-1927
after the project by architect
Karl
Burman.
It was set up according to the style typical of bank buildings of the
1920s -
with a high
hip roof and wide black window frames. The socle and portal were lined with dolomite.
According to the press the building was erected by Tartu builder Dietrich who had won the
commission; the budget was almost sixteen million marks. The picture shows the strongbox which
cost
400 000
marks being dragged to the first floor. The whole property was moved in by the end
of November,
1927.
View of Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia from the southwest,
from the new mansion of Viljandi manor,
1930s.
Photo by M.
Teng.
By
1927
Viljandi had got the largest, the most modern and impressive building of the time. Till then
this „title had been held by
Eduard
Pohl s apartment and commercial building at the crossing of
Tartu and Lossi Streets. The ground floor of the bank had a post office, a telephone exchange and
an apartment of the bank director; the first floor had a bank hall extending through two storeys and
other bank rooms. The building also accommodated flats for bank officials whereas all the flats were
provided with bathrooms which was quite new at the time. From the upper floors one could see
trains arriving in and departing from Viljandi. The building had also a garage for two cars. In the
summer of
1941
the telephone exchange became one of the headquarters of the destruction
battalion. Fleeing from the German army the ground floor of the bank was set on fire by the mem¬
bers of the destruction battalion who followed the order of commander Pasternak; the timber parts
of the building, including the roof were destroyed in fire. The building stood in ruins for many years
and was later restored in a simplified form.
138
¥
і
1
j a n d
і
í Monument to íhe
soldiers of
Šakala
County killed
¡n
the War of Independece,
, 1926.
Postcard by X
Riet.
ií;
The Viljandi Monument to the War of Independence on Liberty Square was unveiled on
Џ
19
September
1926.
The bronze sculptures of the monument were made by sculptor
Amandus
;;
Adamson,
the base by engineer Vaher. The day of opening was well chosen as Viljandi hosted
«
another popular big event
-
the exhibition of Viljandi Estonian Agricultural Society
-
on that day.
!
According to the contemporaries this might have been the biggest peaceful gathering in Viljandi
¡
ever. For the following fourteen years the monument became the centre of big events
-
anniversaries
í
were celebrated there and guests visiting the town or the county were brought there. Besides the
i; older symbols of Viljandi
-
the lake and the order castle
-
the monument and the surrounding
j
reconditioned area soon became one of the favourite objects for tourists and photographers.
| The monument was blown up on the initiative of local communists, Elfriede Piip and Vladimir
I. Laante, on
19
June
1941.
!
Celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia by Viljandi monument
| to the War of Independence on
24
February
1928.
¡
The 10th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia was celebrated with great festivity also in Viljandi.
j
The number of participants in the festivities was the biggest of all times, partly also as a result of
mild weather. The main event was the joint parade of the armed forces, the Defence League and the
fire-fighters, supervised by general Paul
Lill.
On the same day a memorial tablet dedicated to the
I reading of the Manifesto of Independence was opened on the building of Provincial Court.
í
The beautiful day was somewhat ruined by the fact that the grand salute, eagerly awaited by the
| crowds, was cancelled for unknown reasons.
I The old mansion of Viljandi manor,
ι
early 20th century. Photo by J.
Riet.
| Viljandi manor first served as the estate of the commander of Viljandi which occurs in the old
і
documents under the names Rickhof (Rlkhaue) or Ryngo. At that time the heart of the estate was
| located four miles away from the town. It was moved to the present location in the neighbourhood
j
of the Song Festival Ground only after
1624
when it was owned by the Swedish state marshal,
і
Jacob
de la
Gardie. In
1681
the manor was taken over by the state
-
first the Swedish state and, after
ì
the Great Northern War, the Russian Empire. In
1744
the Empress decided to give the manor to her
і
young cousin, Maria Tshoglokova. There is no data whether the owners ever visited the place or how
í
often they came there. The manor was run by bailiff, Fabian
Friedrich Wickhorst.
During his rule, in
1746,
the manor house in the picture was built
-
an archaic timber building with a high partial hip
í
roof, 16-paned windows and a wide shelter in front of the main entrance. The building was
і
demolished in the end of
1938
after long disputes with the owner, Heinz
von Ungern-Sternberg.
;
Like in case of old haunted castles, it was used before demolition by criminals and outcasts.
| Today the site of the former manor house is covered by a square with the monument of General
j Laidoner on horseback.
ι
| The facade of the new Viljandi mansion and the manorial park,
і
late 19th century.
ι
The new mansion of Viljandi manor or „the new castle was built in
1879-1880,
some decades after
і
being obtained by
Landrat
Paul
von
Ungern-Sternberg. As the style of the historicist building with
j
neo-renaissance features resembles
Käru
mansion, it is assumed to have been designed by Robert
і
Pflug,
an architect from Riga. Historically this is a rather significant building. In this house
Rittmeister
I Karl
von Sivers
decided who should be shot as punishment In January
1906
for having participated
I in the revolutionary events of
1905.
During the War of Independence two Estonian elite units were
| formed there
-
the Scouts Unit and the
Šakala
Partisan Battalion. At the beginning of the Soviet
j
occupation it accommodated the headquarters of OGPU, Soviet secret service, and NKVD, the
| National Commissariat of Internal Affairs. When the Second World War reached Estonia, it served as
I headquarters of the destruction battalion.
| View of Viljandi petrol station from Tallinn Street,
j
second half of the
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
!
In the
1920s
the number of motor vehicles increased both in Viljandi and the county. In
1926
!
engineer
Friedrich
Werncke got a permission from the municipality to install an automatic petrol
i statlon
near the sales booths on the corner of Vaksali and Tallinn Streets. There was a little shop
: behind the petrol station that sold car accessories. On both sides there were booths owned by the
j
Russian Orthodox church.
;
Beginning of Vaksali Street towards Kantrekiila district,
j ca
1900.
In the middle,
Klinke
post station and a little to the right, the belfry of St. Paul s Church.
On the right, the Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist that was built in
1847
during the moye-
:
ment
of conversion. The church was built of logs without using nails and its ground plan was
m
the
shape of a Latin cross with slightly projecting branches. Being first built as a temporary structure,
:
it had to be repaired all through the time of its existence. In the early 20th century the congregation
І3*>
attempted to build a church with two thrones in the centre of the town but this plan was opposed
by the German municipality. In
1908
they succeeded In obtaining a plot on the territory
of the prison but they had run out of money by that time and the new church was not built.
In
1959
the structure was demolished.
Priest Nikolai Bezanitsky has played a remarkable role in the local history. Allegedly he was one of
the few clergymen who dared to protest openly against the activities of the punishing troops in
1906
and especially against the plan of
Rittmeister von Sievers
to execute people without a trial.
Father Bezanitsky was murdered by communists in Tartu in
1919
together with bishop
Platon
and
others. Since the year
2000
he is the martyr saint of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.
The burial service of Captain Anton Irv was also held in this church.
View of the
Klinke
stagecoach station-cum-guesthouse from the Liberty Square,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The post station in the site of the present sports facilities was most likely built in the early 19th
century.
Friedrich Wilhelm Klinke,
a valet of the Abja Stackelberg family from Brandenburg, was
given the right to run a post station after marrying a housemaid of the manor. The institution was
named after its first owner until the time of its demolition in
1935.
The ground floor of the two-storey
building held a tavern and post rooms; the hotel rooms on the upper floor had upholstered furniture
and expensive carpets, even the passage floor was covered with carpets. For a long period the
Klinke
tavern served as the main entertainment venue of the more snobbish citizens of Viljandi; it even had
billiards, a roulette and a track of bowling. Postal services were offered there until
1933.
Klinke
Garden during its hayday in the 1880s.
In the background the windmill at the crossing of
Turu
and Kaalu Streets.
This was the spring and summer public entertainment venue for the burghers and manor-owners.
One of the most famous traditional celebrations was the spring party. People gathered in
Klinke
garden and summer house already early in the evening. A little before midnight two noblemen
dressed according to custom
-
one in white winter clothing and the other in colourful spring
clothing. On white horses they rode to the ruins of the castle where May bonfires were lit and people
enjoyed themselves until morning
...
View of the surroundings of Riia/Vaksali Street from the cemetery in Riga Road,
1896.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture was taken a little before building Valuoja dike. On the left St. Paul s Church together with
the communal granary; on the right the new mansion of Viljandi manor and St. John s Church of the
town congregation. The communal granary next to St. Paul s Church was demolished in the early
1930s
to make space to the monument of Captain Anton Irv.
Unveiling the monument to Captain Anton Irv
on
6
August
1933
on
Kirikumägi
(Church Hill).
The sculpture was made by Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi).
The monument to Irv was unveiled in the presence of those who had received the Cross of Liberty.
A party headed by general
Johan Laidoner
and defence minister August Kerem arrived on that
occasion. About
500
Brothers of the Cross of Liberty had gathered and took part in a busy day of
events
-
meetings dedicated to the War of Independence and the ancient fight for freedom were
held, lunch was given in the courtyard of the educational society and the common cemetery
of the War of Independence, reconstructed after the plan of Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi), was
consecrated. The inauguration of the monument to Anton Irv was the last in the series of planned
events. Thereafter the guests could participate in the Second Aviation Day of
Šakala
County.
View of Valuoja dike and St. Paul s Church,
1934.
Photo by T. Parri.
In the last decade of the 19th century when the railway line was about to reach Viljandi, the issue of
building a normal connection between the town and the railway station became urgent. The former
road to Kantrekiila district was unusable during the time of thaw and breaking up of roads in the
spring. In
1897
the town and the manor-owners reached an agreement concerning the dike -the
building was to be financed by both parties, a substantial support was given by the convent. The
dike was completed in
1898
and the waters of the Valuoja Stream were directed to a pipeline under
the dike. It was decided to build a pond between the two roads that would serve as a watering place
in case of fires. The old road is visible on the right and Valuoja dike on the left.
Interior view of the festively decorated St. Paul s Church,
1924.
Photo by J.
Riet.
In
1860
the Convocation decided to have the big Viljandi congregation that consisted of almost
15,000
members. At the same time it was agreed that St. John s Church remains belonging to the
smaller town congregation and a new larger church would be built for the big rural congregation.
The cornerstone of the church was set on St. Peter and Paul Day, on
29
June
1863.
Thus St. Paul
became the patron saint of the church.
140
V i i j a n d í
attempted to build a church with two thrones in the centre of the town but this plan was opposed
by the German municipality. In
1908
they succeeded in obtaining a plot on the territory
of the prison but they had run out of money by that time and the new church was not built.
In
1959
the structure was demolished.
Priest Nikolai Bezanitsky has played a remarkable role in the local history. Allegedly he was one of
the few clergymen who dared to protest openly against the activities of the punishing troops in
1906
and especially against the plan of
Rittmeister von Sievers
to execute people without a trial.
Father Bezanitsky was murdered by communists in Tartu in
1919
together with bishop
Platon
and
others. Since the year
2000
he is the martyr saint of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.
The burial service of Captain Anton Irv was also held in this church.
View of the
Klinke
stagecoach station-cum-guesthouse from the Liberty Square,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The post station in the site of the present sports facilities was most likely built in the early 19th
century.
Friedrich Wilhelm Klinke,
a valet of the Abja Stackelberg family from Brandenburg, was
given the right to run a post station after marrying a housemaid of the manor. The institution was
named after its first owner until the time of its demolition in
1935.
The ground floor of the two-storey
building held a tavern and post rooms; the hotel rooms on the upper floor had upholstered furniture
and expensive carpets, even the passage floor was covered with carpets. For a long period the
Klinke
tavern served as the main entertainment venue of the more snobbish citizens of Viljandi; it even had
billiards, a roulette and a track of bowling. Postal services were offered there until
1933.
Klinke
Garden during its hayday in the 1880s.
In the background the windmill at the crossing of
Turu
and Kaalu Streets.
This was the spring and summer public entertainment venue for the burghers and manor-owners.
One of the most famous traditional celebrations was the spring party. People gathered in
Klinke
garden and summer house already early in the evening. A little before midnight two noblemen
dressed according to custom
-
one in white winter clothing and the other in colourful spring
clothing. On white horses they rode to the ruins of the castle where May bonfires were lit and people
enjoyed themselves until morning
...
View of the surroundings of Riia/Vaksali Street from the cemetery in Riga Road,
1896.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture was taken a little before building Valuoja dike. On the left St. Paul s Church together with
the communal granary; on the right the new mansion of Viljandi manor and St. John s Church of the
town congregation. The communal granary next to St. Paul s Church was demolished in the early
1930s
to make space to the monument of Captain Anton Irv.
Unveiling the monument to Captain Anton Irv
on
6
August
1933
on
Kirikumägi
(Church Hill).
The sculpture was made by Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi).
The monument to Irv was unveiled in the presence of those who had received the Cross of Liberty.
A party headed by general
Johan Laidoner
and defence minister August Kerem arrived on that
occasion. About
500
Brothers of the Cross of Liberty had gathered and took part in a busy day of
events
-
meetings dedicated to the War of Independence and the ancient fight for freedom were
held, lunch was given in the courtyard of the educational society and the common cemetery
of the War of Independence, reconstructed after the plan of Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi), was
consecrated. The inauguration of the monument to Anton Irv was the last in the series of planned
events. Thereafter the guests could participate in the Second Aviation Day of
Šakala
County.
View of Valuoja dike and St. Paul s Church,
1934.
Photo by
T. Parrî.
In the last decade of the 19th century when the railway line was about to reach Viljandi, the issue of
building a normal connection between the town and the railway station became urgent. The former
road to Kantrekiila district was unusable during the time of thaw and breaking up of roads in the
spring. In
1897
the town and the manor-owners reached an agreement concerning the dike -the
building was to be financed by both parties, a substantial support was given by the convent. The
dike was completed in
1898
and the waters of the Valuoja Stream were directed to a pipeline under
the dike. It was decided to build a pond between the two roads that would serve as a watering place
in case of fires. The old road is visible on the right and Valuoja dike on the left.
Interior view of the festively decorated St. Paul s Church,
1924.
Photo by J.
Riet. , ,
In
1860
the Convocation decided to halve the big Viljandi congregation that consisted of almost
15,000
members. At the same time it was agreed that St. John s Church remains belonging to the
smaller town congregation and a new larger church would be built for the big rural congregation.
The cornerstone of the church was set on St. Peter and Paul Day, on
29
June
1863.
Thus St. Paul
became the patron saint of the church.
HO
1905.
The forerunner of the later match factory was a factory founded in Tiirgasoo in
1904
by
Eduard
Pohl
and Johannes Wichwelin. Already by the beginning of the First World War it became the biggest
match factory of Estonia which had the biggest number of workers and the largest production.
In the
1920s
the
Pohl
match factory was considered to be technically the most contemporary and,
at the same time, the most successful exporter among equals. This enabled to resist the pressure of
the Swedish match industry longer, until
1928.
Today only the water tower on the left, built in
1921,
has survived.
View of Viijandi railway station from
Pärnu Road
in
1896,
immediately before the railway reached Tiirgassoo district. Photo by J.
Riet.
In the 1890s the
Valga-Moisaküla-Pärnu
narrow gauge railway was built. On the initiative of local
manor-owners and the municipality of Viijandi a branch line was soon extended to Viijandi.
The building expenses reached
2.5
million roubles, part of the sum was given by the First Russian
Access Route Railway Society. More than
500
workers were engaged in building the railway line and,
on
31
January
1897,
traffic was festively opened there. In the meantime the railway buildings had
been completed by Viijandi manor. In the following year the construction of the Viljandi-Tallinn line
was started, which was opened in the summer of
1900.
As at the time the railway station was located
about half
a verst
(1
verst =
1.07
km) away from the town, a plan emerged to move it closer to the
town centre
-
to a site in the neighbourhood of the present St. Paul s Church and Kaalu Street.
The plan did not realize due to the death of its initiator, alderman
Aleksander
August Rosenberg.
Viijandi railway station from the direction of
Mõisakiila,
early 20th century. People are waiting for the train. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
At noon of
17
November
1896
the last sleepers were fixed with silver nails by the builder
of the railway, engineer
Hackel,
mayor Max Schoeler and the owner of Viijandi manor,
Oswald
von
Ungem-Sternberg.
A big crowd had gathered to see this event in spite of the cold weather with eight degrees below
zero. This was quite natural as people realised that in many respects Viijandi had stepped into a new
era. From now on bigger towns of the provinces of Livonia and Estonia came closer to the sleepy
provincial town, goods exchange and communication with more distant areas livened up. In spite of
the high price already
488
train tickets were sold during the first ten days after opening the railway
traffic. In
1899
a citizen of Viijandi could reach
Pärnu
by an express train in four and a half hours
which makes the average speed
25
versts per hour
(1
verst
= 1.07
km). The speed of an ordinary
train was still smaller, about
18
versts per hour and the passengers had to suffer on the same
for six hours.
Viijandi Dairy Society from
Kirikumõisa/Kalevi
Street,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Viijandi Common Dairy (later Dairy Society) started to operate in the rooms of the former Viiratsi Inn
in the spring of
1912.
At the same time the construction of a new building in
Kantreküla
district,
at the corner of
Kirikumõisa
and
Tööstuse
Streets, was started. The production began on
1
February
1913.
Aerial view of Viijandi
Männimäe
airport,
July
1932.
Photo by T. Parri.
On the initiative of Viijandi mayor, August Maramaa, the
Šakala
County Aerial Society was founded
in
1931.
With relief work and state financial aid of
800
kroons an area close to Riga Road in
Männimäe
district was cleared up and turned into an aerodrome with the size of
14.8
hectares.
Later a two-place hangar was also built there. The picture shows the First Flying Day of
Šakala
County that was held on
10
July
1932.
It was attended by nine military planes and three private
planes. One of the latter was owned by Heinz
von Ungern-Stemberg,
a famous aviation enthusiast of
Viijandi who also organised joyrides for better-off clients during the same event. Among other public
figures the Defence Minister Kerem and General
Tõrvand
participated in the event during which a
gas war was staged and a parachute jump was demonstrated to the public.
View of the crossing of Vaksali, Kauba and Tallinn Streets,
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The picture shows the historical entry to the town of Viijandi from the direction of Riga. In the Middle
Ages the Riga Gate was situated on the site that covers the housing on the left and even part of the
pavement. By the early 20th century only the Gate Inn
- Pfortenkrug - was
left of the former gate.
Soon
Chr. Rotermann
built his first Viijandi shop building on the same site. The view on the right
leaves out the apple orchard of Viijandi manor.
Beginning of Tallinn Street, view to the north, i.e. towards Tallinn,
second half of the
1920s.
For a long period until the establishment of the Republic of Estonia, the Tallinn Street served as a
border between the town and the countryside. The front of houses on the left was built on the
manorial land that had been sold for plots; the right side of Tallinn Street was owned by the town.
It essentially resembled a big village lane and therefore it was not paved. Tallinn Street was paved
142
■■«§>
γ
up to the new border of the town only ¡n
1926.
The picture shows that paving work is about to be
finished and the leftover cobblestones are waiting to be taken away. Behind the cabbies on the left
there were the sales booths owned by the Russian Orthodox church.
View of Tallinn Street from the former Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society towards
Tallinn, early 20th century. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
On the left of the still unpaved Tallinn Street, behind the man with a bicycle, one can see the former
Seasaare Inn owned by the manor. Contrary to the genteel company of the
Klinke
Tavern the
customers of this entertainment venue were much more down-to-earth
-
mainly peasants who had
arrived in town to do business or go to the market, but also the common people living in the
suburbs. Most likely the inn was first located in the northern side of the town but when the area was
handed over to the town in the second half of the 18th century, the manor moved the inn to a new
location. The courtyard of the inn had the popular Public Garden.
Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society,
ca
1913.
The structure with
Hanseatic
gothic influences was built in
1907,
first as a department store of
Christian
Rotermann.
It was planned and built by Viijandi master builder
Buchstädt.
For some
reasons the son of
Chr. Roterman
decided to finish doing business in Viijandi and put the building on
sale, first offering it to the local society of manor-owners who refused the offer. In
1913
the house
was purchased for
55,000
roubles by the local agricultural society, additionally a big plot was also
obtained. Besides the agricultural society the house also accommodated Viijandi branch of Estonian
Loan and Savings Society and there was a teahouse in the yard. The store of the society that
imported modern agricultural equipment, fertilizers, etc was especially reputable among the farmers.
Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Soon the former
Rotermann
department store became too small for the agricultural society and the
management decided to order an annex. In
1923-1925
the house was rebuilt after the project by a
Finnish citizen, O. Lehtinen. The building was extended twice and a third storey was added. The
structure, changed architecturally beyond recognition, lost its characteristic gothic triangular gable
with narrow sharp-arched white niches and small towers; stepped gables were added to the end
facades. Besides the rooms of the society and the shop the considerably more spacious building
now also accommodated the
Põllumeeste
Kodu
(Home of Farmers) guesthouse together with the
buffet of the same name.
Opening of the exhibition of the Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society in the yard
of the society,
1926.
View from the north towards the new manor house.
The first exhibition of agriculture, handicraft and domestic animals of Viijandi Estonian Agricultural
Society took place in Viijandi already on
21-22
August
1883.
Altogether
41
horses and a lot of smaller
livestock were brought to the agricultural show by the farmers. Women also participated in the show
by displaying their handicraft. This event started a tradition that lasted until the Soviet occupation
-
the annual exhibitions were events of the year that people were greatly looking forward to.
The displays of the shows became more varied as agricultural machines were also exhibited besides
livestock and items of handicraft. The agricultural show in the picture took place in the yard of the
recently rebuilt house of the society and was to some extent different from the others. It was visited
by the State Elder, Jaan Teemant, who had come to Viijandi to unveil the local monument of the
War of Independence.
Feldt printers in Tallinn Street at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
View from Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society.
Friedrich
Feldt
(1833-1920)
was the founder of the first print shop in Viijandi. The print shop,
operating since
1875,
was first located in the old wooden house opposite the so-called
Riet
House on
the corner of Harjutuse/Koidu and
Posti
Streets, later it was moved to a considerably more spacious
building in Tallinn Street that has survived without being rebuilt. In
1910
the house was considerably
extended and an Art
Nouveau
tower was added. The owner of the print shop, F. Feldt, had worked as
an assistant printer in Narva and a master of a printing machine in Tartu. A lot of books in Estonian
and in German as well as the local German Felliner
Anzeiger
newspaper and the Estonian
Šakala
newspaper were printed there. Alongside Laakmann s and Schnakenburg s the Feldt print shop was
one of the most important printers of Estonian-language literature in Estonia. In
1906
the shop was
purchased by Ernst Ring.
View of Seasaare Inn from Tartu Street,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The Seasaar Inn (Pig s Island) that had hosted farmers arriving in town and leaving the town for
more than a hundred years was rebuilt in
1922-1924.
The upper storey was added to the building
that temporarily became also the home of Viijandi Ugala Drama Theatre. The ground floor continued
to hold shops and the tavern itself. The structure suffered great damage during the Second World
War when the rooms of the theatre were deliberately set on fire. After the war the building
N3
was reconstructed after the plan of architect Johannes
Fuchs
by following the rules of Stalinist
architecture. Together with the sports facilities it serves, until today, as one of the best examples of
this style in Viljandi. Starting from
1953
the Viljandi Cultural Centre operates in this building.
Former Russian Club in
Turu
Street,
1915.
The Russian Social Society or the popularly-named Russian Club was founded in
1902
and it held
meetings in different rooms all over the town. For example, its activities started in a small cottage in
the yard of
Klinke
post station. The society s own house was built at the crest of patriotic enthusiasm
during the difficult years of the First World War and it was completed in 191S. Alongside the club
rooms, the library and an infirmary for the wounded arriving from the front were also set up.
The first market day on the new market of Viljandi,
1933.
View from the crossing of today s
Turu
and Jaama/Kaalu Streets.
It was obvious by the early
1930s
that the space on the former trading place in Great Market was
insufficient for the needs of the town. As an improvement the municipality decided to pave the
square in the western side of the town and move trading there. A new market hall was also erected.
On
16
May
1933
the first market day took place there. According to
Šakala
newspaper there was now
enough space for everyone and the buyers escaped the former ordinary nuisance -the wagon
grease sticking to their clothes. After the market had been transferred, the business life of the town
also started to move to that area. The former market square was replaced by a park.
Noble residence on the corner of Tallinn and
Posti
Streets,
end of the 19th century.
The grand residence, built in Tallinn Street in
1852-1866,
belonged to the owners of Karula manor,
the
von Helmersen
family. The front of the house holds a balcony resting on four rectangular
columns and a frieze with rich
figurai
compositions. The late classicist structure was obviously
influenced by the renaissance palaces of Italy. The building stands out in Viljandi due to its variety of
decor. During the Republic of Estonia it accommodated a casino of officers, during the Soviet period
it served as a location for a military unit.
View of the so-called
Stift
House from the direction of Tallinn,
early 20th century.
The large noble residence on the corner of Tallinn and Veske/Jakobsoni Streets, owned by a retired
major,
Claus von Staden,
was completed in the 1790s. The structure is mentioned among the most
distinguished late 18th and early 19th century buildings in Southern Estonia. The two-storey
hip-roofed house proceeds from the examples of early-classicist buildings of Tartu. In
1803
the
Livonian
Knighthood purchased the residence for single noble virgins. The building was extended
by an annex towards Veske/Jakobsoni Street. Every spinster had a separate room and a servant for
three. After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia the house was nationalized. The life of the
ladies now became considerably more limited as a kindergarten, a retirement home, a primary
school and a shelter for the orphans were also lodged there. In
1935
the residence was given to the
Ministry of Military Affairs and the last twelve noble ladies were accommodated in
Vinni
manor.
The retirement home and the kindergarten were transferred to Viiratsi. In
1938
the
Šakala
Partisan
Battalion settled in the building. After the Second World War it was used by the Soviet military
who thoroughly devastated the building before leaving.
Prayerhouse of the Moravian congregation on the corner of Tallinn and Uus Street,
1910s.
Postcard by J.
Riet.
The prayerhouse of the Moravian Brethren was completed in
1907,
designed by architect Rudolph
Moritz von Engelhardt.
The house was consecrated in October of the same year by deacon Weber
from Tartu, speeches were also made by pastor Ernst
Mickwitz
and
Landrat von
Helmersen from
Karula. Above the door of the prayerhouse a sentence Keep watch and stay in faith was written
in golden letters.
Courtyard of the new prison of Viljandi with the view towards the town centre,
1930s.
Photo by A.
Järvekülg.
Planning a new prison in Viljandi was started already in the early 1890s but the cornerstone was set
only in the spring of
1914.
As predicted, the place of confinement for
120
prisoners was to be
completed by January,
1916.
However, finishing the prison was postponed by the First World War
and the following War of Independence. The unfinished structure was used during the War of
Independence for keeping the soldiers of the North-Western Army who had caught typhoid fever or
were suspected of being infected in quarantine. The construction continued only in
1928
and in the
autumn of
1929
the prisoners moved from the narrow chambers in Koidu Street to the then modem
and spacious rooms. The journalist from the
Oma
Маа
newspaper who visited the new building
pointed out the water closets and washing rooms with showers that only few could afford outside
the prison. In their new home the prisoners had
36
cells with close to
200
normal places, yet up to
600
persons could be lodged there if needed. There was also a library with
1000
books, a smithy, a
bookbinding workshop as well as shoemaker s and tailor s workshops.
144
View of the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square from the water tower,
mid-1920s. Most of the local taxis have lined up in front of the old pharmacy
(out of view). Photo by J.
Riet.
The
Johan
Laidoner Square was a historical market square of Viljandi that was used already in the
Middle Ages, most likely in the second half of the 13th century. On the side of the square towards
the lake, next to the present old Water Tower, there was a town church in the Middle Ages that was
dedicated to Apostle John and Santa Clara and the ground plan of which resembled that of St.
John s Church in Tartu. The church was surrounded by a cemetery. The southern side of the square
held the town hall, a hospital and a schoolhouse. The data about the rest of the housing are scant
but according to archaeological studies one might presume that the square was surrounded by
two- or three-storey burghers dwellings. The square preserved its significance as a town centre even
during the following periods. In the second half of the 18th century two of the four new stone
buildings were erected just there. One of them was originally a courthouse, later a schoolhouse,
and the other was the old pharmacy. In order to bring greenery to the town centre the municipality
planted four oak trees there in
1904.
View of the northern side of the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
1926.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The pharmacy on the left was built by pharmacist Joachim Schoeler in the last quarter of the 18th
century as a chemist s and a residence. At that time it was one of the first four stone buildings that
were erected in Viljandi during the modern era. In the 1880s the house got a mansard. Until
1902
it was owned by the Schoeler family, thereafter it was leased. The establishment, owned in the
meanwhile by pharmacists
Kersten
and Stedding, finally went over to Gottlieb Herman
Jürgens
who
ran the pharmacy until
1940.
Starting from
1942
it houses the Viljandi Museum.
Taxi rank in Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
late
1920s.
In the 1920S-1930S there were mostly two stops for cabbies in Viljandi
-
one of them was located
in front of the old pharmacy, the other at the beginning of Tallinn Street. In late
1922
there were only
four registered taxis but thirty three cabmen. Yet the break came in the
1920s -
by the end of the
decade there were already twenty four registered taxis. Some of them drove at such unreasonable
speed that the police considered it necessary to fine them. For example the owner of car no
25
was
fined for speeding at
30
km per hour.
Morning of a market day in Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square.
View towards the Town Hall,
1910.
Photo by Christine
&
Co (Narva).
On the right two thirds of the Provincial Court
{Landesgericht)
set up in
1768
as the first stone
building erected after a long period of stagnation. Already in
1790
it accommodated a two-class
public primary school that was turned into a three-class county school in
1804.
Starting from
1885
first a three-class and later a four-class municipal school operated there. In
1912
the school was
named after Prince Barclay
de
Tolly and was converted into a four-class grammar school. A great
number of Estonian public figures, including Jaan
Tõnisson
and
Johan
Laidoner, studied in the
municipal school. The house, first with a mansard and a broken hip roof, was rebuilt in
1890
and
has preserved its appearance from that time. In
1932-1940
it served as barracks of the 5th artillery
group, later it accommodated several public offices.
View of Great Market/
Johan
Laidoner Square on a market day,
early 20th century. In the background St John s Church. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
In the early 20th century markets were held twice a week in Viljandi
-
on Tuesdays and on Fridays.
Starting from
1909
also Thursday became a market day. Here the countrymen sold their goods from
simple wagons, the tables covered with shelters were used for trading by haberdashers, women
selling buns and cookies, shoemakers, hat-makers and tinsmiths. The so-called horse bow tax was
collected from the stall keepers by a market bailiff. It ranged from
5-25
kopecks -the most expensive
places were in front of the pharmacy. In the 19th century the market square and the neighbouring
streets also served as sites for great fairs
-
at Candlemas, Shrovetide, St. George s Day, St. John s
Day and Michaelmas. The fairs attracted customers even from more distant places; entertainers,
merry-go-rounds, organ-grinders and monkey tamers were also present, not to mention a cinema
and a puppet theatre. In order to maintain common prosperity, in the end of the 19th century fairs
also took place on the meadow by the lake and, since
1905,
already all the fairs were held there.
View of the northern side of the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
1910-1912.
In the middle the modern hotel on the corner of Hiire Street and Great Market.
Grand Hotel, built in
1910
by the Ormisson family on the site of a wooden guesthouse that had
been destroyed in fire, was at that time undisputedly one of the most representative buildings in
town. This is an oblong three-storey historicist building influenced both by renaissance and gothic
architecture. Until EVE was completed, Grand Hotel was the most elegant lodging house in Viljandi,
it was known for its excellent food and high-quality entertainment. After the Second World War the
expropriated building accommodated several schools, including the predecessor of the present
Viljandi Culture Academy of the University of Tartu.
І-И
General Laidoner
Square/Johan
Laidoner Square,
view towards the new Town Hal!,
1936.
Photo
by
T. Parri.
The primary function of the market square was preserved until
1933
when trading was moved to its
present location. The vacant square with four oaks planted there already in
1904
was transformed
into a park. A fountain was built by the municipality in the middle of the park and a sculpture by
August Vomm, „A Boy with a Fish , was set up there. The former Great Market was named after
the honorary citizen of Viljandi, General Laidoner, on his birthday on
12
February
1934.
During the
Soviet occupation, since August
1949,
the square was shortly named after Jaan
Tomp,
an Estonian
communist. In the middle, between two trees, a new market hall was built in
1912,
which had a wine
shop until
1944.
An explosion that took place in the same store in September of the same year
caused a fire that destroyed the centre of Viljandi.
View of Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square towards
Trepimäe,
early 20th century.
From the wooden houses on the left the one in the foreground belonged to Viljandi elementary
school and the more distant one to Sproghe (later: Bristol) Hotel. The upper floor of the wooden
house on the left was the home to
Friedrich Kuhlbars,
a legendary schoolman and historian.
Kuhlbars was
born on
17
August
1841
in
Sangaste Uniküla
village, he studied in primary and county
schools of Tartu as well as in Tartu Teachers Seminary.
Kuhlbars
came to Viljandi in
1862
to work as
a teacher in the elementary school where he stayed for the next
33
years. After being fired for not
knowing Russian, he worked as a writer and devoted himself to studying antiquities and place
names.
Kuhlbars
died on
28
January
1924
and was buried in the cemetery in Riga Road. In
1928
the
school where he had worked as a teacher
-
Viljandi First Municipal Primary School
-
was given his
name. In the same year the school was transferred to a new building in Hariduse Street.
View of the northern side of Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square from the
Kuhlbars
House,
1910s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture shows the Market Hall that was built in
1912
next to the Grand Hotel on the crossing
of
Hűre
Street and Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square. It housed a spirits store until
1944.
In September
1944
when the Red Army entered the town, an explosion took place in the cellar of the
store and fire spread in Hiire and Linnu Streets. The fire was the biggest in the history of the town.
The building on the right was owned by Viljandi Municipal Primary School where
Friedrich Kuhlbars
worked as a teacher for a long period.
Brand-new water tower,
1911.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
The water tower in the square was built in
1911
due to establishing waterworks and it is one of the
oldest in small towns of Estonia. The tower owes its distinguished appearance to its body built of red
bricks and a wider octagonal water tank, which is why it was called a potato masher. A well made ¡n
the neighbourhood of the town s slaughterhouse supplied the tower with water. The water reservoir
installed in the water tower was made in the factory of
Uno Pohrt
and, according to different data,
its capacity was estimated at
6600-8000
buckets. Now the structure is used as a viewing tower.
View of the old Town Hall and Linnu Street from the south,
1920.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The old Town Hall of Viljandi was one of the four survived old stone houses. It was built in
1768-1774
and was originally owned by
Johann Nicolaus
Otto, a lawyer and burgomaster of justice of the town.
In
1783
it was leased to the newly-established magistrate and inland revenue office of the county.
The structure had a hip roof and like other prime stone houses in town, it represented the style of
Baroque that was about to end. The clock tower was built in
1838
when the house was legally
owned by the town. The clock had a wooden clockwork and caused a lot of worry to the burghers
as it was fast in dry weather and went slow in damp weather. The clock tower became the most
significant place at the turn of the year when a choral songs were performed there to the burghers
gathered on the Great Market.
View from the water tower to the old Town Hall, Girls Grammar School and the district
towards Tartu,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The buildings in the background
-
the so-called Loorits House on the left and the town s hospital
on the right. The building next to the Town Hall was owned by the girls grammar school the
predecessor of which started to operate as a one-year school already in
1805.
In
1848
it was turned
into a two-year school. The appearance of the structure in this picture comes from the reconstruction
in
1922-1923.
At that time the school was named Viljandi Municipal
Realgymnasium
for Girls.
In
1926
the educational establishment was united with the municipal common commercial
gymnasium and some time later it was moved to Jakobsoni Street. Now Viljandi
2nd
Municipal
Primary School is operating in this building.
The back and garden of Viljandi Town Hall,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
It was obvious by
1931
that the old town hall had become outdated. According to the opinion of
town engineer, Erich Otting, the structure needed to be thoroughly reconstructed as the joists and
HÓ
ţ
roofs were decayed, the floors were worn and the whole building survived only on good faith .
|: Although one also discussed building a new town hall, it was still decided to reconstruct the old
Ì:
structure. In
1931
extensive reconstruction was carried out after the plan of town engineer Ottlng
|j himself. Only the walls of the ground floor of the old house survived. An electrical clock, bought from
V: the German Siemens company, was installed in the new clock tower, and the first strikes of it could
Џ,
be heard on St. John s night of
1932.
After the reconstruction a lot of new rooms were added.
it The old town hall had held only seven workrooms; the new town hall had eleven rooms on the
i : ground floor and five offices on the upper floor as well as a little hall, a caretaker s flat and a tower.
Simultaneously with reconstruction the courtyard was tidied up, the old stables and an old dwelling
were demolished, an ugly fence separating the town hall from the Girls Grammar School was
removed. Thus a new green area was formed and named the Town Hall Square.
View along Lossi Street to the north and northeast,
1911.
Postcard by
A. Tõllasep
publisher.
Lossi Street functioned as one of the main roads of the town already during the Middle Ages. It
extended from the castle first to the market square and then further to Tartu Street. Tartu Gate was
located a bit closer to the spot where the current picture of the crossing of Lossi and Tartu Streets
was taken. The remains of the gate were discovered during the excavations in
1911
when
waterworks was established in the town centre. For a long period Lossi Street remained one of the
main business streets and was popularly called
Poe
Street (Shop Street). In the middle the wooden
dwelling on the corner of Lossi and Tartu Streets, owned by
Aleksander
August Rosenberg and later
his heirs, that was replaced by hotel-cum-restaurant EVE in
1939.
In the last quarter of the 19th
century Rosenberg was considered one of the wealthiest citizens of Viljandi. In spite of his peasant
origin he was respected by the local Germans
-
alderman Rosenberg almost beat
Otto von
Engelhardt during the elections of the mayor of Viljandi on
20
March
1898.
Hotel and restaurant EVE,
late
1930s.
Photo by T. Parri.
The wooden buildings, located on the lot owned by the heirs of
Aleksander
August Rosenberg and
purchased by the municipality in
1935,
were demolished in the late
1930s.
Commissioned by the
town, the vacant site was filled by hotel EVE and its auxiliary buildings. The first rank EVE hotel-
cum-restaurant was the first grand hotel in Viljandi, although there were altogether eight
hotels-cum-restaurants in the town. Each hotel room of EVE was provided with a telephone and
a bathroom with warm and cold water. The price for a room ranged from
2.5
to
5
kroons, the
restaurant served delicious meals from one to five p.m., a la carte menu was served at any time of
the day. In the evening the restaurant offered live music and cabaret performances. There is official
explanation for the name of the hotel EVE -the press of the time suggested:
Esimene
Viljandi
Esinduslokaal (The First Grand Place of Viljandi).
Construction of hotel and restaurant EVE,
1938.
The project of the municipal commercial and hotel building was made In
1937
by
Eugen
Sacharias,
construction was completed in
1939.
The ground plan of the structure is made up of three rectangles:
the main building by Tartu Street, the annex in Lossi Street and the two-storey structure in the yard.
The building recedes on the corner of two streets so that part of the architectural design
-
the round
staircase
-
Is emphasised. The facade is Inspired by the bourgeois architecture of the
1930s.
The ground floor is separated from the other storeys by a shelter and is made up from a row of big
showcases. In between the windows there are pilasters with capitals decorated with motifs of heads
of grain. The final cost of the building was
252,500
kroons, still additional
27,765
kroons were spent
on furnishing.
Commercial and apartment building on the corner of Lossi and Tartu Streets,
1910.
In
1907 Eduard Pohl, Viljandi
match manufacturer and father of Estonian match industry as he was
called in his necrology by
Päevaleht
newspaper, purchased a real estate on the crossing of Lossi and
Tartu Streets. In
1908
an imposing metropolitan apartment building was set up there in spite of the
scepticism from the Germans. The size of the building was extraordinary in local context and it was
regarded the most stylish building of the town until the Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia was
completed. The general appearance of the building is historicist; besides classicist details ¡t also
contains influences from the renaissance and gothic styles. The house has more or less preserved
its original appearance, The building is also known as
Šakala
Bank after its other owner from a later
period.
View of the crossing of Lossi and Tartu Streets,
ca
1910.
Photo by J.
Riet.
On the left
Eduard Pohl
commercial and apartment building that has been recently renovated.
On the right a single-storey building with projections crowned with neo-gothic stepped pediments,
a structure quite exceptional in Viljandi. This was the office and main entrance of the brewery owned
by Viljandi businessman and industrialist,
Aleksander
August Rosenberg, and later his heirs. During
(47
reconstruction
¡η
1913-1917
the stepped pediments were demolished to build upper storeys.
Later it was known as Viljandi Cafe as, since
1936,
it accommodated Wilesko cafe (the first cafe in
Viljandi) that was generally called Rummu (Rummo) Cafe after the name of its owner.
Viljandi Flax Mill on the crossing of Loss! and Uus Streets,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Viljandi Flax Mill Ltd was established in
1912
with the capital stock of
144,000
roubles. In April,
1913
the pastor of the rural congregation, Jaan Lattik, consecrated the new modern factory with
120-130
workers. It became the biggest enterprise of textile industry in the country which was owned
by Estonian national capital. At the same time it was the biggest industrial enterprise in the whole
Viljandi county. The capital stock of the factory had been compiled by well-known businessmen and
enterprisers of Viljandi
-
A. Tõllassepp,
A. Seisler, J.
Luts,
M.
Kõiva,
J. Vichvelin and J. Metsamärt.
The flax mill operated already before its final completion, i.e. at the end of
1912
and the size of
production constantly grew. Even the First World War did not interrupt work as the demand of the
army for tarpaulin increased
-
contrary to other enterprises more people had to be hired.
The enterprise continued to prosper even all through the first period of independence of the Republic
of Estonia.
Crowded stand of Viljandi racecourse by Uus Street,
1910s.
Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
Going in for equestrian sports became popular both in Viljandi town and county in the last quarter of
the 19th century. The most famous stable all over Livonia at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries was
A. Werncke stable, as horses bred there won several prizes in Riga that was the centre of equestrian
sports at the time. The stables of O.
von
Ungem-Sternberg in Viljandi and that of H.
von Sivers
in
Heimtali did not fall behind either. At the beginning of
1905
it was decided to establish a local riders
society that started to organise horse shows on a M-vakamaa
(1
vakamaa
=
half acre) area in
between
Põltsamaa
and Tartu Roads. The first competitions were held already in August,
1905;
a proper competition site with a
1.5
kilometre track was built in
1907.
The first horse shows held
there were named Felliner
Renner
(Viljandi Races). The development of equestrian sports was inte¬
rrupted by the First World War.
View of Lembitu/A. Maramaa Avenue from Uus Street,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Until the end of tsarist period there were several political and economical reasons to prevent the
town of Viljandi from expanding. After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia these circumstan¬
ces disappeared and new land was used for expanding the town. At first the construction was cen¬
tred in the hill in Jakobsoni Street but also in the triangle between Uus and Tallinn Streets. In
1922
the first inhabitants of tenements in Lembitu Avenue moved in. In
1919-1925
altogether
144
new
apartment buildings were erected in the new quarters of Viljandi.
View of Viljandi St. John s Church from the First
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill)
or the third outwork,
1910s.
St. John s Church is located in the corner between the Castle and the mediaeval town wall. The
history of the church begins with the former Franciscan monastery that was built there in
1466-1472.
The monastery was destroyed in fire during the
Livonian
War, the chapel of the monastery was later
reconstructed as a town church and was dedicated to Saint John. The latest reconstruction of the
survived and thoroughly rebuilt monastery church was preceded by archaeological excavations in
1980-1981.
Extensive archaeological excavations were also carried out in
1989-1990
in the southern
and eastern side of St. John s Church. The findings contained a lot of ceramics, both commodities
and building stones, metal objects, jewellery and other items connected with human activities.
The surroundings of the church were used as a cemetery and
127
human skeletons were found there.
St. John s Church was closed in the
1950s
and taken into use as a store of furniture. In
1986
it was
decided to reconstruct the church into a concert hall, but three years later this plan was changed and
the church was restored, a Christmas sermon was held there in
1991.
The church has stained glass
windows by Renee Aua and an organ given by Ahrtensburg, a twin town of Viljandi. In
2006
the
sculpture „Hope by August
Weizenberg,
long preserved in Viljandi Museum, was also placed there.
Vicarage of St. John s Church in Pikk Street, view from Lossi Street,
early 20th century.
The plan of the vicarage of St. John s Church was made by master builder A.
Härtung in 1894
and
the building was completed in the summer of
1895.
A small outhouse was also completed at the
same time. The facade of the vicarage is enlivened by three projections crowned with pediments that
are decorated with jagged cantilever cornices. During the Soviet period it long housed the lending
department of Viljandi City Library. In
2003
an art centre dedicated to Paul
Kondás,
one of the best
known representatives of naive art in Estonia, was established there. Besides paintings by
Kondás
it
displays mostly
naïve
art, contemporary folk art as well as outsider art.
(48
-......—<#>
v
View of Pikk Street from
Munga
and Kauba Streets,
1910s.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
Villa on the right was owned by
Oskar Gabler,
secretary of the registry office for real estate, now
known as Inkeri House. Villa
Gabler was
completed in
1909.
Both Rudolf
Moritz von Engeihardt
and
Karl
Burman
have been suggested as authors by the researchers, yet there is no clear evidence in
this matter. The villa represents a traditionalist stone building with Art
Nouveau
details adjoined
by a big garden. The distinctive element of the building is an early-gothic column with a capital
accentuating the main entrance. During the Soviet period it housed a Young Pioneers Palace.
Villa Engelhardt/Mats
Nõges
House, view from Pikk Street,
1920s.
Building of Villa Engeihardt was commenced on the corner of Pikk and Lutsu Streets in
1906
when
the wife of mayor
Otto von Engeihardt,
Elisabeth, purchased a plot there. The residential villa was
planned by the brother of the mayor, a well-known Baltic German architect, Rudolph
Moritz von
Engeihardt. An excellent place had been chosen for the villa, the side facing the courtyard offered
isolation and a wonderful view of the lake and the surroundings. The appearance of the building
was influenced by
Heimat
style, but the interior contained a lot of Art
Nouveau
details.
After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia the Engeihardt family leaved for Germany and the
property was soon purchased by Mart Univer. The house was later owned by
Dr
Mats
Nõges
and
correspondingly renamed.
Nõges
came to Viljandi in
1915
and started to work as head of the Red
Cross Infirmary. Starting from
1922
he worked as head of Viljandi Hospital and later as head of
department of internal diseases. Dr. M.
Nõges
was an acknowledged physician and an advocate of
folk medicine.
View of the lower part of Pikk Street from
Järve/Ranna
Avenue,
late
1930s.
On the right part of the so-called Rosenberg-Muks House.
The lower part of Pikk Street, i.e. the section from Lossi Street to
Ranna
Avenue was formerly
regarded as a connection between the town and the one-time harbour. However, archaeological
studies have not confirmed this theory. During modern history this sector was called Jew s Street
(Judengasse)
as many citizens of Jewish descent resided there.
View of the so-called Mules House from the lake,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Commissioned by pastor of Suure-Jaani,
Georg
Rosenberg, the large
Heimat
style residence was
built in the early 20th century. The large-scale building has three storeys, a stylish granite socle and
mansard. In
1944-1983
it was the home to artist Juhan Muks. Muks was born on
6
July
1899.
He acquired art education by studying in Tallinn Industrial School of Art, Pallas Higher Art School,
Latvian Academy of Art in Riga and free academies of Paris. In
1930
Muks came to Viljandi where,
together with other artists (A. Murakin, E. Timbermann, G. Mootse), he established the tradition
of art exhibitions. Alongside portraits, landscapes also became dominant in his art. The artist was
a big lover of nature and a devoted naturalist. Muks died on
23
November
1983
in Viljandi and is
buried in Viljandi Forest Cemetery.
View of
Munga
Street from Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
early 20th century. Photo by F. A. Livenstroem.
The alley starting from the market square and running towards Pikk Street is of mediaeval origin.
According to archaeological data
Munga
Street has not been in intensive use during the Middle Ages
as this seems to have been an excessively wet place that has been repeatedly filled with tree trunks
placed along the street. Most likely
Munga
Street was cobbled only in the middle of the 16th century.
At the same time this is a very interesting area archaeologically as the damp soil has preserved woo¬
den and leather items that are rare in the sandy cultural layers of Viljandi.
Part of Kauba Street towards Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
first half of the
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture shows one of the most legendary haunted castles of the town. This was the so-called old
prison, which was one of the first four stone structures built in the 18th century. First the building
was owned by retired major and Viljandi
Rentmeister, Claus von
Staden,
who is said to have erected
the house by using bricks of very poor quality. Then he somehow succeeded in exchanging the
house, in
1786,
for the courthouse built in Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square and in selling the
latter to the state for a big sum. When a school was accommodated in the stone building on Great
Market/Johan Laidoner Square, the court and the jail were moved to Kauba Street where they
operated for a long period. The building was demolished in
1926
when the plot was given to Viljandi
fire-fighters.
Kassisaba/Oru Street towards southeast,
early 20th century. Photo by H.
Christin
(Narva-Tallinn).
Oru
Street is made up of two historical parts
-
the first part from Lossi Street to Linnu Street
constitutes the mediaeval Lai Street that has been studied archaeologically to some extent.
1
49
Further on the street runs across the mediaeval town wall and makes a sharp bend to the right on
the crossing with Kraavi Street, thereafter it proceeds on the opposite bank of the former moat.
This part of the street, having sprung up in the 18th century, was named Kassisaba (Cat s Tail) due
to the aforementioned bend. The old name of the street is no longer used.
Beginning of Kauba Street towards Tallinn and Riia/Vaksali Streets,
1910s.
The mediaeval Storke Street, later Kauba Street, was one of the main roads of the town for a long
period. Through centuries it served as an access to the market square for people approaching from
the direction of Riga and
Pärnu.
At the time of taking the photo Kauba Street was a proper business
area
-
here one traded gold and silver as well as iron and steel, there were barbershops and grocery
shops. In the foreground
N. Hoff
milliner s workshop and Rubin Eitelberg s gold and silverware shop.
View of Tartu Street towards Lossi Street,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
After the extension of town in the last quarter of the 18th century, Tartu Street proceeded on the
site of the mediaeval road on the edge of the moat-the first building plots were divided there
immediately after restoration of town bylaws in
1783.
Tartu Street gradually became one of the main
business streets of the town. It had a big number of shops and also some handicraft enterprises.
In the right foreground the house owned by tanner Rieprich which played an essential role in the
Estonian history of culture. It was this building that first accommodated the editorial board of
Šakala
newspaper, established by Carl Robert
Jakobson in 1878,
which represented the more radical trend
of the Estonian national movement.
Monopoly liquor store in Kurrikoff House on the crossing of Tartu and Tallinn Streets,
1910s.
Photo by H.
Christin
(Narva).
At noon of
30
June
1900
all pubs in Viljandi were closed down and the sign plates were taken down
from above their doors. This introduced the era of the monopoly of selling spirits that considerably
restricted the activities of taverns. In the 1890s there were more than twenty taverns in Viljandi, now
at first only three of them survived. Later, however, the number of pubs increased to a certain extent.
However, imposing the law of spirits also brought along problems
-
now drunkards appeared in the
streets in spite of strict penalties, bottles of vodka bought from the monopolies were smuggled into
all kinds of places, for example in beer houses or grocer s shops where snacks were available.
Tõllasepp
House in Tartu Street,
ca
1915.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The stone commercial and apartment building in the picture was set up in Tartu Street in
1907
to
replace a former wooden house. At that time the property was owned by master builder Johannes
Kondor
but immediately after completing the house it was purchased by Ado
Tõllasepp
-
therefore
the building is known as
Tõllasepp
House. The author of the plan is not known exactly but the
researchers have suggested the former owner, J.
Kondor.
The structure is one of the most
presentable
еагіу-гоїп
century buildings in Viljandi but by today its former Art
Nouveau
main facade
has been considerably changed due to conversions and by adding the third storey. In the first quarter
of the 20th century
Tõllasepp
House had rooms of Vabadus temperance society, the editorial office
of
Šakala
newspaper, Viljandi s first permanently operating
Teater
Modern cinema, A. Kamsen s
private commercial school of
Valga,
etc.
View of the crossing of Tartu and Lossi Streets towards Tallinn Street,
1910s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The tall ladder and men on top of the post indicate that telephone lines are being installed. Among
other technical innovations telephone was brought to Viljandi in the second half of the 19th century.
The first telephone line, also called a wirespeaker in the local press, was set up thanks to the
permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs by the local industrialist and merchant,
Aleksander
August Rosenberg in
1881.
The line connected his office and brewery in the town with the steam
mill located by the lake and it ran along Tartu Street. Most likely this was one of the first operating
telephone lines in all tsarist Russia. Some time later Viljandi manor also established its
private telephone.
In
1900
the statutes of the local telephone society was ratified and the manors of the neighbourhood
were connected with Viljandi by the telephone exchange set up in the Casino in
Posti
Street.
View of the crossing of Tartu and Lossi Streets from Harjutuse/Koidu Street,
early 20th century. Postcard by
J. Riet.
None of the housing in the picture has survived in its original form. The red brick commercial and
apartment buildings in the middle, erected in the last decade of the 19th century and holding
V. S. Ogurzov shop at the moment of taking the picture, were destroyed in fire during the Second
World War, the survived part was demolished later. Now the site is a parking lot. A modern hotel
was set up opposite the brick buildings in the late
1930s.
The structure on the right, a bakery and a
haberdashery shop, was replaced by a metropolitan building, known also as
Šakala
Bank.
The wooden house on the left has also been replaced by a newer and bigger building.
1
50
VI i j a n d
і
View of the housing of Tartu and
Väike
Streets,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture was most likely taken from a higher place opposite the lake. The large light structure on
the right was the town hospital that was built already in the 19th century and located in
Väike
Street.
The buildings below left belonged to the steam mill owned by the heirs of Rosenberg. The relatively
young alder grove called
Mädalepik
(Rotten Alder Grove) can be seen below right.
End of Tartu Street in Kivistiku district towards Tartu,
1922.
Kivistiku suburb in the neighbourhood of Tartu Street began advancing rapidly in the last quarter
of the 19th century. The suburb sprang up on the manorial land between the foot of the hill in Tartu
Street and the town s poorhouse, built in
1886-1887,
on the crossing of present Jakobsoni and Tartu
Streets (In the middle). As the ground was stony and sloping, it was profitable for the manor to sell
the land into building plots. The overwhelming majority of the first inhabitants of Kivistiku were
made up of cottagers and estate labourers from the country as well as of younger children of farm
households. Here they started to make their living with handicraft or were hired in town as servants
and farmhands. This area was administratively subordinated to Viljandi commune.
View of Kivistiku district from Jakobsoni Street,
ca
1920.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture reflects the situation at the end of the tsarist period
-
a big part of the area by Jakobsoni
Street is still without housing. In the background Lake Viljandi that has played an important role in
the life of the town through centuries. Already the oldest known documents
-
town regulations
of Viljandi
-
contain articles about fishing rights on the lake. Attempts were made to regulate the
connections of the burghers with the lake both by Viljandi manor and the municipality.
Viljandi Craftsmen s Subsidiary Society,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The structure was completed in
1903
under the instruction of master builder Johannes
Kondor.
Both
Kondor
and
Georg Hellat
who planned the house of Estonian Students Society In Tartu have
been suggested as authors of the project. In any case both men were Involved in the construction.
The original ground plan of the building consisted of three rectangles
-
a square two-storey
projection with a vestibule and rooms of the board on the upper floor; a receding single-storey part
towards the street and an oblong hall at the back. The facade of the building facing the street was
enlivened by motifs influenced by Art
Nouveau
and
Heimat
style. The house has been repeatedly
rebuilt and the eclectic small tower with mouldings, arched windows and pediments has disappea¬
red. The Viljandi Craftsmen s Subsidiary Society was founded in
1897,
but the
Livonian
provincial
government registered it only at the beginning of
1900.
At first the society operated in the house of
the agricultural society, later in the house of Helmersen from Karula but finally they made up their
mind to build their own house. During the construction the society acquired heavy debts and
therefore, after reconstructions in
1913,
it was decided to lease the house for showing movies and
organising other kind of activities. In the
1930s
the first sound picture in Viljandi was shown there.
View of the crossing of
Posti
and Lossi Streets towards Tallinn Street,
early 20th century.
On the right Casino, club of the nobility, built in Viljandi in
1843
on the initiative of the local police
chief,
Theodor von
Helmersen. The house is regarded as one of the purest examples of classicist
wooden architecture in the town. The casino served mainly as a club for the manor-owners from
the neighbourhood but also for more educated and wealthier burghers. Here the German community
organised concerts, evenings of debate, lectures, etc. During one lecture
Theodor
Schieman,
a teacher in the County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium,
proposed archaeological excavations
in the ruins of the order castle. During the First World War a small military hospital with thirty beds
operated there. During the Republic of Estonia the building was used by the army. On the right the
facade of the Park Hotel
-
a place where the higher tsarist officials working in the town stayed.
The hotel and the casino shared a common kitchen.
Back view of the casino from Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
For many centuries the area behind the casino had a pond with a small island in the middle.
In winter the frozen pond was used as a skating rink, but it caused problems in the summer. The
stagnant water stank and, since
1883,
repeated attempts were made to dredge the water, it was even
planned to cover the bottom of the pond with stone slabs, but all in vain. Starting from
1892
the
pond was gradually filled with earth and by
1895
it had disappeared. In
1901
a small park was
planted there which was named Children s Park. In
1912,
after establishing waterworks in the town,
the first fountain of Viljandi was built in Children s Park.
15I
View of the crossing of Harjutuse/Koidu and
Posti
Streets from Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
early 20th century. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
During the tsarist period Koidu Street was named Exercierstrasse, i.e. Exercise Street, because in one
end there was the headquarters of the local garrison and a square where the soldiers exercised. Until
the late 1880s Harjutuse Street extended up to Veske Street, afterwards it was expanded up to Uus
Street. On the left, part of the former Feldt print shop where the first
Šakala
newspapers were prin¬
ted. The large stone building on the right is the District Court, built in
1895.
The wooden house next
to the street lamp was replaced by Jaan
Rieťs studio
and residence in
1914.
Viljandi Courthouse,
1910s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
District Court is a two-storey stone building that was planned as a courthouse and completed in
1895.
It was designed by junior architect of the
Livonian
provincial government, G.
Pfeiffer,
and built
by G. Darmer company from Riga. The neo-renaissance stone building follows the street line. In the
early 20th century it was connected with the main building with the help of a gallery on the first floor.
The building has constantly been used by the regional court. From November
1917
until February
1918
it accommodated the local committee of the Soviet authorities. On
24
February
1918
the mayor
of Viljandi,
Gustav Talts,
read aloud the Manifesto of Independence of Estonia from the stairs of the
building. To record this event, a memorial plaque was placed on the wall in
1928.
It was removed in
1940-1990
but now It has been restored.
View of the studio and residence on the corner of
Posti
and Koidu Streets from
Posti
Street,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The building in the picture is considered as a true pearl among the early 20th century residences
and an excellent representative of national romantic style in Viljandi. The house was designed by
architect Karl
Burman
and completed in
1914.
The owner of the house, Jaan
Riet, was
born in
1873
as a carpenter s son in Abja commune. He studied photography with master photographer Hans
Kristin in Tallinn. J.
Riet
opened his own studio in
1898.
In
1903
he attended courses in Frankfurt.
After the completion of his studio and residence in
Posti
Street he intended to expand business
but the First World War took him to the battlefield. During the Republic of Estonia
Riet
worked
successfully, being assisted by his wife with artistic interests, Marie, and his daughter, Hilja, who had
studied in Pallas Art School. In
1940
the
Riet
House was expropriated and, in
1951,
the Soviet
authorities forced the family to leave their home. J.
Riet
died in
1952.
During the period of
1896-1948
almost
80,000
photos were taken in his studios. The artistically and technically top-class photo
collection of
Riet
constitutes a priceless historical source about Viljandi.
View of the eastern side of Projekti/Eha Street from Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
early 20th century. Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
Until the
1920s
Posti
Street extended only to Projekti/Eha Street. The brick building on the left has
survived until today. The adjoining house of the German Artisans Society or
Handwerkerverein was
demolished in the course of extending
Posti
Street. The German Artisans Society was one of the
most vital German organisations of the town besides the Casino. As the Casino had developed into a
relatively closed club of the German gentry, the membership of the artisans society was much more
open. In
1907,
on the 40th anniversary of the society, it contained
143
members. The society included
manor-owners, writers, artisans, merchants, etc. The society had its own school and a library with
more than
2000
books.
Building on the corner of Projekti/Eha and
Väike
Street,
1910s.
The building in the picture was erected in the mid-19th century but its facade gained its final
appearance only by
1911,
after numerous conversions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It was owned by master builder Loorits and is thus known as the Loorits House. Most of its
historicist appearance has been destroyed by today. The dormers on the roof have also disappeared
by adding the third storey.
View of Villa Doll in Jakobsoni Street from the boarding house,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
In
1908
the construction of a villa was commenced in Veske Street of the time for the son of the
pastor of the town congregation, August
Westrén-Dolle,
who resided in Moscow. The two-storey
building with an attic and a partly built basement is topped with a high red-tiled gable roof,
enlivened by slender chimneys and curved dormer windows. The building has smooth lines as
characteristic of Art
Nouveau.
The authorship of the structure is unclear- contemporary press
hinted at „a metropolitan architect , later on several names, including that of Karl
Burman,
have
been suggested by the researchers. During the first period of independence of the Republic of
Estonia
(1918-1940)
the building housed the headquarters of both the 5th Artillery Group and the
4th Division as well as that of
Pärnu-Viljandi
Military District.
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1
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Viljandi Children s Park,
ca
1916.
In
1901
work began to establish Children s Park that was to replace the pond with stagnant water.
In
1912
the town was able to build the very first fountain there. Yet it seems that this was something
new and odd for the people of Viljandi as, according to the press, they started to throw rubbish there
and some of them used the fountain to swim their dogs. Soon the fountain suffered the first act of
vandalism.
Construction of a noble residence in Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
1913.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The building under construction was owned by assistant district chief, Baron Wolff, who has gone
down in local history as a chauvinistic Baltic German as he could not stand his Estonian countrymen.
In
1917
the structure accommodated the Viljandi military and revolutionary committee. In
1921-1933
it held the headquarters of
Šakala
Partisan Battalion. In the late
1930s
the municipality planned to
purchase it for the Viljandi Museum but, as the opposite party violated the contract, the plan came
to nothing.
Headquarters of the Defence League on the corner of
Jakobson!
and Koidu Streets,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The urban villa, owned by the
Stryk
family of
Vana-Võidu
manor, was set up as a single-storey
structure in the late 19th century. After the fire in
1909
the upper storey was added. The historicist
building with
Hanseatic
gothic influences has followed the architectural examples of mediaeval
strongholds which makes it unique in Viljandi. After the
Stryk
family the villa was owned by
Dr. Jaan
Vares;
in
1929
it was obtained by the Defence League that undertook some conversions
in its new headquarters. At the beginning of the Soviet occupation the new power turned the buil¬
ding into a so-called Workers House. After the Second World War a cultural centre and a music
school operated there.
View of
Jakobson!
Street towards Tallinn Street,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
On the left Viljandi Koit (Dawn) Theatre and Music Society. Koit Society was founded in
1869
as the
first Estonian society of Viljandi. Soon it became the main consolidator of Estonian cultural life in
Viljandimaa county
-
it organised parties, meetings, concerts, singing rehearsals, there was also a
drama circle. The best-known event of the society in its first years was the performance of the first
Estonian-language play by
Lydia
Koidula in Viljandi. The society was also active in organising singing
days of the county. For a long period it operated in rented rooms. In
1902
and
1908
it purchased
a plot with buildings on the corner of Harjutuse/Koidu and Veske/Jakobsoni Streets. In
1911
the new
society building was completed after extensive reconstruction. It had all kinds of rooms for social
activities
-
a theatre hall for
500
people, an orchestra, a cloakroom as well as a billiard hall,
a bowling room, a buffet and a reading room.
Veske/Jakobsoni Street on the crossroad of Projekti/Eha Street,
last quarter of the 19th century.
The crowd in the picture has most likely gathered for a procession of a 19th century song festival.
On the left
Gustav
Max Schmidt s School that played an important role in the educational activities of
Viljandi. G. M. Schmidt was an educator who, in
1844,
established a boys private grammar school in
Viljandi with the support of the local German community. This was essentially a classical gymnasium
of arts. The school was officially named G. M. Schmidt s Private Educational Establishment for
Boys or Scmidtsche
Privat-, Lehr- und Erziehnungs Anstalt für Knaben.
Yet popularly it was simply
called Mit s School or Anstat. The educational establishment with a liberal atmosphere, where pupils
of graduating classes were allowed to have beer parties together with their teachers, was able
to give relatively good education. At the same time it served as one of the preconditions for
establishing the
Livonian
County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium in
Viljandi. The structure was
destroyed in fire in
1903.
View of Veske/Jakobsoni Street from Viiratsi, early 1880s.
The picture shows the brand new schoolhouse of the
Livonian
County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium.
It started to operate in
1875
in the rooms of
Gustav
Max Schmidt s private
school. In December
1877
a new two-storey building with one hundred rooms and a horseshoe-
shaped ground plan was completed. The new educational institution, planned by architect
R.
Hänsermann, was
very modern at the time
-
it had spacious and bright rooms and walls decorated
with paintings. By
1881
there were
185
pupils and altogether
498
persons being instructed.
The gymnasium provided instruction in German and was mostly attended by the sons of
Livonian
manor-owners; there were relatively few students of Estonian descent
-
only
34
from
162
graduates.
Landesgymnasium was
closed in
1892
during the wave of
Russification
policy. Later on still several
schools operated in the building of the grammar school. In
1918-1940
it held Viljandi Boys High
School of Science. The building also accommodated various other organisations. For example,
the basement of the school was used by the Viljandi Literary Society that preserved the collections
of the Ditmar Museum there.
(55
Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
last decades of the 19th century.
On the right the building of Viljandi County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium.
There is an area
with thick high vegetation in front of it
-
this is the hedge of the school park. The school park of
Landesgymnasium was
designed immediately after the completion of the new schoolhouse. The
park was established by Love head forester, Vorkampff
-
there was enough work for
30
men for a
month. The plot of the park was donated by
Morna
estate owner,
Friedrich von Stryk,
who purchased
a M-vakamaa plot
(1
vakamaa
=
half acre) of field for
4000
roubles from Oswald
von
Ungern-
Sternberg for this purpose. Trees were also donated by different manor-owners. From three sides the
square was surrounded by ditches and 12-m wide banks. Fir trees were planted to the external side
of the bank, whereas the inner area of the 12-m wide park was planted with deciduous trees
-
oaks, poplars, limes, birches
-
altogether
4000
plants. As at first too many trees were planted
and the park soon became too crammed, young trees from the nursery garden of the school park
were dug up and planted elsewhere.
Viljandi County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium
with a park and stadium in front,
early 20th century. Postcard by
Є.
Ring publisher.
In designing the park of the
Landesgymnasium,
it was also included a chance to go in for sports.
As seen from the schoolhouse there was the main stadium on the right and six smaller class
stadiums on the left. It was hard to imagine that this place would be the main stadium of the town
for the following
50
years. The Viljandi County Grammar School was the introducer of western
amateur sports in the town and neighbourhood. This mostly signifies
Ludvig
Herbig
who had been
hired as a teacher of gymnastics in
1878
and who systematically encouraged an interest In physical
activities among his students. The leisure time of the students was spent on different games,
gymnastics, running, skating, etc. The sports year culminated in days of gymnastics when children
competed in various fields of sport.
View of Viljandi Estonian Agricultural Society from
Jakobson
Street,
postcard from
1907.
In
1871
the Estonian Agricultural Society was founded in Viljandi on the advice of Carl Robert
Jakobson
who took an active part in its activities
-
in
1876-1882 Jakobson was
even the president
of the society. With the capital of
60
roubles the society started to build its own house ¡n
1881.
In spite of financial difficulties the new building was opened already in October
1882.
Besides the
society it held rooms for Koit (Dawn) culture society, Vabadus temperance society and Viljandi loan
and savings society. Starting from
1908
It also housed the Giri s
Progymnasium
of the Viljandi
Educational Society. Soon the whole building was left to the educational society as, in
1913,
the agricultural society purchased a house in Tallinn Street for a sensible price. This was the former
Christian
Rotermann
department store. The former building of the agricultural society was repeatedly
rebuilt
-
in
1909
the upper storey was added, in
1923
an annex was built to the side facing
Korgemäe
Street.
View of the yard of Viljandi Estonian Agricultural Society from the lake,
1911.
Photo by J.
Riet.
From the very beginning the courtyard of the agricultural society was in intensely used for various
undertakings. Different musical events and exhibitions were quite customary there. The picture
shows the technical section of the agricultural, handicraft and industrial show opened on
11
September
1911
by the head of the society, Loorits. The biggest exponents on that exhibition
were O. Bieberger from Riga with
Ursus
engines and
Tiby
threshing machines as well as the
Valga
branch of Latvian Economic Society with the steam engines.
Hall of the Girls
Progymnasium
of Viljandi Estonian Educational Society during
a model lesson, early 20th century.
The hall of the agricultural society and later educational society was the pride and glory of the
building until
1932.
Then a fire broke out from the oven lit on the stage and the whole interior was
destroyed, including the big curtain painted by
Johan Köler
and the library left to the educational
society by
Friedrich Kuhlbars.
View from the Order Castle to the surroundings of the lake,
early
1930s.
Photo by M.
Teng.
Using the territory by Lake Viljandi as a public area happened quite late. Until the beginning of the
20th century this area was divided between the manor and the town into economic districts
-
both
parties used them mostly as meadows and grazing land. In the late 19th century bigger fairs were
held there as taking the cattle to town was difficult and caused a lot of criticism from the burghers.
From
1905
all the fairs were held by the lake. In
1906
the municipality allowed to build a primitive
sports ground by the lake. The systematic development of the area started in the mid-1920s when
the centre of Viljandi Tennis and Water Sports Club was built there.
154
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View of the area by the lake from
Trepimägi
(Staircase
Hill),
са
1913.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
On the right the Vesiflirt (Water Flirt) Alley, on the left the paddock where it was possible to go in
for sports and where the paddock boys were trained. Paddock boys was a popular name for men
in the reserve of the tsarist army. The structures in the lake are the so-called bathing cabins. The one
on the right was owned by the manor and was located in the end of the present Water Flirt Alley;
the left cabin was owned by the town.
View of
Trepimägi
(Staircase Hill) and Villa Sellheim,
1907
or
1908.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
The idea of the Staircase Hill emerged already in the early 1880s when the initial work was started.
Then it came to a standstill and nothing happened for a long time. The present
Trepimägi
connecting
the town centre and the area by the lake was built in the early 20th century on the initiative of the
mayor,
Otto von Engelhardt.
The plan was designed by his younger brother, Walter
von Engelhardt,
one of the best-known landscape architects in the Baltic region. For a long time the biggest obstacle
in establishing the connection between the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square and the lake was
made up by the mediaeval moat that was filled in with the ruins after the big fire that ravaged the
town centre in
1895.
View of
Trepimägi
(Staircase Hill) and the area by the lake,
late
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Compared to the time of establishing
Trepimägi in
the early 20th century the situation seen in the
picture has changed considerably. The trees have grown and new houses have been built.
The silhouette of the town is still decorated with the tower of the old town hall that was replaced
by a new one in
1931.
Villa Sellheim in the beginning of
Trepimägi
has got company. The bathing
establishment can still be seen, it disappeared after the shore was cleaned up and a stadium and
the Beach
Café
were built.
Participants of light athletics courses organised by Tulevik sports club in the summer
of
1914.
Photo by
IM.
Teng
First on the right, the supervisor of the courses, Anton
Õunapuu.
The courses ended with
competitions and a big party held in Altona on the opposite shore of the lake.
Workers of the
Siegel &
Co company by the slaughterhouse of Viljandi,
1911.
The trickiest thing about building the waterworks at the beginning of the 20th century was finding
the water of high quality. The first hole was drilled by the Rosenberg-Niilus company ordered from
Valga.
Water was reached but soon it turned out to be unusable due to high contents of iron.
In
1911
the municipality ordered new work from the
Siegel &
Co. This time the test was carried out
near the town s slaughterhouse and the new drill hole started to give high-quality water from the
depth of
300
feet.
View of the area by the lake, early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
In the middle Liiva Street, known for a brothel of poor reputation. The so-called Margareete s
Castle stood at the end of the street. The farmers arriving in town were often invited there by petty
criminals who stole the belongings of the victims who had been seduced by the female charm.
The house with a chimney on the left is the town s slaughterhouse completed in
1901,
the right stack
belonged to Rosenberg steam mill.
Viljandi beach pavilion-cum-cafe,
ca
1939.
Photo by T. Parri.
The modern beach pavilion with a buffet, changing rooms and separate courtyards for sunbathing
were built by Lake Viljandi in
1935.
By
1938
the institution had quickly gained popularity and needed
to be extended. On
28
May a party of local dignitaries headed by the mayor, August Maramaa,
gathered in the newly finished rooms of the cafe. After a short opening speech with compliments to
the summer pleasures of the hometown the dance floor of the new establishment was opened
with a temperamental polka instead of the traditional waltz.
Viljandi Tennis and Water Sport Club and boat landing,
1933.
The building with the popular name Vesiflirt (Water Flirt) was set up in the middle of allotments of
the town citizens in
1924.
The structure built on credit was planned by Johannes
Fuks
and it housed
the club for fourteen years. It also held a popular cafe. The club was one of the most active
organisations of Viljandi
-
It organised parties, tennis courses and competitions. The popular name
of the building comes from the Vesiflirt Alley that led there. It was established in about
1905.
lit
The new Beach Casino, built by the Tennis and Water Sport Club in
1938-1939,
late
1930s.
By the second half of the
1930s
the old building of the tennis and water sport club had become
too small for the club activities and, in
1938,
the plan of the new building was presented to the
municipality. It foresaw building a buffet and a bar, a spacious hall, rooms for the orchestra, a store
for boats, oars, etc as well as lavatories on the ground floor. The first floor was to hold a smaller hall
for closed events, clubrooms and a balcony. Even a tower was to be added. Like the old building,
this house was also designed by architect
Fuks.
Construction of the Beach Casino was started in
November
1938
and completed in the following year.
Viljandi Ski Jump,
1931.
Photo by T. Parri.
In the winter of
1928
the young skiers of Viljandi built a snow ski jump track on
Närska Hill.
The first competitions were held at once and the jumps were measured with the help of a wagon
shaft. The first winner was
Oskar Veideman
with the result of eight metres. The longer-lasting ski
jump track in the picture was built in
1930
on a hill behind the ruins of the castle but the lack of snow
did not yet enable to organise competitions. However, the year
1931
surpassed all expectations
-
according to the press almost
5000
people gathered to watch ski jump during the national skiing
competition held in February. The competition was won by a Finnish citizen, Toivo
Nykänen,
Veideman
took a second position.
The front swimming pool of Uueveski summer resort and the neighbourhood,
second half of the
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The Uueveski summer resort was developed in
1929
by Viljandi municipality headed by the social
democrat mayor, August Maramaa. The swimming pools, popularly called marble baths and the
Lido of Uueveski , became usable in the summer of
1930.
Soon it became the most beloved
recreation area of townspeople. Nevertheless, Uueveski was continuously criticised by the
Šakala
newspaper
-
the area was not clean enough, people s morals left to be desired, etc. According to a
plan from
1942
a park where young people could enjoy sport was to be established there.
Holiday-makers in the newly planted Uueveski pinewood,
1936.
Most of the pines were planted in Uueveski on
24
May
1929
in the framework of the nationwide
forestry week. The area of planting covered about two hectares of field towards
Peetrimõlsa
in
Uueveski district. Altogether more than
10,000
pines from Aimla nursery garden were planted.
The forest planters were mostly students from the schools of the town.
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¥
i í j a n d. í
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tänava 12
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südalinnale Jaani
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kirdest
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edelast
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1927.
aasta suvel
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poolt
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Várese sillale
Esimeselt Kirsimäelt
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mõlsa
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Vaade Viljandi bensiinijaamale
32
Vaksali tänava algus
33
Vaade
Klinke
hobupostijaam-võõrastemajale
34
Klinke
aed
oma hiilgeaegadel
35
Vaade
Riia/Vaksali tänava ümbrusele 36
Hetk
kapten
A.
Irve mälestussamba avamiselt 37
Vaade Valuoja
tammile ja
Pauluse kirikule
38
Viljandi maakoguduse Pauluse kiriku sisevaade
39
August Weizenbergi Lootus
40
Naiskodukaitse liikmed korrastavad
Vabadussõja
ühiskalmistut 41
Uno Pohrti
masina-
ja
rauavabrik Kantrekülas
42
Uno Pohrt
omakonstrueeritud mootorsaaniga
43
Vaksali tänava löik Kantrekülas 44
Viljandi tikuvabriku hooned 45
Viljandi raudteejaam Pärnu mnt
poolt
46
Viljandi vaksal. Vaade moisaküla
poolt
47
Viljandi Piimaühingu hoone 48
Vaade
õhust
Männimäe lennuväljale 49
Vaade Vaksali-Kauba-Tallinna tänavate ristmikule 50
Tallinna tänava algus 51
Tallinna tänav 52
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi
maja,
1913 53
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi
maja,
1920 54
Põllumeeste
seltsi näituse avamine 55
Feldt trükikoja hoone 56
Vaade Seasaare
kõrtsile
57
Endine Vene
klubi
hoone 58
Esimene
turupäev Viljandi uuel
turul
59
Aadlielamu Tallinna ja
Posti
tänava nurgal 60
Vaade nn Stiftihoonele 61
Vennastekoguduse palvemaja 62
Viljandi uue vangla hoov 63
Vaade veetornist Suurturule/Johan Laidoneri platsile 64
Vaade Suurturu/Johan Laidoneri platsi pohjaküljele 65
Taksopeatus Suurturul/Johan Laidoneri platsil 66
Turupäeva hommik Suurturul/Johan Laidoneri platsil 67
Vaade Suurturule/Johan Laidoneri platsile turupäeval 68
Vaade Suurturu/Johan Laidoneri platsi pohjaküljele 69
Kindral Laidoneri
plats
70
Suurturg/Johan Laidoneri
plats vaatega
Trepimäe poole 71
Vaade Suurturu/Laidoneri platsi pohjaküljele 72
j a n
Veetorn
pärast valmimist 73
Vaade vanale raekojale
ja Linnu tänavale
74
Vaade veetornist vanale raekojale, tiitarlaste gumnaasiumile
75
Viljandi raekoja tagakiilg
76
Vaade
piki
lossi
tänavat 77
Hotell-restoran EVE
78
Hotell-restoran EVE ehitus
79
Lossi
ja
Tartu
tänava nurgal asunud elu- ja ärihoone 80
Vaade Lossi
ja
Tartu
tänava ristmikult 81
Viljandi linavabrik
82
Rahvas Viljandi hipodroomi
tribüünil 83
Vaade Lembitu/A. Maramaa puiesteele
84
Vaade Jaani kirikule Esimeselt
Kirsimäelt 85
Viljandi Jaani kiriku
öpetajamaja
86
Vaade
Pikale tänavale
Munga
ja Kauba tänava
poolt
87
Villa Engelhard/Mats
Nõgese
maja
88
Vaade
Ріка
tänava alumisele
osale
89
Vaade nn Muksi majale 90
Munga
tänav vaadatuna Suurturult 91
Tükike Kauba tänavat vaatega Suurturu poole 92
Kassisaba/Oru tänav 93
Kauba tänava algus 94
Tartu tänav vaatega Lossi tänava poole 95
Kurrikoffi
majas
asunud vünapood 96
Tõllasepa
maja
97
Tartu ja Lossi tänava ristumiskoht vaatega Tallinna tänava poole 98
Tartu ja Lossi tänava ristumiskoht vaatega Harjutuse/Koidu tänava
poolt
99
Vaade Tartu tänava ja Väikese tänava hoonestusele 100
Tartu tänava
lõpuosa
101
Vaade Kivistiku linnaosale 102
Viljandi KäsitÖöliste Abiandmise Seltsi hoone 103
Posti
ja Lossi tänava ristmik 104
Vaade kasiinohoonele tagant 105
Harjutuse/Koidu ja
Posti
tänava ristmik 106
Viljandi kohtuhoone 107
Elamu-ateljee
Posti
ja Koidu tänava nurgal 108
Vaade Projekti/Eha tänava idaküljele 109
Hoone Projekti/Eha ja Väikese tänava nurgal 110
Villa
Doll
Jakobson! tänaval 111
Viljandi Lastepark 112
Aadlimaja ehitus Veske/Jakobsoni tänaval 113
Kaitseliidu staap 114
Jakobsoni tänav vaatega Tallinna tänava poole 115
Veske/Jakobsoni tänav 116
Veske/Jakobsoni tänav vaatega Viiratsi
poolt
117
Veske/Jakobsoni tänav 118
Endine Viljandi maagümnaasium 119
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi hoone 120
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi hoov 121
Viljandi Eesti Haridusseltsi tütarlaste progümnaaslumi saal 122
Vaade ordulinnusest järveäärsele 123
Viljandi järveäärne
ala
Trepimäe
poolt
124
Vaade Trepimäele ja Villa Sellheimile 125
Tuleviku spordiklubi korraldatud
kursustest
osavõtjad
126
Firma Siegel &
Co töömehed
127
Vaade järveäärsele 128
Viljandi rannakohvik 129
Viljandi Tennise ja
veespordi Klubi
130
Tennise ja Veespordi
klubi
poolt
ebítatud RannakasHno
131
Viljandi
suusahüppemägi 132
Uueveski suvituspiirkonna
bassein 133
Suvítajad
Uueveski
männíkus
134
Summary
135
Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
München
|
| adam_txt |
і я
π
o i
Introduction
Viljandi was first mentioned in writing under the name Yiuende in 1211 when the
ancient local stronghold of Estonians was besieged by the allied forces comman¬
ded by the Order of the Brethren of the Sword. According to the chronicles by
Henry of
Ovonia
there was a wooden stronghold with twofold fortifications that
could not be conquered on the first attempt
-
only priests were allowed to enter
the besieged stronghold.
Already during the Estonian ancient fight for freedom the Germans started to
build a stone castle here that soon became the residence of the powerful com¬
mander of the Order. Immediately after the German conquest a town sprang up
on the northern side of the commander's castle the town bylaws and burghers of
which were first mentioned in
1238.
In the first decades of the 14th century
Viljandi became a member of the mighty
Hanseatic
League. The peaceful life of
the town, developing on the
hasis
of Riga town bylaws and charters confirmed by
commanders of the Order, was interrupted by the Iivonian War and the follo¬
wing Polish-Swedish wars that finally led Viljandi to a long period of stagnation.
The town lost the bylaws and became totally dependent on the local manor.
The new upswing of Viljandi began in the last quarter of the 18th century
when, thanks to the reforms carried out by Empress Catharine II, it became a
district centre and the town bylaws were also restored. The 19th century brought
Viljandi once again among significant settlements
-
handicraft and trade started
to develop, the number of burghers increased. By the turn of the 19th and 20th
centuries Viljandi occupied its full and ecjual position among the provincial
towns of the Iivonian district
-
this was facilitated by the well-developed agri¬
cultural background of the town.
The selection of pictures in this book from the photo collection of Viljandi
Museum reflects the appearance of the town and its closest surroundings from
the last decades of the 19th century until the
1930s.
From among hundreds, the
selection was made in favour of those that are important in the contemporary
history of the town or that mirror bigger changes in the urban space during the
first half of the 20th century.
Ain-Andris Vislapuu
*
V
і
1
j a n
d
і ^
Summary
135
Aerial photo of Viljandi from the height of
800
metres,
1926.
The military aerial photograph was taken from the northeast and it covers almost the whole territory
of Viljandi as it then was
-
only part of Uueveski district in the north towards Tallinn as well as part
of Kivistiku district towards Tartu in the east are cut out. The old cemetery and
Kantreküla
quarter
that were a bit separated from the land of the town are visible above right. Below right we see
Uueveski district that has already been divided into construction plots but is still sparsely populated.
Panorama of Viljandi from the opposite shore of the lake,
1932.
Photo by M.
Teng.
The town started to rise on the northern side of the Order Castle, in the former fields, after the
conquest of the crusaders in the 13th century. According to the currently known data, the burghers
and town bylaws of Viljandi were first mentioned in
1283.
During the Middle Ages Viljandi belonged
to the mighty
Hanseatic
League. After the
Livonian
War and the following Polish-Swedish wars
Viljandi declined. During the Swedish rule the destroyed town was donated to private individuals and
was ruled by the manor. The outlawed situation lasted even during the tsarist period until the last
quarter of the 18th century. Only after the reforms by the Empress Catherine II (Catherine the Great),
in
1783,
Viljandi again acquired its town bylaws and lands, and continued to develop in the same line
with other provincial towns of the Russian Empire. In
1932
Viljandi was a small town of the young
independent Estonian state that offered safe life to its burghers and peaceful recreation milieu for its
visitors.
View of the town from the tower of St. Paul's Church,
1907
or
1908.
On the left the windmill once located at the crossroad of
Turu
and Kaalu Streets; in the right corner
the building of
Klinke
stagecoach station-cum-guesthouse on the site of the present sports facilities.
Almost the whole land of Viljandi town as well as the outskirts by Tallinn Street are visible in the
picture. Until the end of the tsarist period the lands of the town lay on a very small plot. This was
primarily determined by the fact that Viljandi was surrounded by manorial lands from four sides, as
the Viljandi manor refused to give up the rented lands. Even the local German municipality was not
very eager to obtain new lands for the town. Together with the suburbs the number of Estonian
property owners would have increased rapidly and during the elections of the municipality the power
could have been easily passed over to the Estonians.
View of the Old Town across Tartu Street from the northeast
at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the middle the towers of the old Town Hall and St. John's Church. The silhouette lacks one of the
best-known landmarks of Viljandi
-
the water tower. Even from this side Viljandi was bordered by
manorial domains. Felliner
Anzeiger
newspaper characterized the situation as follows: As we know,
the territory of Viljandi town is, literally speaking, very narrow. We lack space for further extension.
New buildings can be set up in the heart of the town only in places where old houses are
demolished
.
View of the old city centre towards Tartu from the belfry of St. John's Church,
early 20th century. Photo by J.
Riet.
In the middle the light building of Viljandi Municipal School in Great Market and, behind it, the belfry
of the old Town Hall. In general outline the streets of Viijandi's Old Town follow the mediaeval plan
but its general appearance comes from the late 18th and the 19th centuries. Today the Old Town has
a lot of greenery as, in September
1944,
drunken Soviet soldiers accidentally burnt down a big part
of the Old Town. Although some stone buildings were completely fit for restoration, the post-war
Communist city government still decided to establish two parks there.
View of the ruins of the Order Castle and the Old Town across the lake,
1920s.
Ruins of the Order Castle, also known as Castle Hills, serve as the best known historical mark of
Viljandi. The ruins consist of three steep-sloped hills where a stone castle with mighty threefold
outworks were built during the rule of the Order. The fourth outwork was made up by the town that
was surrounded by a town wall. After the Polish-Swedish wars in the 17th century the castle ceased
to function as a fortification and fell into oblivion for a long period. The ruins were occasionally
used for obtaining bricks and granite stones. New life emerged there in the second half of the 19th
century and in the early 20th century when the area gradually started to be used as a resting place.
Ruins of Viljandi Order Castle in the summer of
1878,
view from the southeast.
Photo by Th. John (Tartu)
The picture shows archaeological excavations on
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill), commenced on the
initiative of
Theodor Schiemann,
a teacher of history at the
Livonian
County Grammar School,
later a professor at the University of Berlin, and with the financial support of
Friedrich
von
Ditmar, a
retired major general and owner of
Uue-Vändra
manor. The collection of archaeological finds from
I36
γ
1878-1879
formed the basis for the Ditmar Museum that was first maintained by the organizing
committee of the excavations, later by Viljandi Literary Society and was located in the rooms of the
county grammar school. This institution is considered the predecessor of the present Viljandi
Museum.
Ruins of the Order Castle from the south with the steeple of St. John's Church
in the background, early 20th century. Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
The picture shows
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) that held barracks of the knights
-
a convent building of red
bricks which was a typical structure of the order in the Middle Ages. The convent building was
surrounded by granite outworks. The so-called Big Wall on the left is the outer wall of the western
wing of the former convent building; the triangular wall fragment on the right belongs to the
former chapel of the castle and is known under the name „Monk". According to the chronicles the
construction of Viljandi Order Castle started in
1224,
the convent building was most likely completed
in the early 14th century. During the Middle Ages the Order Castle was the residence of the politically
significant commander of Viljandi. The castle located in a strategically significant place was
destroyed during the
Livonian
War and the Polish-Swedish wars in the second half of the 16th
century and the early 17th century.
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) has got its name after a 25-metre deep well
that was found and cleaned out during the excavations in
1878-1879.
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) in August
1923,
view from the northeast.
Photo by J.
Riet.
After getting the permission from the manor, in
1863,
and building the first roads there the ruins of
the castle soon developed into a public place. According to the agreement the site could be used for
walking and organising public events. The archaeological excavations of
1878-1879
aroused still
more interest in this area. After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia this place was taken
over by the municipality and gradually it developed into a popular recreation area of the people of
Viljandi. Already quite early open-air performances were organised there, the first being "Salome"
performed by Ugala Theatre In the summer of
1920.
The picture shows another open-air play,
"King Oedipus", from August
1923.
View of
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) from the second outwork
at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Postcard by G.
Schürmann
publisher
In the middle the gate of the outwork with a dike that connects
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) with another
outwork. During the Middle Ages the site of the dike was most likely occupied by a bridge.
Establishing roads and lanes in the Castle Park, the ruins of
Kaevumägi
(Well Hill) were used as
building material. According to the notes of contemporaries, in some places the thickness of the
layer of ruins extended to nine metres.
View of Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) from the southwest,
early 20th century. Photo by J.
Riet.
Viljandi Order Castle suffered badly during the
Livonian
War and the Polish-Swedish wars. Since the
Swedish rule it was no longer used as a military fortification. Soon both the Viijandi manor and the
town started to use this place as an inexhaustible storage of building materials
-
why collect stones
from distant fields if this task had been done already centuries ago. Removing stones from the ruins
continued for a long period. The picture shows the dismantling of mediaeval foundations in the
second outwork. The stones were most likely used for erecting a new building.
Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) in the summer of
1927.
Since the early 20th century, besides serving as a pasture for the sheep of the manor. Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) became a place for holding different sports and cultural events and it
continues to be used for the same purpose even today. For example, the first Viljandi competition in
light athletics was held there in
1913.
This time the photographer has captured a moment from the
Fourth Music Day of
Šakala
County at the beginning of July,
1927.
Sixty four choirs and twelve
orchestras took part. Besides listening to music and songs, an open-air play "Outlaw" was
performed by Ugala Theatre. On this occasion a special temporary stage was set up on the side of
the hill facing the lake. To make the surroundings more cosy the municipality headed by August
Maramaa planted trees on Second
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill). On summer Sundays the strollers were
entertained by a brass band for whom a special bandstand was built.
Philosophy Lane in the Castle Park, early 20th century.
Photo by A. Livenstroem.
Philosophy Lane or Thinkers' Grove as the Estonians called it was started in the 1880s. The trees
were brought there from the park of the County Grammar School. The name of the lane most likely
derives from the fact that this area was quite separated from the other parts of the Castle Park
which enabled people of Viljandi to reflect upon life there in peace.
137
View of the suspension bridge from
Kaevumägi (VUell
Hill),
1937.
The "suspended bridge", officially opened on
1
December
1931,
was given to the town of Viljandi
by the owner of Tarvastu manor,
Karl von Mensenkampff.
The portals and Iron parts of the bridge
were produced In
1879
in Riga Felser
&
Co company. The bridge was commissioned by the
Mensenkampff
family to facilitate access to the family burial chapel in the ruins of Tarvastu castle.
The reconstruction cost
2500
kroons, a hefty sum of money at that time. Before opening the bridge a
weight test of
200
poods
(1
pood
= 16.38
kg) was carried out. A new decree was passed stating that
only peaceful traffic on foot were allowed on the bridge; it was forbidden to run, jump, sway, write
on parts of the bridge, etc. Only twenty persons were allowed to stay on the bridge at any time.
The suspension bridge was last reconstructed in
1995.
View of the
Vares
(Crow) Bridge from the First
ICirsimägi
(Cherry Hill),
1920s.
Photo by M.
Teng.
Establishing a direct connection between Lossi Street and the ruins of the castle was planned already
during the tsarist period but it was postponed due to the decisive resistance from the manor.
Building a connecting road between First
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill) and Lossi Street was decided on an
extraordinary meeting of the town council on
20
May
1925.
Producing a project was entrusted to
Johannes
Fuks,
a student of architecture at the University of Danzig. The construction of the bridge
was commenced at the end of August and completed on
9
November of the same year. Although
even a contest was organised to find a suitable name for the bridge, and the name "Castle Bridge"
won, the bridge was still popularly called
Vares
Bridge after the mayor of the time, Doctor Jaan
Vares.
View of Liberty Square from Tallinn Street,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Tasują
Avenue bordering the square in the northern-southern direction and Vaksall Street In the
eastern-western direction are most likely of ancient origin. In the town regulations from
1481
they
are correspondingly named Notteri and
Kõpu
Roads. The first ran from the gate of the castle towards
Riga Gate, i.e. from the so-called
Kirsimägi
storage to the beginning of Kauba Street; the other
started from the gate and ran towards
Kõpu.
During the tsarist period an orchard of Viljandi manor
occupied the site of the square.
View of Liberty Square from the southeast from St. John's Church,
1930.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The municipality started to turn the area into a square for festive occasions in the second half of the
1920s.
The stone fence surrounding the former manorial orchard was demolished, the trees were
cut down and the surface was levelled. After long debates, in
1926,
the site was chosen for the
monument of soldiers from
Šakala
County who were killed during the War of Independence.
In the same year the construction of the Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia was started. The
surroundings were tidied up and flower beds were made on the square. The municipality wanted to
make the square more presentable in the second half of the
1930s
when a competition was
organised. The returned projects foresaw extensive demolition and construction work but these
plans did not realize due to the Soviet occupation and the following war.
The bankers are moving in. View of the new bank building on Liberty Square,
1927.
The Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia was built in
1926-1927
after the project by architect
Karl
Burman.
It was set up according to the style typical of bank buildings of the
1920s -
with a high
hip roof and wide black window frames. The socle and portal were lined with dolomite.
According to the press the building was erected by Tartu builder Dietrich who had won the
commission; the budget was almost sixteen million marks. The picture shows the strongbox which
cost
400 000
marks being dragged to the first floor. The whole property was moved in by the end
of November,
1927.
View of Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia from the southwest,
from the new mansion of Viljandi manor,
1930s.
Photo by M.
Teng.
By
1927
Viljandi had got the largest, the most modern and impressive building of the time. Till then
this „title" had been held by
Eduard
Pohl's apartment and commercial building at the crossing of
Tartu and Lossi Streets. The ground floor of the bank had a post office, a telephone exchange and
an apartment of the bank director; the first floor had a bank hall extending through two storeys and
other bank rooms. The building also accommodated flats for bank officials whereas all the flats were
provided with bathrooms which was quite new at the time. From the upper floors one could see
trains arriving in and departing from Viljandi. The building had also a garage for two cars. In the
summer of
1941
the telephone exchange became one of the headquarters of the destruction
battalion. Fleeing from the German army the ground floor of the bank was set on fire by the mem¬
bers of the destruction battalion who followed the order of commander Pasternak; the timber parts
of the building, including the roof were destroyed in fire. The building stood in ruins for many years
and was later restored in a simplified form.
138
¥
і
1
j a n d
і
í Monument to íhe
soldiers of
Šakala
County killed
¡n
the War of Independece,
, 1926.
Postcard by X
Riet.
ií;
The Viljandi Monument to the War of Independence on Liberty Square was unveiled on
Џ
19
September
1926.
The bronze sculptures of the monument were made by sculptor
Amandus
;;
Adamson,
the base by engineer Vaher. The day of opening was well chosen as Viljandi hosted
«
another popular big event
-
the exhibition of Viljandi Estonian Agricultural Society
-
on that day.
!
According to the contemporaries this might have been the biggest peaceful gathering in Viljandi
¡
ever. For the following fourteen years the monument became the centre of big events
-
anniversaries
í
were celebrated there and guests visiting the town or the county were brought there. Besides the
i; older symbols of Viljandi
-
the lake and the order castle
-
the monument and the surrounding
j
reconditioned area soon became one of the favourite objects for tourists and photographers.
| The monument was blown up on the initiative of local communists, Elfriede Piip and Vladimir
I. Laante, on
19
June
1941.
!
Celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia by Viljandi monument
| to the War of Independence on
24
February
1928.
¡
The 10th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia was celebrated with great festivity also in Viljandi.
j
The number of participants in the festivities was the biggest of all times, partly also as a result of
mild weather. The main event was the joint parade of the armed forces, the Defence League and the
fire-fighters, supervised by general Paul
Lill.
On the same day a memorial tablet dedicated to the
I reading of the Manifesto of Independence was opened on the building of Provincial Court.
í
The beautiful day was somewhat ruined by the fact that the grand salute, eagerly awaited by the
| crowds, was cancelled for unknown reasons.
I The old mansion of Viljandi manor,
ι
early 20th century. Photo by J.
Riet.
| Viljandi manor first served as the estate of the commander of Viljandi which occurs in the old
і
documents under the names Rickhof (Rlkhaue) or Ryngo. At that time the heart of the estate was
| located four miles away from the town. It was moved to the present location in the neighbourhood
j
of the Song Festival Ground only after
1624
when it was owned by the Swedish state marshal,
і
Jacob
de la
Gardie. In
1681
the manor was taken over by the state
-
first the Swedish state and, after
ì
the Great Northern War, the Russian Empire. In
1744
the Empress decided to give the manor to her
і
young cousin, Maria Tshoglokova. There is no data whether the owners ever visited the place or how
í
often they came there. The manor was run by bailiff, Fabian
Friedrich Wickhorst.
During his rule, in
\
1746,
the manor house in the picture was built
-
an archaic timber building with a high partial hip
í
roof, 16-paned windows and a wide shelter in front of the main entrance. The building was
і
demolished in the end of
1938
after long disputes with the owner, Heinz
von Ungern-Sternberg.
;
Like in case of old haunted castles, it was used before demolition by criminals and outcasts.
| Today the site of the former manor house is covered by a square with the monument of General
j Laidoner on horseback.
ι
| The facade of the new Viljandi mansion and the manorial park,
і
late 19th century.
ι
The new mansion of Viljandi manor or „the new castle" was built in
1879-1880,
some decades after
і
being obtained by
Landrat
Paul
von
Ungern-Sternberg. As the style of the historicist building with
j
neo-renaissance features resembles
Käru
mansion, it is assumed to have been designed by Robert
і
Pflug,
an architect from Riga. Historically this is a rather significant building. In this house
Rittmeister
I Karl
von Sivers
decided who should be shot as punishment In January
1906
for having participated
I in the revolutionary events of
1905.
During the War of Independence two Estonian elite units were
| formed there
-
the Scouts Unit and the
Šakala
Partisan Battalion. At the beginning of the Soviet
j
occupation it accommodated the headquarters of OGPU, Soviet secret service, and NKVD, the
| National Commissariat of Internal Affairs. When the Second World War reached Estonia, it served as
I headquarters of the destruction battalion.
| View of Viljandi petrol station from Tallinn Street,
j
second half of the
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
!
In the
1920s
the number of motor vehicles increased both in Viljandi and the county. In
1926
!
engineer
Friedrich
Werncke got a permission from the municipality to install an automatic petrol
i statlon
near the sales booths on the corner of Vaksali and Tallinn Streets. There was a little shop
: behind the petrol station that sold car accessories. On both sides there were booths owned by the
j
Russian Orthodox church.
;
Beginning of Vaksali Street towards Kantrekiila district,
j ca
1900.
"
In the middle,
Klinke
post station and a little to the right, the belfry of St. Paul's Church.
On the right, the Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist that was built in
1847
during the moye-
:
ment
of conversion. The church was built of logs without using nails and its ground plan was
m
the
'
shape of a Latin cross with slightly projecting branches. Being first built as a temporary structure,
:
it had to be repaired all through the time of its existence. In the early 20th century the congregation
І3*>
attempted to build a church with two thrones in the centre of the town but this plan was opposed
by the German municipality. In
1908
they succeeded In obtaining a plot on the territory
of the prison but they had run out of money by that time and the new church was not built.
In
1959
the structure was demolished.
Priest Nikolai Bezanitsky has played a remarkable role in the local history. Allegedly he was one of
the few clergymen who dared to protest openly against the activities of the punishing troops in
1906
and especially against the plan of
Rittmeister von Sievers
to execute people without a trial.
Father Bezanitsky was murdered by communists in Tartu in
1919
together with bishop
Platon
and
others. Since the year
2000
he is the martyr saint of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.
The burial service of Captain Anton Irv was also held in this church.
View of the
Klinke
stagecoach station-cum-guesthouse from the Liberty Square,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The post station in the site of the present sports facilities was most likely built in the early 19th
century.
Friedrich Wilhelm Klinke,
a valet of the Abja Stackelberg family from Brandenburg, was
given the right to run a post station after marrying a housemaid of the manor. The institution was
named after its first owner until the time of its demolition in
1935.
The ground floor of the two-storey
building held a tavern and post rooms; the hotel rooms on the upper floor had upholstered furniture
and expensive carpets, even the passage floor was covered with carpets. For a long period the
Klinke
tavern served as the main entertainment venue of the more snobbish citizens of Viljandi; it even had
billiards, a roulette and a track of bowling. Postal services were offered there until
1933.
Klinke
Garden during its hayday in the 1880s.
In the background the windmill at the crossing of
Turu
and Kaalu Streets.
This was the spring and summer public entertainment venue for the burghers and manor-owners.
One of the most famous traditional celebrations was the spring party. People gathered in
Klinke
garden and summer house already early in the evening. A little before midnight two noblemen
dressed according to custom
-
one in white winter clothing and the other in colourful spring
clothing. On white horses they rode to the ruins of the castle where May bonfires were lit and people
enjoyed themselves until morning
.
View of the surroundings of Riia/Vaksali Street from the cemetery in Riga Road,
1896.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture was taken a little before building Valuoja dike. On the left St. Paul's Church together with
the communal granary; on the right the new mansion of Viljandi manor and St. John's Church of the
town congregation. The communal granary next to St. Paul's Church was demolished in the early
1930s
to make space to the monument of Captain Anton Irv.
Unveiling the monument to Captain Anton Irv
on
6
August
1933
on
Kirikumägi
(Church Hill).
The sculpture was made by Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi).
The monument to Irv was unveiled in the presence of those who had received the Cross of Liberty.
A party headed by general
Johan Laidoner
and defence minister August Kerem arrived on that
occasion. About
500
Brothers of the Cross of Liberty had gathered and took part in a busy day of
events
-
meetings dedicated to the War of Independence and the ancient fight for freedom were
held, lunch was given in the courtyard of the educational society and the common cemetery
of the War of Independence, reconstructed after the plan of Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi), was
consecrated. The inauguration of the monument to Anton Irv was the last in the series of planned
events. Thereafter the guests could participate in the Second Aviation Day of
Šakala
County.
View of Valuoja dike and St. Paul's Church,
1934.
Photo by T. Parri.
In the last decade of the 19th century when the railway line was about to reach Viljandi, the issue of
building a normal connection between the town and the railway station became urgent. The former
road to Kantrekiila district was unusable during the time of thaw and breaking up of roads in the
spring. In
1897
the town and the manor-owners reached an agreement concerning the dike -the
building was to be financed by both parties, a substantial support was given by the convent. The
dike was completed in
1898
and the waters of the Valuoja Stream were directed to a pipeline under
the dike. It was decided to build a pond between the two roads that would serve as a watering place
in case of fires. The old road is visible on the right and Valuoja dike on the left.
Interior view of the festively decorated St. Paul's Church,
1924.
Photo by J.
Riet.
In
1860
the Convocation decided to have the big Viljandi congregation that consisted of almost
15,000
members. At the same time it was agreed that St. John's Church remains belonging to the
smaller town congregation and a new larger church would be built for the big rural congregation.
The cornerstone of the church was set on St. Peter and Paul Day, on
29
June
1863.
Thus St. Paul
became the patron saint of the church.
140
V i i j a n d í
attempted to build a church with two thrones in the centre of the town but this plan was opposed
by the German municipality. In
1908
they succeeded in obtaining a plot on the territory
of the prison but they had run out of money by that time and the new church was not built.
In
1959
the structure was demolished.
Priest Nikolai Bezanitsky has played a remarkable role in the local history. Allegedly he was one of
the few clergymen who dared to protest openly against the activities of the punishing troops in
1906
and especially against the plan of
Rittmeister von Sievers
to execute people without a trial.
Father Bezanitsky was murdered by communists in Tartu in
1919
together with bishop
Platon
and
others. Since the year
2000
he is the martyr saint of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.
The burial service of Captain Anton Irv was also held in this church.
View of the
Klinke
stagecoach station-cum-guesthouse from the Liberty Square,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The post station in the site of the present sports facilities was most likely built in the early 19th
century.
Friedrich Wilhelm Klinke,
a valet of the Abja Stackelberg family from Brandenburg, was
given the right to run a post station after marrying a housemaid of the manor. The institution was
named after its first owner until the time of its demolition in
1935.
The ground floor of the two-storey
building held a tavern and post rooms; the hotel rooms on the upper floor had upholstered furniture
and expensive carpets, even the passage floor was covered with carpets. For a long period the
Klinke
tavern served as the main entertainment venue of the more snobbish citizens of Viljandi; it even had
billiards, a roulette and a track of bowling. Postal services were offered there until
1933.
Klinke
Garden during its hayday in the 1880s.
In the background the windmill at the crossing of
Turu
and Kaalu Streets.
This was the spring and summer public entertainment venue for the burghers and manor-owners.
One of the most famous traditional celebrations was the spring party. People gathered in
Klinke
garden and summer house already early in the evening. A little before midnight two noblemen
dressed according to custom
-
one in white winter clothing and the other in colourful spring
clothing. On white horses they rode to the ruins of the castle where May bonfires were lit and people
enjoyed themselves until morning
.
View of the surroundings of Riia/Vaksali Street from the cemetery in Riga Road,
1896.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture was taken a little before building Valuoja dike. On the left St. Paul's Church together with
the communal granary; on the right the new mansion of Viljandi manor and St. John's Church of the
town congregation. The communal granary next to St. Paul's Church was demolished in the early
1930s
to make space to the monument of Captain Anton Irv.
Unveiling the monument to Captain Anton Irv
on
6
August
1933
on
Kirikumägi
(Church Hill).
The sculpture was made by Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi).
The monument to Irv was unveiled in the presence of those who had received the Cross of Liberty.
A party headed by general
Johan Laidoner
and defence minister August Kerem arrived on that
occasion. About
500
Brothers of the Cross of Liberty had gathered and took part in a busy day of
events
-
meetings dedicated to the War of Independence and the ancient fight for freedom were
held, lunch was given in the courtyard of the educational society and the common cemetery
of the War of Independence, reconstructed after the plan of Roman
Espenberg (Haavamägi), was
consecrated. The inauguration of the monument to Anton Irv was the last in the series of planned
events. Thereafter the guests could participate in the Second Aviation Day of
Šakala
County.
View of Valuoja dike and St. Paul's Church,
1934.
Photo by
T. Parrî.
In the last decade of the 19th century when the railway line was about to reach Viljandi, the issue of
building a normal connection between the town and the railway station became urgent. The former
road to Kantrekiila district was unusable during the time of thaw and breaking up of roads in the
spring. In
1897
the town and the manor-owners reached an agreement concerning the dike -the
building was to be financed by both parties, a substantial support was given by the convent. The
dike was completed in
1898
and the waters of the Valuoja Stream were directed to a pipeline under
the dike. It was decided to build a pond between the two roads that would serve as a watering place
in case of fires. The old road is visible on the right and Valuoja dike on the left.
Interior view of the festively decorated St. Paul's Church,
1924.
Photo by J.
Riet. , ,
In
1860
the Convocation decided to halve the big Viljandi congregation that consisted of almost
15,000
members. At the same time it was agreed that St. John's Church remains belonging to the
smaller town congregation and a new larger church would be built for the big rural congregation.
The cornerstone of the church was set on St. Peter and Paul Day, on
29
June
1863.
Thus St. Paul
became the patron saint of the church.
HO
1905.
The forerunner of the later match factory was a factory founded in Tiirgasoo in
1904
by
Eduard
Pohl
and Johannes Wichwelin. Already by the beginning of the First World War it became the biggest
match factory of Estonia which had the biggest number of workers and the largest production.
In the
1920s
the
Pohl
match factory was considered to be technically the most contemporary and,
at the same time, the most successful exporter among equals. This enabled to resist the pressure of
the Swedish match industry longer, until
1928.
Today only the water tower on the left, built in
1921,
has survived.
View of Viijandi railway station from
Pärnu Road
in
1896,
immediately before the railway reached Tiirgassoo district. Photo by J.
Riet.
In the 1890s the
Valga-Moisaküla-Pärnu
narrow gauge railway was built. On the initiative of local
manor-owners and the municipality of Viijandi a branch line was soon extended to Viijandi.
The building expenses reached
2.5
million roubles, part of the sum was given by the First Russian
Access Route Railway Society. More than
500
workers were engaged in building the railway line and,
on
31
January
1897,
traffic was festively opened there. In the meantime the railway buildings had
been completed by Viijandi manor. In the following year the construction of the Viljandi-Tallinn line
was started, which was opened in the summer of
1900.
As at the time the railway station was located
about half
a verst
(1
verst =
1.07
km) away from the town, a plan emerged to move it closer to the
town centre
-
to a site in the neighbourhood of the present St. Paul's Church and Kaalu Street.
The plan did not realize due to the death of its initiator, alderman
Aleksander
August Rosenberg.
Viijandi railway station from the direction of
Mõisakiila,
early 20th century. People are waiting for the train. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
At noon of
17
November
1896
the last sleepers were fixed with silver nails by the builder
of the railway, engineer
Hackel,
mayor Max Schoeler and the owner of Viijandi manor,
Oswald
von
Ungem-Sternberg.
A big crowd had gathered to see this event in spite of the cold weather with eight degrees below
zero. This was quite natural as people realised that in many respects Viijandi had stepped into a new
era. From now on bigger towns of the provinces of Livonia and Estonia came closer to the sleepy
provincial town, goods exchange and communication with more distant areas livened up. In spite of
the high price already
488
train tickets were sold during the first ten days after opening the railway
traffic. In
1899
a citizen of Viijandi could reach
Pärnu
by an express train in four and a half hours
which makes the average speed
25
versts per hour
(1
verst
= 1.07
km). The speed of an ordinary
train was still smaller, about
18
versts per hour and the passengers had to suffer on the same
for six hours.
Viijandi Dairy Society from
Kirikumõisa/Kalevi
Street,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Viijandi Common Dairy (later Dairy Society) started to operate in the rooms of the former Viiratsi Inn
in the spring of
1912.
At the same time the construction of a new building in
Kantreküla
district,
at the corner of
Kirikumõisa
and
Tööstuse
Streets, was started. The production began on
1
February
1913.
Aerial view of Viijandi
Männimäe
airport,
July
1932.
Photo by T. Parri.
On the initiative of Viijandi mayor, August Maramaa, the
Šakala
County Aerial Society was founded
in
1931.
With relief work and state financial aid of
800
kroons an area close to Riga Road in
Männimäe
district was cleared up and turned into an aerodrome with the size of
14.8
hectares.
Later a two-place hangar was also built there. The picture shows the First Flying Day of
Šakala
County that was held on
10
July
1932.
It was attended by nine military planes and three private
planes. One of the latter was owned by Heinz
von Ungern-Stemberg,
a famous aviation enthusiast of
Viijandi who also organised joyrides for better-off clients during the same event. Among other public
figures the Defence Minister Kerem and General
Tõrvand
participated in the event during which a
gas war was staged and a parachute jump was demonstrated to the public.
View of the crossing of Vaksali, Kauba and Tallinn Streets,
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The picture shows the historical entry to the town of Viijandi from the direction of Riga. In the Middle
Ages the Riga Gate was situated on the site that covers the housing on the left and even part of the
pavement. By the early 20th century only the Gate Inn
- Pfortenkrug - was
left of the former gate.
Soon
Chr. Rotermann
built his first Viijandi shop building on the same site. The view on the right
leaves out the apple orchard of Viijandi manor.
Beginning of Tallinn Street, view to the north, i.e. towards Tallinn,
second half of the
1920s.
For a long period until the establishment of the Republic of Estonia, the Tallinn Street served as a
border between the town and the countryside. The front of houses on the left was built on the
manorial land that had been sold for plots; the right side of Tallinn Street was owned by the town.
It essentially resembled a big village lane and therefore it was not paved. Tallinn Street was paved
142
■■«§>
γ
up to the new border of the town only ¡n
1926.
The picture shows that paving work is about to be
finished and the leftover cobblestones are waiting to be taken away. Behind the "cabbies" on the left
there were the sales booths owned by the Russian Orthodox church.
View of Tallinn Street from the former Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society towards
Tallinn, early 20th century. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
On the left of the still unpaved Tallinn Street, behind the man with a bicycle, one can see the former
Seasaare Inn owned by the manor. Contrary to the genteel company of the
Klinke
Tavern the
customers of this entertainment venue were much more down-to-earth
-
mainly peasants who had
arrived in town to do business or go to the market, but also the common people living in the
suburbs. Most likely the inn was first located in the northern side of the town but when the area was
handed over to the town in the second half of the 18th century, the manor moved the inn to a new
location. The courtyard of the inn had the popular Public Garden.
Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society,
ca
1913.
The structure with
Hanseatic
gothic influences was built in
1907,
first as a department store of
Christian
Rotermann.
It was planned and built by Viijandi master builder
Buchstädt.
For some
reasons the son of
Chr. Roterman
decided to finish doing business in Viijandi and put the building on
sale, first offering it to the local society of manor-owners who refused the offer. In
1913
the house
was purchased for
55,000
roubles by the local agricultural society, additionally a big plot was also
obtained. Besides the agricultural society the house also accommodated Viijandi branch of Estonian
Loan and Savings Society and there was a teahouse in the yard. The store of the society that
imported modern agricultural equipment, fertilizers, etc was especially reputable among the farmers.
Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Soon the former
Rotermann
department store became too small for the agricultural society and the
management decided to order an annex. In
1923-1925
the house was rebuilt after the project by a
Finnish citizen, O. Lehtinen. The building was extended twice and a third storey was added. The
structure, changed architecturally beyond recognition, lost its characteristic gothic triangular gable
with narrow sharp-arched white niches and small towers; stepped gables were added to the end
facades. Besides the rooms of the society and the shop the considerably more spacious building
now also accommodated the
Põllumeeste
Kodu
(Home of Farmers) guesthouse together with the
buffet of the same name.
Opening of the exhibition of the Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society in the yard
of the society,
1926.
View from the north towards the new manor house.
The first "exhibition of agriculture, handicraft and domestic animals" of Viijandi Estonian Agricultural
Society took place in Viijandi already on
21-22
August
1883.
Altogether
41
horses and a lot of smaller
livestock were brought to the agricultural show by the farmers. Women also participated in the show
by displaying their handicraft. This event started a tradition that lasted until the Soviet occupation
-
the annual exhibitions were events of the year that people were greatly looking forward to.
The displays of the shows became more varied as agricultural machines were also exhibited besides
livestock and items of handicraft. The agricultural show in the picture took place in the yard of the
recently rebuilt house of the society and was to some extent different from the others. It was visited
by the State Elder, Jaan Teemant, who had come to Viijandi to unveil the local monument of the
War of Independence.
Feldt printers in Tallinn Street at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
View from Viijandi Estonian Agricultural Society.
Friedrich
Feldt
(1833-1920)
was the founder of the first print shop in Viijandi. The print shop,
operating since
1875,
was first located in the old wooden house opposite the so-called
Riet
House on
the corner of Harjutuse/Koidu and
Posti
Streets, later it was moved to a considerably more spacious
building in Tallinn Street that has survived without being rebuilt. In
1910
the house was considerably
extended and an Art
Nouveau
tower was added. The owner of the print shop, F. Feldt, had worked as
an assistant printer in Narva and a master of a printing machine in Tartu. A lot of books in Estonian
and in German as well as the local German Felliner
Anzeiger
newspaper and the Estonian
Šakala
newspaper were printed there. Alongside Laakmann's and Schnakenburg's the Feldt print shop was
one of the most important printers of Estonian-language literature in Estonia. In
1906
the shop was
purchased by Ernst Ring.
View of Seasaare Inn from Tartu Street,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The Seasaar Inn (Pig's Island) that had hosted farmers arriving in town and leaving the town for
more than a hundred years was rebuilt in
1922-1924.
The upper storey was added to the building
that temporarily became also the home of Viijandi Ugala Drama Theatre. The ground floor continued
to hold shops and the tavern itself. The structure suffered great damage during the Second World
War when the rooms of the theatre were deliberately set on fire. After the war the building
N3
was reconstructed after the plan of architect Johannes
Fuchs
by following the rules of Stalinist
architecture. Together with the sports facilities it serves, until today, as one of the best examples of
this style in Viljandi. Starting from
1953
the Viljandi Cultural Centre operates in this building.
Former Russian Club in
Turu
Street,
1915.
The Russian Social Society or the popularly-named Russian Club was founded in
1902
and it held
meetings in different rooms all over the town. For example, its activities started in a small cottage in
the yard of
Klinke
post station. The society's own house was built at the crest of patriotic enthusiasm
during the difficult years of the First World War and it was completed in 191S. Alongside the club
rooms, the library and an infirmary for the wounded arriving from the front were also set up.
The first market day on the new market of Viljandi,
1933.
View from the crossing of today's
Turu
and Jaama/Kaalu Streets.
It was obvious by the early
1930s
that the space on the former trading place in Great Market was
insufficient for the needs of the town. As an improvement the municipality decided to pave the
square in the western side of the town and move trading there. A new market hall was also erected.
On
16
May
1933
the first market day took place there. According to
Šakala
newspaper there was now
enough space for everyone and the buyers escaped the former ordinary nuisance -the wagon
grease sticking to their clothes. After the market had been transferred, the business life of the town
also started to move to that area. The former market square was replaced by a park.
Noble residence on the corner of Tallinn and
Posti
Streets,
end of the 19th century.
The grand residence, built in Tallinn Street in
1852-1866,
belonged to the owners of Karula manor,
the
von Helmersen
family. The front of the house holds a balcony resting on four rectangular
columns and a frieze with rich
figurai
compositions. The late classicist structure was obviously
influenced by the renaissance palaces of Italy. The building stands out in Viljandi due to its variety of
decor. During the Republic of Estonia it accommodated a casino of officers, during the Soviet period
it served as a location for a military unit.
View of the so-called
Stift
House from the direction of Tallinn,
early 20th century.
The large noble residence on the corner of Tallinn and Veske/Jakobsoni Streets, owned by a retired
major,
Claus von Staden,
was completed in the 1790s. The structure is mentioned among the most
distinguished late 18th and early 19th century buildings in Southern Estonia. The two-storey
hip-roofed house proceeds from the examples of early-classicist buildings of Tartu. In
1803
the
Livonian
Knighthood purchased the residence for single noble virgins. The building was extended
by an annex towards Veske/Jakobsoni Street. Every spinster had a separate room and a servant for
three. After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia the house was nationalized. The life of the
ladies now became considerably more limited as a kindergarten, a retirement home, a primary
school and a shelter for the orphans were also lodged there. In
1935
the residence was given to the
Ministry of Military Affairs and the last twelve noble ladies were accommodated in
Vinni
manor.
The retirement home and the kindergarten were transferred to Viiratsi. In
1938
the
Šakala
Partisan
Battalion settled in the building. After the Second World War it was used by the Soviet military
who thoroughly devastated the building before leaving.
Prayerhouse of the Moravian congregation on the corner of Tallinn and Uus Street,
1910s.
Postcard by J.
Riet.
The prayerhouse of the Moravian Brethren was completed in
1907,
designed by architect Rudolph
Moritz von Engelhardt.
The house was consecrated in October of the same year by deacon Weber
from Tartu, speeches were also made by pastor Ernst
Mickwitz
and
Landrat von
Helmersen from
Karula. Above the door of the prayerhouse a sentence "Keep watch and stay in faith" was written
in golden letters.
Courtyard of the new prison of Viljandi with the view towards the town centre,
1930s.
Photo by A.
Järvekülg.
Planning a new prison in Viljandi was started already in the early 1890s but the cornerstone was set
only in the spring of
1914.
As predicted, the place of confinement for
120
prisoners was to be
completed by January,
1916.
However, finishing the prison was postponed by the First World War
and the following War of Independence. The unfinished structure was used during the War of
Independence for keeping the soldiers of the North-Western Army who had caught typhoid fever or
were suspected of being infected in quarantine. The construction continued only in
1928
and in the
autumn of
1929
the prisoners moved from the narrow chambers in Koidu Street to the then modem
and spacious rooms. The journalist from the
Oma
Маа
newspaper who visited the new building
pointed out the water closets and washing rooms with showers that only few could afford outside
the prison. In their new home the prisoners had
36
cells with close to
200
normal places, yet up to
600
persons could be lodged there if needed. There was also a library with
1000
books, a smithy, a
bookbinding workshop as well as shoemaker's and tailor's workshops.
144
View of the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square from the water tower,
mid-1920s. Most of the local taxis have lined up in front of the old pharmacy
(out of view). Photo by J.
Riet.
The
Johan
Laidoner Square was a historical market square of Viljandi that was used already in the
Middle Ages, most likely in the second half of the 13th century. On the side of the square towards
the lake, next to the present old Water Tower, there was a town church in the Middle Ages that was
dedicated to Apostle John and Santa Clara and the ground plan of which resembled that of St.
John's Church in Tartu. The church was surrounded by a cemetery. The southern side of the square
held the town hall, a hospital and a schoolhouse. The data about the rest of the housing are scant
but according to archaeological studies one might presume that the square was surrounded by
two- or three-storey burghers' dwellings. The square preserved its significance as a town centre even
during the following periods. In the second half of the 18th century two of the four new stone
buildings were erected just there. One of them was originally a courthouse, later a schoolhouse,
and the other was the old pharmacy. In order to bring greenery to the town centre the municipality
planted four oak trees there in
1904.
View of the northern side of the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
1926.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The pharmacy on the left was built by pharmacist Joachim Schoeler in the last quarter of the 18th
century as a chemist's and a residence. At that time it was one of the first four stone buildings that
were erected in Viljandi during the modern era. In the 1880s the house got a mansard. Until
1902
it was owned by the Schoeler family, thereafter it was leased. The establishment, owned in the
meanwhile by pharmacists
Kersten
and Stedding, finally went over to Gottlieb Herman
Jürgens
who
ran the pharmacy until
1940.
Starting from
1942
it houses the Viljandi Museum.
Taxi rank in Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
late
1920s.
In the 1920S-1930S there were mostly two stops for "cabbies" in Viljandi
-
one of them was located
in front of the old pharmacy, the other at the beginning of Tallinn Street. In late
1922
there were only
four registered taxis but thirty three cabmen. Yet the break came in the
1920s -
by the end of the
decade there were already twenty four registered taxis. Some of them drove at such unreasonable
speed that the police considered it necessary to fine them. For example the owner of car no
25
was
fined for speeding at
30
km per hour.
Morning of a market day in Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square.
View towards the Town Hall,
1910.
Photo by Christine
&
Co (Narva).
On the right two thirds of the Provincial Court
{Landesgericht)
set up in
1768
as the first stone
building erected after a long period of stagnation. Already in
1790
it accommodated a two-class
public primary school that was turned into a three-class county school in
1804.
Starting from
1885
first a three-class and later a four-class municipal school operated there. In
1912
the school was
named after Prince Barclay
de
Tolly and was converted into a four-class grammar school. A great
number of Estonian public figures, including Jaan
Tõnisson
and
Johan
Laidoner, studied in the
municipal school. The house, first with a mansard and a broken hip roof, was rebuilt in
1890
and
has preserved its appearance from that time. In
1932-1940
it served as barracks of the 5th artillery
group, later it accommodated several public offices.
View of Great Market/
Johan
Laidoner Square on a market day,
early 20th century. In the background St John's Church. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
In the early 20th century markets were held twice a week in Viljandi
-
on Tuesdays and on Fridays.
Starting from
1909
also Thursday became a market day. Here the countrymen sold their goods from
simple wagons, the tables covered with shelters were used for trading by haberdashers, women
selling buns and cookies, shoemakers, hat-makers and tinsmiths. The so-called horse bow tax was
collected from the stall keepers by a market bailiff. It ranged from
5-25
kopecks -the most expensive
places were in front of the pharmacy. In the 19th century the market square and the neighbouring
streets also served as sites for great fairs
-
at Candlemas, Shrovetide, St. George's Day, St. John's
Day and Michaelmas. The fairs attracted customers even from more distant places; entertainers,
merry-go-rounds, organ-grinders and monkey tamers were also present, not to mention a cinema
and a puppet theatre. In order to maintain common prosperity, in the end of the 19th century fairs
also took place on the meadow by the lake and, since
1905,
already all the fairs were held there.
View of the northern side of the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
1910-1912.
In the middle the modern hotel on the corner of Hiire Street and Great Market.
Grand Hotel, built in
1910
by the Ormisson family on the site of a wooden guesthouse that had
been destroyed in fire, was at that time undisputedly one of the most representative buildings in
town. This is an oblong three-storey historicist building influenced both by renaissance and gothic
architecture. Until EVE was completed, Grand Hotel was the most elegant lodging house in Viljandi,
it was known for its excellent food and high-quality entertainment. After the Second World War the
expropriated building accommodated several schools, including the predecessor of the present
Viljandi Culture Academy of the University of Tartu.
І-И
General Laidoner
Square/Johan
Laidoner Square,
view towards the new Town Hal!,
1936.
Photo
by
T. Parri.
The primary function of the market square was preserved until
1933
when trading was moved to its
present location. The vacant square with four oaks planted there already in
1904
was transformed
into a park. A fountain was built by the municipality in the middle of the park and a sculpture by
August Vomm, „A Boy with a Fish", was set up there. The former Great Market was named after
the honorary citizen of Viljandi, General Laidoner, on his birthday on
12
February
1934.
During the
Soviet occupation, since August
1949,
the square was shortly named after Jaan
Tomp,
an Estonian
communist. In the middle, between two trees, a new market hall was built in
1912,
which had a wine
shop until
1944.
An explosion that took place in the same store in September of the same year
caused a fire that destroyed the centre of Viljandi.
View of Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square towards
Trepimäe,
early 20th century.
From the wooden houses on the left the one in the foreground belonged to Viljandi elementary
school and the more distant one to Sproghe (later: Bristol) Hotel. The upper floor of the wooden
house on the left was the home to
Friedrich Kuhlbars,
a legendary schoolman and historian.
Kuhlbars was
born on
17
August
1841
in
Sangaste Uniküla
village, he studied in primary and county
schools of Tartu as well as in Tartu Teachers' Seminary.
Kuhlbars
came to Viljandi in
1862
to work as
a teacher in the elementary school where he stayed for the next
33
years. After being fired for not
knowing Russian, he worked as a writer and devoted himself to studying antiquities and place
names.
Kuhlbars
died on
28
January
1924
and was buried in the cemetery in Riga Road. In
1928
the
school where he had worked as a teacher
-
Viljandi First Municipal Primary School
-
was given his
name. In the same year the school was transferred to a new building in Hariduse Street.
View of the northern side of Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square from the
Kuhlbars
House,
1910s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture shows the Market Hall that was built in
1912
next to the Grand Hotel on the crossing
of
Hűre
Street and Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square. It housed a spirits store until
1944.
In September
1944
when the Red Army entered the town, an explosion took place in the cellar of the
store and fire spread in Hiire and Linnu Streets. The fire was the biggest in the history of the town.
The building on the right was owned by Viljandi Municipal Primary School where
Friedrich Kuhlbars
worked as a teacher for a long period.
Brand-new water tower,
1911.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
The water tower in the square was built in
1911
due to establishing waterworks and it is one of the
oldest in small towns of Estonia. The tower owes its distinguished appearance to its body built of red
bricks and a wider octagonal water tank, which is why it was called a potato masher. A well made ¡n
the neighbourhood of the town's slaughterhouse supplied the tower with water. The water reservoir
installed in the water tower was made in the factory of
Uno Pohrt
and, according to different data,
its capacity was estimated at
6600-8000
buckets. Now the structure is used as a viewing tower.
View of the old Town Hall and Linnu Street from the south,
1920.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The old Town Hall of Viljandi was one of the four survived old stone houses. It was built in
1768-1774
and was originally owned by
Johann Nicolaus
Otto, a lawyer and burgomaster of justice of the town.
In
1783
it was leased to the newly-established magistrate and inland revenue office of the county.
The structure had a hip roof and like other prime stone houses in town, it represented the style of
Baroque that was about to end. The clock tower was built in
1838
when the house was legally
owned by the town. The clock had a wooden clockwork and caused a lot of worry to the burghers
as it was fast in dry weather and went slow in damp weather. The clock tower became the most
significant place at the turn of the year when a choral songs were performed there to the burghers
gathered on the Great Market.
View from the water tower to the old Town Hall, Girls' Grammar School and the district
towards Tartu,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The buildings in the background
-
the so-called Loorits House on the left and the town's hospital
on the right. The building next to the Town Hall was owned by the girls' grammar school the
predecessor of which started to operate as a one-year school already in
1805.
In
1848
it was turned
into a two-year school. The appearance of the structure in this picture comes from the reconstruction
in
1922-1923.
At that time the school was named Viljandi Municipal
Realgymnasium
for Girls.
In
1926
the educational establishment was united with the municipal common commercial
gymnasium and some time later it was moved to Jakobsoni Street. Now Viljandi
2nd
Municipal
Primary School is operating in this building.
The back and garden of Viljandi Town Hall,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
It was obvious by
1931
that the old town hall had become outdated. According to the opinion of
town engineer, Erich Otting, the structure needed to be thoroughly reconstructed as the joists and
HÓ
ţ'
roofs were decayed, the floors were worn and the whole building survived only "on good faith".
|: Although one also discussed building a new town hall, it was still decided to reconstruct the old
Ì:
structure. In
1931
extensive reconstruction was carried out after the plan of town engineer Ottlng
|j himself. Only the walls of the ground floor of the old house survived. An electrical clock, bought from
V: the German Siemens company, was installed in the new clock tower, and the first strikes of it could
Џ,
be heard on St. John's night of
1932.
After the reconstruction a lot of new rooms were added.
it The old town hall had held only seven workrooms; the new town hall had eleven rooms on the
i'': ground floor and five offices on the upper floor as well as a little hall, a caretaker's flat and a tower.
Simultaneously with reconstruction the courtyard was tidied up, the old stables and an old dwelling
were demolished, an ugly fence separating the town hall from the Girls' Grammar School was
removed. Thus a new green area was formed and named the Town Hall Square.
View along Lossi Street to the north and northeast,
1911.
Postcard by
A. Tõllasep
publisher.
Lossi Street functioned as one of the main roads of the town already during the Middle Ages. It
extended from the castle first to the market square and then further to Tartu Street. Tartu Gate was
located a bit closer to the spot where the current picture of the crossing of Lossi and Tartu Streets
was taken. The remains of the gate were discovered during the excavations in
1911
when
waterworks was established in the town centre. For a long period Lossi Street remained one of the
main business streets and was popularly called
Poe
Street (Shop Street). In the middle the wooden
dwelling on the corner of Lossi and Tartu Streets, owned by
Aleksander
August Rosenberg and later
his heirs, that was replaced by hotel-cum-restaurant EVE in
1939.
In the last quarter of the 19th
century Rosenberg was considered one of the wealthiest citizens of Viljandi. In spite of his peasant
origin he was respected by the local Germans
-
alderman Rosenberg almost beat
Otto von
Engelhardt during the elections of the mayor of Viljandi on
20
March
1898.
Hotel and restaurant EVE,
late
1930s.
Photo by T. Parri.
The wooden buildings, located on the lot owned by the heirs of
Aleksander
August Rosenberg and
purchased by the municipality in
1935,
were demolished in the late
1930s.
Commissioned by the
town, the vacant site was filled by hotel EVE and its auxiliary buildings. The first rank EVE hotel-
cum-restaurant was the first grand hotel in Viljandi, although there were altogether eight
hotels-cum-restaurants in the town. Each hotel room of EVE was provided with a telephone and
a bathroom with warm and cold water. The price for a room ranged from
2.5
to
5
kroons, the
restaurant served delicious meals from one to five p.m., a la carte menu was served at any time of
the day. In the evening the restaurant offered live music and cabaret performances. There is official
explanation for the name of the hotel EVE -the press of the time suggested:
"Esimene
Viljandi
Esinduslokaal" (The First Grand Place of Viljandi).
Construction of hotel and restaurant EVE,
1938.
The project of the municipal commercial and hotel building was made In
1937
by
Eugen
Sacharias,
construction was completed in
1939.
The ground plan of the structure is made up of three rectangles:
the main building by Tartu Street, the annex in Lossi Street and the two-storey structure in the yard.
The building recedes on the corner of two streets so that part of the architectural design
-
the round
staircase
-
Is emphasised. The facade is Inspired by the bourgeois architecture of the
1930s.
The ground floor is separated from the other storeys by a shelter and is made up from a row of big
showcases. In between the windows there are pilasters with capitals decorated with motifs of heads
of grain. The final cost of the building was
252,500
kroons, still additional
27,765
kroons were spent
on furnishing.
Commercial and apartment building on the corner of Lossi and Tartu Streets,
1910.
In
1907 Eduard Pohl, Viljandi
match manufacturer and father of Estonian match industry as he was
called in his necrology by
Päevaleht
newspaper, purchased a real estate on the crossing of Lossi and
Tartu Streets. In
1908
an imposing metropolitan apartment building was set up there in spite of the
scepticism from the Germans. The size of the building was extraordinary in local context and it was
regarded the most stylish building of the town until the Viljandi Branch of the Bank of Estonia was
completed. The general appearance of the building is historicist; besides classicist details ¡t also
contains influences from the renaissance and gothic styles. The house has more or less preserved
its original appearance, The building is also known as
Šakala
Bank after its other owner from a later
period.
View of the crossing of Lossi and Tartu Streets,
ca
1910.
Photo by J.
Riet.
On the left
Eduard Pohl
commercial and apartment building that has been recently renovated.
On the right a single-storey building with projections crowned with neo-gothic stepped pediments,
a structure quite exceptional in Viljandi. This was the office and main entrance of the brewery owned
by Viljandi businessman and industrialist,
Aleksander
August Rosenberg, and later his heirs. During
(47
reconstruction
¡η
1913-1917
the stepped pediments were demolished to build upper storeys.
Later it was known as Viljandi Cafe as, since
1936,
it accommodated Wilesko cafe (the first cafe in
Viljandi) that was generally called Rummu (Rummo) Cafe after the name of its owner.
Viljandi Flax Mill on the crossing of Loss! and Uus Streets,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Viljandi Flax Mill Ltd was established in
1912
with the capital stock of
144,000
roubles. In April,
1913
the pastor of the rural congregation, Jaan Lattik, consecrated the new modern factory with
120-130
workers. It became the biggest enterprise of textile industry in the country which was owned
by Estonian national capital. At the same time it was the biggest industrial enterprise in the whole
Viljandi county. The capital stock of the factory had been compiled by well-known businessmen and
enterprisers of Viljandi
-
A. Tõllassepp,
A. Seisler, J.
Luts,
M.
Kõiva,
J. Vichvelin and J. Metsamärt.
The flax mill operated already before its final completion, i.e. at the end of
1912
and the size of
production constantly grew. Even the First World War did not interrupt work as the demand of the
army for tarpaulin increased
-
contrary to other enterprises more people had to be hired.
The enterprise continued to prosper even all through the first period of independence of the Republic
of Estonia.
Crowded stand of Viljandi racecourse by Uus Street,
1910s.
Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
Going in for equestrian sports became popular both in Viljandi town and county in the last quarter of
the 19th century. The most famous stable all over Livonia at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries was
A. Werncke stable, as horses bred there won several prizes in Riga that was the centre of equestrian
sports at the time. The stables of O.
von
Ungem-Sternberg in Viljandi and that of H.
von Sivers
in
Heimtali did not fall behind either. At the beginning of
1905
it was decided to establish a local riders'
society that started to organise horse shows on a M-vakamaa
(1
vakamaa
=
half acre) area in
between
Põltsamaa
and Tartu Roads. The first competitions were held already in August,
1905;
a proper competition site with a
1.5
kilometre track was built in
1907.
The first horse shows held
there were named Felliner
Renner
(Viljandi Races). The development of equestrian sports was inte¬
rrupted by the First World War.
View of Lembitu/A. Maramaa Avenue from Uus Street,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Until the end of tsarist period there were several political and economical reasons to prevent the
town of Viljandi from expanding. After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia these circumstan¬
ces disappeared and new land was used for expanding the town. At first the construction was cen¬
tred in the hill in Jakobsoni Street but also in the triangle between Uus and Tallinn Streets. In
1922
the first inhabitants of tenements in Lembitu Avenue moved in. In
1919-1925
altogether
144
new
apartment buildings were erected in the new quarters of Viljandi.
View of Viljandi St. John's Church from the First
Kirsimägi
(Cherry Hill)
or the third outwork,
1910s.
St. John's Church is located in the corner between the Castle and the mediaeval town wall. The
history of the church begins with the former Franciscan monastery that was built there in
1466-1472.
The monastery was destroyed in fire during the
Livonian
War, the chapel of the monastery was later
reconstructed as a town church and was dedicated to Saint John. The latest reconstruction of the
survived and thoroughly rebuilt monastery church was preceded by archaeological excavations in
1980-1981.
Extensive archaeological excavations were also carried out in
1989-1990
in the southern
and eastern side of St. John's Church. The findings contained a lot of ceramics, both commodities
and building stones, metal objects, jewellery and other items connected with human activities.
The surroundings of the church were used as a cemetery and
127
human skeletons were found there.
St. John's Church was closed in the
1950s
and taken into use as a store of furniture. In
1986
it was
decided to reconstruct the church into a concert hall, but three years later this plan was changed and
the church was restored, a Christmas sermon was held there in
1991.
The church has stained glass
windows by Renee Aua and an organ given by Ahrtensburg, a twin town of Viljandi. In
2006
the
sculpture „Hope" by August
Weizenberg,
long preserved in Viljandi Museum, was also placed there.
Vicarage of St. John's Church in Pikk Street, view from Lossi Street,
early 20th century.
The plan of the vicarage of St. John's Church was made by master builder A.
Härtung in 1894
and
the building was completed in the summer of
1895.
A small outhouse was also completed at the
same time. The facade of the vicarage is enlivened by three projections crowned with pediments that
are decorated with jagged cantilever cornices. During the Soviet period it long housed the lending
department of Viljandi City Library. In
2003
an art centre dedicated to Paul
Kondás,
one of the best
known representatives of naive art in Estonia, was established there. Besides paintings by
Kondás
it
displays mostly
naïve
art, contemporary folk art as well as outsider art.
(48
-.—<#>
v
View of Pikk Street from
Munga
and Kauba Streets,
1910s.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
Villa on the right was owned by
Oskar Gabler,
secretary of the registry office for real estate, now
known as Inkeri House. Villa
Gabler was
completed in
1909.
Both Rudolf
Moritz von Engeihardt
and
Karl
Burman
have been suggested as authors by the researchers, yet there is no clear evidence in
this matter. The villa represents a traditionalist stone building with Art
Nouveau
details adjoined
by a big garden. The distinctive element of the building is an early-gothic column with a capital
accentuating the main entrance. During the Soviet period it housed a Young Pioneers' Palace.
Villa Engelhardt/Mats
Nõges
House, view from Pikk Street,
1920s.
Building of Villa Engeihardt was commenced on the corner of Pikk and Lutsu Streets in
1906
when
the wife of mayor
Otto von Engeihardt,
Elisabeth, purchased a plot there. The residential villa was
planned by the brother of the mayor, a well-known Baltic German architect, Rudolph
Moritz von
Engeihardt. An excellent place had been chosen for the villa, the side facing the courtyard offered
isolation and a wonderful view of the lake and the surroundings. The appearance of the building
was influenced by
Heimat
style, but the interior contained a lot of Art
Nouveau
details.
After the establishment of the Republic of Estonia the Engeihardt family leaved for Germany and the
property was soon purchased by Mart Univer. The house was later owned by
Dr
Mats
Nõges
and
correspondingly renamed.
Nõges
came to Viljandi in
1915
and started to work as head of the Red
Cross Infirmary. Starting from
1922
he worked as head of Viljandi Hospital and later as head of
department of internal diseases. Dr. M.
Nõges
was an acknowledged physician and an advocate of
folk medicine.
View of the lower part of Pikk Street from
Järve/Ranna
Avenue,
late
1930s.
On the right part of the so-called Rosenberg-Muks House.
The lower part of Pikk Street, i.e. the section from Lossi Street to
Ranna
Avenue was formerly
regarded as a connection between the town and the one-time harbour. However, archaeological
studies have not confirmed this theory. During modern history this sector was called Jew's Street
(Judengasse)
as many citizens of Jewish descent resided there.
View of the so-called Mules House from the lake,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Commissioned by pastor of Suure-Jaani,
Georg
Rosenberg, the large
Heimat
style residence was
built in the early 20th century. The large-scale building has three storeys, a stylish granite socle and
mansard. In
1944-1983
it was the home to artist Juhan Muks. Muks was born on
6
July
1899.
He acquired art education by studying in Tallinn Industrial School of Art, Pallas Higher Art School,
Latvian Academy of Art in Riga and free academies of Paris. In
1930
Muks came to Viljandi where,
together with other artists (A. Murakin, E. Timbermann, G. Mootse), he established the tradition
of art exhibitions. Alongside portraits, landscapes also became dominant in his art. The artist was
a big lover of nature and a devoted naturalist. Muks died on
23
November
1983
in Viljandi and is
buried in Viljandi Forest Cemetery.
View of
Munga
Street from Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
early 20th century. Photo by F. A. Livenstroem.
The alley starting from the market square and running towards Pikk Street is of mediaeval origin.
According to archaeological data
Munga
Street has not been in intensive use during the Middle Ages
as this seems to have been an excessively wet place that has been repeatedly filled with tree trunks
placed along the street. Most likely
Munga
Street was cobbled only in the middle of the 16th century.
At the same time this is a very interesting area archaeologically as the damp soil has preserved woo¬
den and leather items that are rare in the sandy cultural layers of Viljandi.
Part of Kauba Street towards Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square,
first half of the
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture shows one of the most legendary haunted castles of the town. This was the so-called old
prison, which was one of the first four stone structures built in the 18th century. First the building
was owned by retired major and Viljandi
Rentmeister, Claus von
Staden,
who is said to have erected
the house by using bricks of very poor quality. Then he somehow succeeded in exchanging the
house, in
1786,
for the courthouse built in Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square and in selling the
latter to the state for a big sum. When a school was accommodated in the stone building on Great
Market/Johan Laidoner Square, the court and the jail were moved to Kauba Street where they
operated for a long period. The building was demolished in
1926
when the plot was given to Viljandi
fire-fighters.
Kassisaba/Oru Street towards southeast,
early 20th century. Photo by H.
Christin
(Narva-Tallinn).
Oru
Street is made up of two historical parts
-
the first part from Lossi Street to Linnu Street
constitutes the mediaeval Lai Street that has been studied archaeologically to some extent.
1
49
Further on the street runs across the mediaeval town wall and makes a sharp bend to the right on
the crossing with Kraavi Street, thereafter it proceeds on the opposite bank of the former moat.
This part of the street, having sprung up in the 18th century, was named Kassisaba (Cat's Tail) due
to the aforementioned bend. The old name of the street is no longer used.
Beginning of Kauba Street towards Tallinn and Riia/Vaksali Streets,
1910s.
The mediaeval Storke Street, later Kauba Street, was one of the main roads of the town for a long
period. Through centuries it served as an access to the market square for people approaching from
the direction of Riga and
Pärnu.
At the time of taking the photo Kauba Street was a proper business
area
-
here one traded gold and silver as well as iron and steel, there were barbershops and grocery
shops. In the foreground
N. Hoff
milliner's workshop and Rubin Eitelberg's gold and silverware shop.
View of Tartu Street towards Lossi Street,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
After the extension of town in the last quarter of the 18th century, Tartu Street proceeded on the
site of the mediaeval road on the edge of the moat-the first building plots were divided there
immediately after restoration of town bylaws in
1783.
Tartu Street gradually became one of the main
business streets of the town. It had a big number of shops and also some handicraft enterprises.
In the right foreground the house owned by tanner Rieprich which played an essential role in the
Estonian history of culture. It was this building that first accommodated the editorial board of
Šakala
newspaper, established by Carl Robert
Jakobson in 1878,
which represented the more radical trend
of the Estonian national movement.
Monopoly liquor store in Kurrikoff House on the crossing of Tartu and Tallinn Streets,
1910s.
Photo by H.
Christin
(Narva).
At noon of
30
June
1900
all pubs in Viljandi were closed down and the sign plates were taken down
from above their doors. This introduced the era of the monopoly of selling spirits that considerably
restricted the activities of taverns. In the 1890s there were more than twenty taverns in Viljandi, now
at first only three of them survived. Later, however, the number of pubs increased to a certain extent.
However, imposing the law of spirits also brought along problems
-
now drunkards appeared in the
streets in spite of strict penalties, bottles of vodka bought from the monopolies were smuggled into
all kinds of places, for example in beer houses or grocer's shops where snacks were available.
Tõllasepp
House in Tartu Street,
ca
1915.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The stone commercial and apartment building in the picture was set up in Tartu Street in
1907
to
replace a former wooden house. At that time the property was owned by master builder Johannes
Kondor
but immediately after completing the house it was purchased by Ado
Tõllasepp
-
therefore
the building is known as
Tõllasepp
House. The author of the plan is not known exactly but the
researchers have suggested the former owner, J.
Kondor.
The structure is one of the most
presentable
еагіу-гоїп
century buildings in Viljandi but by today its former Art
Nouveau
main facade
has been considerably changed due to conversions and by adding the third storey. In the first quarter
of the 20th century
Tõllasepp
House had rooms of Vabadus temperance society, the editorial office
of
Šakala
newspaper, Viljandi's first permanently operating
Teater
Modern cinema, A. Kamsen's
private commercial school of
Valga,
etc.
View of the crossing of Tartu and Lossi Streets towards Tallinn Street,
1910s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The tall ladder and men on top of the post indicate that telephone lines are being installed. Among
other technical innovations telephone was brought to Viljandi in the second half of the 19th century.
The first telephone line, also called 'a wirespeaker' in the local press, was set up thanks to the
permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs by the local industrialist and merchant,
Aleksander
August Rosenberg in
1881.
The line connected his office and brewery in the town with the steam
mill located by the lake and it ran along Tartu Street. Most likely this was one of the first operating
telephone lines in all tsarist Russia. Some time later Viljandi manor also established its
private telephone.
In
1900
the statutes of the local telephone society was ratified and the manors of the neighbourhood
were connected with Viljandi by the telephone exchange set up in the Casino in
Posti
Street.
View of the crossing of Tartu and Lossi Streets from Harjutuse/Koidu Street,
early 20th century. Postcard by
J. Riet.
None of the housing in the picture has survived in its original form. The red brick commercial and
apartment buildings in the middle, erected in the last decade of the 19th century and holding
V. S. Ogurzov shop at the moment of taking the picture, were destroyed in fire during the Second
World War, the survived part was demolished later. Now the site is a parking lot. A modern hotel
was set up opposite the brick buildings in the late
1930s.
The structure on the right, a bakery and a
haberdashery shop, was replaced by a metropolitan building, known also as
Šakala
Bank.
The wooden house on the left has also been replaced by a newer and bigger building.
1
50
VI i j a n d
і
View of the housing of Tartu and
Väike
Streets,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture was most likely taken from a higher place opposite the lake. The large light structure on
the right was the town hospital that was built already in the 19th century and located in
Väike
Street.
The buildings below left belonged to the steam mill owned by the heirs of Rosenberg. The relatively
young alder grove called
Mädalepik
(Rotten Alder Grove) can be seen below right.
End of Tartu Street in Kivistiku district towards Tartu,
1922.
Kivistiku suburb in the neighbourhood of Tartu Street began advancing rapidly in the last quarter
of the 19th century. The suburb sprang up on the manorial land between the foot of the hill in Tartu
Street and the town's poorhouse, built in
1886-1887,
on the crossing of present Jakobsoni and Tartu
Streets (In the middle). As the ground was stony and sloping, it was profitable for the manor to sell
the land into building plots. The overwhelming majority of the first inhabitants of Kivistiku were
made up of cottagers and estate labourers from the country as well as of younger children of farm
households. Here they started to make their living with handicraft or were hired in town as servants
and farmhands. This area was administratively subordinated to Viljandi commune.
View of Kivistiku district from Jakobsoni Street,
ca
1920.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The picture reflects the situation at the end of the tsarist period
-
a big part of the area by Jakobsoni
Street is still without housing. In the background Lake Viljandi that has played an important role in
the life of the town through centuries. Already the oldest known documents
-
town regulations
of Viljandi
-
contain articles about fishing rights on the lake. Attempts were made to regulate the
connections of the burghers with the lake both by Viljandi manor and the municipality.
Viljandi Craftsmen's Subsidiary Society,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The structure was completed in
1903
under the instruction of master builder Johannes
Kondor.
Both
Kondor
and
Georg Hellat
who planned the house of Estonian Students' Society In Tartu have
been suggested as authors of the project. In any case both men were Involved in the construction.
The original ground plan of the building consisted of three rectangles
-
a square two-storey
projection with a vestibule and rooms of the board on the upper floor; a receding single-storey part
towards the street and an oblong hall at the back. The facade of the building facing the street was
enlivened by motifs influenced by Art
Nouveau
and
Heimat
style. The house has been repeatedly
rebuilt and the eclectic small tower with mouldings, arched windows and pediments has disappea¬
red. The Viljandi Craftsmen's Subsidiary Society was founded in
1897,
but the
Livonian
provincial
government registered it only at the beginning of
1900.
At first the society operated in the house of
the agricultural society, later in the house of Helmersen from Karula but finally they made up their
mind to build their own house. During the construction the society acquired heavy debts and
therefore, after reconstructions in
1913,
it was decided to lease the house for showing movies and
organising other kind of activities. In the
1930s
the first sound picture in Viljandi was shown there.
View of the crossing of
Posti
and Lossi Streets towards Tallinn Street,
early 20th century.
On the right Casino, club of the nobility, built in Viljandi in
1843
on the initiative of the local police
chief,
Theodor von
Helmersen. The house is regarded as one of the purest examples of classicist
wooden architecture in the town. The casino served mainly as a club for the manor-owners from
the neighbourhood but also for more educated and wealthier burghers. Here the German community
organised concerts, evenings of debate, lectures, etc. During one lecture
Theodor
Schieman,
a teacher in the County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium,
proposed archaeological excavations
in the ruins of the order castle. During the First World War a small military hospital with thirty beds
operated there. During the Republic of Estonia the building was used by the army. On the right the
facade of the Park Hotel
-
a place where the higher tsarist officials working in the town stayed.
The hotel and the casino shared a common kitchen.
Back view of the casino from Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
For many centuries the area behind the casino had a pond with a small island in the middle.
In winter the frozen pond was used as a skating rink, but it caused problems in the summer. The
stagnant water stank and, since
1883,
repeated attempts were made to dredge the water, it was even
planned to cover the bottom of the pond with stone slabs, but all in vain. Starting from
1892
the
pond was gradually filled with earth and by
1895
it had disappeared. In
1901
a small park was
planted there which was named Children's Park. In
1912,
after establishing waterworks in the town,
the first fountain of Viljandi was built in Children's Park.
15I
View of the crossing of Harjutuse/Koidu and
Posti
Streets from Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
early 20th century. Stereo photo by J.
Riet.
During the tsarist period Koidu Street was named Exercierstrasse, i.e. Exercise Street, because in one
end there was the headquarters of the local garrison and a square where the soldiers exercised. Until
the late 1880s Harjutuse Street extended up to Veske Street, afterwards it was expanded up to Uus
Street. On the left, part of the former Feldt print shop where the first
Šakala
newspapers were prin¬
ted. The large stone building on the right is the District Court, built in
1895.
The wooden house next
to the street lamp was replaced by Jaan
Rieťs studio
and residence in
1914.
Viljandi Courthouse,
1910s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
District Court is a two-storey stone building that was planned as a courthouse and completed in
1895.
It was designed by junior architect of the
Livonian
provincial government, G.
Pfeiffer,
and built
by G. Darmer company from Riga. The neo-renaissance stone building follows the street line. In the
early 20th century it was connected with the main building with the help of a gallery on the first floor.
The building has constantly been used by the regional court. From November
1917
until February
1918
it accommodated the local committee of the Soviet authorities. On
24
February
1918
the mayor
of Viljandi,
Gustav Talts,
read aloud the Manifesto of Independence of Estonia from the stairs of the
building. To record this event, a memorial plaque was placed on the wall in
1928.
It was removed in
1940-1990
but now It has been restored.
View of the studio and residence on the corner of
Posti
and Koidu Streets from
Posti
Street,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The building in the picture is considered as a true pearl among the early 20th century residences
and an excellent representative of national romantic style in Viljandi. The house was designed by
architect Karl
Burman
and completed in
1914.
The owner of the house, Jaan
Riet, was
born in
1873
as a carpenter's son in Abja commune. He studied photography with master photographer Hans
Kristin in Tallinn. J.
Riet
opened his own studio in
1898.
In
1903
he attended courses in Frankfurt.
After the completion of his studio and residence in
Posti
Street he intended to expand business
but the First World War took him to the battlefield. During the Republic of Estonia
Riet
worked
successfully, being assisted by his wife with artistic interests, Marie, and his daughter, Hilja, who had
studied in Pallas Art School. In
1940
the
Riet
House was expropriated and, in
1951,
the Soviet
authorities forced the family to leave their home. J.
Riet
died in
1952.
During the period of
1896-1948
almost
80,000
photos were taken in his studios. The artistically and technically top-class photo
collection of
Riet
constitutes a priceless historical source about Viljandi.
View of the eastern side of Projekti/Eha Street from Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
early 20th century. Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
Until the
1920s
Posti
Street extended only to Projekti/Eha Street. The brick building on the left has
survived until today. The adjoining house of the German Artisans' Society or
Handwerkerverein was
demolished in the course of extending
Posti
Street. The German Artisans' Society was one of the
most vital German organisations of the town besides the Casino. As the Casino had developed into a
relatively closed club of the German gentry, the membership of the artisans'society was much more
open. In
1907,
on the 40th anniversary of the society, it contained
143
members. The society included
manor-owners, writers, artisans, merchants, etc. The society had its own school and a library with
more than
2000
books.
Building on the corner of Projekti/Eha and
Väike
Street,
1910s.
The building in the picture was erected in the mid-19th century but its facade gained its final
appearance only by
1911,
after numerous conversions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It was owned by master builder Loorits and is thus known as the Loorits House. Most of its
historicist appearance has been destroyed by today. The dormers on the roof have also disappeared
by adding the third storey.
View of Villa Doll in Jakobsoni Street from the boarding house,
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
In
1908
the construction of a villa was commenced in Veske Street of the time for the son of the
pastor of the town congregation, August
Westrén-Dolle,
who resided in Moscow. The two-storey
building with an attic and a partly built basement is topped with a high red-tiled gable roof,
enlivened by slender chimneys and curved dormer windows. The building has smooth lines as
characteristic of Art
Nouveau.
The authorship of the structure is unclear- contemporary press
hinted at „a metropolitan architect", later on several names, including that of Karl
Burman,
have
been suggested by the researchers. During the first period of independence of the Republic of
Estonia
(1918-1940)
the building housed the headquarters of both the 5th Artillery Group and the
4th Division as well as that of
Pärnu-Viljandi
Military District.
І52
V
і
1
j a n á í
Viljandi Children's Park,
ca
1916.
In
1901
work began to establish Children's Park that was to replace the pond with stagnant water.
In
1912
the town was able to build the very first fountain there. Yet it seems that this was something
new and odd for the people of Viljandi as, according to the press, they started to throw rubbish there
and some of them used the fountain to swim their dogs. Soon the fountain suffered the first act of
vandalism.
Construction of a noble residence in Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
1913.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The building under construction was owned by assistant district chief, Baron Wolff, who has gone
down in local history as a chauvinistic Baltic German as he could not stand his Estonian countrymen.
In
1917
the structure accommodated the Viljandi military and revolutionary committee. In
1921-1933
it held the headquarters of
Šakala
Partisan Battalion. In the late
1930s
the municipality planned to
purchase it for the Viljandi Museum but, as the opposite party violated the contract, the plan came
to nothing.
Headquarters of the Defence League on the corner of
Jakobson!
and Koidu Streets,
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The urban villa, owned by the
Stryk
family of
Vana-Võidu
manor, was set up as a single-storey
structure in the late 19th century. After the fire in
1909
the upper storey was added. The historicist
building with
Hanseatic
gothic influences has followed the architectural examples of mediaeval
strongholds which makes it unique in Viljandi. After the
Stryk
family the villa was owned by
Dr. Jaan
Vares;
in
1929
it was obtained by the Defence League that undertook some conversions
in its new headquarters. At the beginning of the Soviet occupation the new power turned the buil¬
ding into a so-called Workers' House. After the Second World War a cultural centre and a music
school operated there.
View of
Jakobson!
Street towards Tallinn Street,
early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
On the left Viljandi Koit (Dawn) Theatre and Music Society. Koit Society was founded in
1869
as the
first Estonian society of Viljandi. Soon it became the main consolidator of Estonian cultural life in
Viljandimaa county
-
it organised parties, meetings, concerts, singing rehearsals, there was also a
drama circle. The best-known event of the society in its first years was the performance of the first
Estonian-language play by
Lydia
Koidula in Viljandi. The society was also active in organising singing
days of the county. For a long period it operated in rented rooms. In
1902
and
1908
it purchased
a plot with buildings on the corner of Harjutuse/Koidu and Veske/Jakobsoni Streets. In
1911
the new
society building was completed after extensive reconstruction. It had all kinds of rooms for social
activities
-
a theatre hall for
500
people, an orchestra, a cloakroom as well as a billiard hall,
a bowling room, a buffet and a reading room.
Veske/Jakobsoni Street on the crossroad of Projekti/Eha Street,
last quarter of the 19th century.
The crowd in the picture has most likely gathered for a procession of a 19th century song festival.
On the left
Gustav
Max Schmidt's School that played an important role in the educational activities of
Viljandi. G. M. Schmidt was an educator who, in
1844,
established a boys' private grammar school in
Viljandi with the support of the local German community. This was essentially a classical gymnasium
of arts. The school was officially named G. M. Schmidt's Private Educational Establishment for
Boys or Scmidtsche
Privat-, Lehr- und Erziehnungs Anstalt für Knaben.
Yet popularly it was simply
called Mit's School or Anstat. The educational establishment with a liberal atmosphere, where pupils
of graduating classes were allowed to have beer parties together with their teachers, was able
to give relatively good education. At the same time it served as one of the preconditions for
establishing the
Livonian
County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium in
Viljandi. The structure was
destroyed in fire in
1903.
View of Veske/Jakobsoni Street from Viiratsi, early 1880s.
The picture shows the brand new schoolhouse of the
Livonian
County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium.
It started to operate in
1875
in the rooms of
Gustav
Max Schmidt's private
school. In December
1877
a new two-storey building with one hundred rooms and a horseshoe-
shaped ground plan was completed. The new educational institution, planned by architect
R.
Hänsermann, was
very modern at the time
-
it had spacious and bright rooms and walls decorated
with paintings. By
1881
there were
185
pupils and altogether
498
persons being instructed.
The gymnasium provided instruction in German and was mostly attended by the sons of
Livonian
manor-owners; there were relatively few students of Estonian descent
-
only
34
from
162
graduates.
Landesgymnasium was
closed in
1892
during the wave of
Russification
policy. Later on still several
schools operated in the building of the grammar school. In
1918-1940
it held Viljandi Boys' High
School of Science. The building also accommodated various other organisations. For example,
the basement of the school was used by the Viljandi Literary Society that preserved the collections
of the Ditmar Museum there.
(55
Veske/Jakobsoni Street,
last decades of the 19th century.
On the right the building of Viljandi County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium.
There is an area
with thick high vegetation in front of it
-
this is the hedge of the school park. The school park of
Landesgymnasium was
designed immediately after the completion of the new schoolhouse. The
park was established by Love head forester, Vorkampff
-
there was enough work for
30
men for a
month. The plot of the park was donated by
Morna
estate owner,
Friedrich von Stryk,
who purchased
a M-vakamaa plot
(1
vakamaa
=
half acre) of field for
4000
roubles from Oswald
von
Ungern-
Sternberg for this purpose. Trees were also donated by different manor-owners. From three sides the
square was surrounded by ditches and 12-m wide banks. Fir trees were planted to the external side
of the bank, whereas the inner area of the 12-m wide park was planted with deciduous trees
-
oaks, poplars, limes, birches
-
altogether
4000
plants. As at first too many trees were planted
and the park soon became too crammed, young trees from the nursery garden of the school park
were dug up and planted elsewhere.
Viljandi County Grammar School
Landesgymnasium
with a park and stadium in front,
early 20th century. Postcard by
Є.
Ring publisher.
In designing the park of the
Landesgymnasium,
it was also included a chance to go in for sports.
As seen from the schoolhouse there was the main stadium on the right and six smaller class
stadiums on the left. It was hard to imagine that this place would be the main stadium of the town
for the following
50
years. The Viljandi County Grammar School was the introducer of western
amateur sports in the town and neighbourhood. This mostly signifies
Ludvig
Herbig
who had been
hired as a teacher of gymnastics in
1878
and who systematically encouraged an interest In physical
activities among his students. The leisure time of the students was spent on different games,
gymnastics, running, skating, etc. The sports year culminated in days of gymnastics when children
competed in various fields of sport.
View of Viljandi Estonian Agricultural Society from
Jakobson
Street,
postcard from
1907.
In
1871
the Estonian Agricultural Society was founded in Viljandi on the advice of Carl Robert
Jakobson
who took an active part in its activities
-
in
1876-1882 Jakobson was
even the president
of the society. With the capital of
60
roubles the society started to build its own house ¡n
1881.
In spite of financial difficulties the new building was opened already in October
1882.
Besides the
society it held rooms for Koit (Dawn) culture society, Vabadus temperance society and Viljandi loan
and savings society. Starting from
1908
It also housed the Giri's
Progymnasium
of the Viljandi
Educational Society. Soon the whole building was left to the educational society as, in
1913,
the agricultural society purchased a house in Tallinn Street for a sensible price. This was the former
Christian
Rotermann
department store. The former building of the agricultural society was repeatedly
rebuilt
-
in
1909
the upper storey was added, in
1923
an annex was built to the side facing
Korgemäe
Street.
View of the yard of Viljandi Estonian Agricultural Society from the lake,
1911.
Photo by J.
Riet.
From the very beginning the courtyard of the agricultural society was in intensely used for various
undertakings. Different musical events and exhibitions were quite customary there. The picture
shows the technical section of the "agricultural, handicraft and industrial show" opened on
11
September
1911
by the head of the society, Loorits. The biggest exponents on that exhibition
were O. Bieberger from Riga with
Ursus
engines and
Tiby
threshing machines as well as the
Valga
branch of Latvian Economic Society with the steam engines.
Hall of the Girls'
Progymnasium
of Viljandi Estonian Educational Society during
a model lesson, early 20th century.
The hall of the agricultural society and later educational society was the pride and glory of the
building until
1932.
Then a fire broke out from the oven lit on the stage and the whole interior was
destroyed, including the big curtain painted by
Johan Köler
and the library left to the educational
society by
Friedrich Kuhlbars.
View from the Order Castle to the surroundings of the lake,
early
1930s.
Photo by M.
Teng.
Using the territory by Lake Viljandi as a public area happened quite late. Until the beginning of the
20th century this area was divided between the manor and the town into economic districts
-
both
parties used them mostly as meadows and grazing land. In the late 19th century bigger fairs were
held there as taking the cattle to town was difficult and caused a lot of criticism from the burghers.
From
1905
all the fairs were held by the lake. In
1906
the municipality allowed to build a primitive
sports ground by the lake. The systematic development of the area started in the mid-1920s when
the centre of Viljandi Tennis and Water Sports Club was built there.
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View of the area by the lake from
Trepimägi
(Staircase
Hill),
са
1913.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
On the right the Vesiflirt (Water Flirt) Alley, on the left 'the paddock' where it was possible to go in
for sports and where 'the paddock boys' were trained. 'Paddock boys' was a popular name for men
in the reserve of the tsarist army. The structures in the lake are the so-called bathing cabins. The one
on the right was owned by the manor and was located in the end of the present Water Flirt Alley;
the left cabin was owned by the town.
View of
Trepimägi
(Staircase Hill) and Villa Sellheim,
1907
or
1908.
Postcard by E. Ring publisher.
The idea of the Staircase Hill emerged already in the early 1880s when the initial work was started.
Then it came to a standstill and nothing happened for a long time. The present
Trepimägi
connecting
the town centre and the area by the lake was built in the early 20th century on the initiative of the
mayor,
Otto von Engelhardt.
The plan was designed by his younger brother, Walter
von Engelhardt,
one of the best-known landscape architects in the Baltic region. For a long time the biggest obstacle
in establishing the connection between the Great Market/Johan Laidoner Square and the lake was
made up by the mediaeval moat that was filled in with the ruins after the big fire that ravaged the
town centre in
1895.
View of
Trepimägi
(Staircase Hill) and the area by the lake,
late
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
Compared to the time of establishing
Trepimägi in
the early 20th century the situation seen in the
picture has changed considerably. The trees have grown and new houses have been built.
The silhouette of the town is still decorated with the tower of the old town hall that was replaced
by a new one in
1931.
Villa Sellheim in the beginning of
Trepimägi
has got company. The bathing
establishment can still be seen, it disappeared after the shore was cleaned up and a stadium and
the Beach
Café
were built.
Participants of light athletics courses organised by Tulevik sports club in the summer
of
1914.
Photo by
IM.
Teng
First on the right, the supervisor of the courses, Anton
Õunapuu.
The courses ended with
competitions and a big party held in Altona on the opposite shore of the lake.
Workers of the
Siegel &
Co company by the slaughterhouse of Viljandi,
1911.
The trickiest thing about building the waterworks at the beginning of the 20th century was finding
the water of high quality. The first hole was drilled by the Rosenberg-Niilus company ordered from
Valga.
Water was reached but soon it turned out to be unusable due to high contents of iron.
In
1911
the municipality ordered new work from the
Siegel &
Co. This time the test was carried out
near the town's slaughterhouse and the new drill hole started to give high-quality water from the
depth of
300
feet.
View of the area by the lake, early
1920s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
In the middle Liiva Street, known for a brothel of poor reputation. The so-called Margareete's
Castle stood at the end of the street. The farmers arriving in town were often invited there by petty
criminals who stole the belongings of the victims who had been seduced by the female charm.
The house with a chimney on the left is the town's slaughterhouse completed in
1901,
the right stack
belonged to Rosenberg steam mill.
Viljandi beach pavilion-cum-cafe,
ca
1939.
Photo by T. Parri.
The modern beach pavilion with a buffet, changing rooms and separate courtyards for sunbathing
were built by Lake Viljandi in
1935.
By
1938
the institution had quickly gained popularity and needed
to be extended. On
28
May a party of local dignitaries headed by the mayor, August Maramaa,
gathered in the newly finished rooms of the cafe. After a short opening speech with compliments to
the summer pleasures of the hometown the dance floor of the new establishment was opened
with a temperamental polka instead of the traditional waltz.
Viljandi Tennis and Water Sport Club and boat landing,
1933.
The building with the popular name Vesiflirt (Water Flirt) was set up in the middle of allotments of
the town citizens in
1924.
The structure built on credit was planned by Johannes
Fuks
and it housed
the club for fourteen years. It also held a popular cafe. The club was one of the most active
organisations of Viljandi
-
It organised parties, tennis courses and competitions. The popular name
of the building comes from the Vesiflirt Alley that led there. It was established in about
1905.
lit
The new Beach Casino, built by the Tennis and Water Sport Club in
1938-1939,
late
1930s.
By the second half of the
1930s
the old building of the tennis and water sport club had become
too small for the club activities and, in
1938,
the plan of the new building was presented to the
municipality. It foresaw building a buffet and a bar, a spacious hall, rooms for the orchestra, a store
for boats, oars, etc as well as lavatories on the ground floor. The first floor was to hold a smaller hall
for closed events, clubrooms and a balcony. Even a tower was to be added. Like the old building,
this house was also designed by architect
Fuks.
Construction of the Beach Casino was started in
November
1938
and completed in the following year.
Viljandi Ski Jump,
1931.
Photo by T. Parri.
In the winter of
1928
the young skiers of Viljandi built a snow ski jump track on
Närska Hill.
The first competitions were held at once and the jumps were measured with the help of a wagon
shaft. The first winner was
Oskar Veideman
with the result of eight metres. The longer-lasting ski
jump track in the picture was built in
1930
on a hill behind the ruins of the castle but the lack of snow
did not yet enable to organise competitions. However, the year
1931
surpassed all expectations
-
according to the press almost
5000
people gathered to watch ski jump during the national skiing
competition held in February. The competition was won by a Finnish citizen, Toivo
Nykänen,
Veideman
took a second position.
The front swimming pool of Uueveski summer resort and the neighbourhood,
second half of the
1930s.
Photo by J.
Riet.
The Uueveski summer resort was developed in
1929
by Viljandi municipality headed by the social
democrat mayor, August Maramaa. The swimming pools, popularly called 'marble baths' and the
'Lido of Uueveski', became usable in the summer of
1930.
Soon it became the most beloved
recreation area of townspeople. Nevertheless, Uueveski was continuously criticised by the
Šakala
newspaper
-
the area was not clean enough, people's morals left to be desired, etc. According to a
plan from
1942
a park where young people could enjoy sport was to be established there.
Holiday-makers in the newly planted Uueveski pinewood,
1936.
Most of the pines were planted in Uueveski on
24
May
1929
in the framework of the nationwide
forestry week. The area of planting covered about two hectares of field towards
Peetrimõlsa
in
Uueveski district. Altogether more than
10,000
pines from Aimla nursery garden were planted.
The forest planters were mostly students from the schools of the town.
1
56
¥
i í j a n d. í
Sisukord
Sissejuhatus
6
Vaade linnale
9
Viljandi panoraam
10
Vaade linnale Pauluse kiriku tornist
11
Vaade linnale kirdest
iile
Tartu
tänava 12
Vaade
südalinnale Jaani
kiriku kellatornist
13
Vaade ordulinnuse varemetele
ja vanalinnale üle järve 14
Viljandi ordulinnuse varemed
1878.
aasta suvel
15
Vaade ordulinnuse varemetele
lõunast
16
Vaade
Kaevumäele
kirdest
1923.
a augustis
17
Vaade
Kaevumäele
teîselt eeslinnuselt
18
Vaade
Teisele Kirsimäele
edelast
19
Teine
Kirsimägi
1927.
aasta suvel
20
Filosoof! puiestee Lossipargis
21
Vaade rippsillale Kaevumäe
poolt
22
Vaade
Várese sillale
Esimeselt Kirsimäelt
23
Vaade Vabadusplatsile Tallinna tänava
poolt
24
Vaade Vabadusplatsile kagust
25
Pangahärrad kolivad. Vaade uuele pangahoonele
26
Vaade Eesti Panga Viljandi osakonna hoonele
27
Sakalamaa langenud
sõjameeste
mälestussammas
28
Eesti Vabariigi
10.
aastapäeva iiritused
29
Viljandi
mõisa
vana häärber
30
Viljandi
mõlsa
uue häärberi fassaad ja
mõisapark
31
Vaade Viljandi bensiinijaamale
32
Vaksali tänava algus
33
Vaade
Klinke
hobupostijaam-võõrastemajale
34
Klinke
aed
oma hiilgeaegadel
35
Vaade
Riia/Vaksali tänava ümbrusele 36
Hetk
kapten
A.
Irve mälestussamba avamiselt 37
Vaade Valuoja
tammile ja
Pauluse kirikule
38
Viljandi maakoguduse Pauluse kiriku sisevaade
39
August Weizenbergi "Lootus"
40
Naiskodukaitse liikmed korrastavad
Vabadussõja
ühiskalmistut 41
Uno Pohrti
masina-
ja
rauavabrik Kantrekülas
42
Uno Pohrt
omakonstrueeritud mootorsaaniga
43
Vaksali tänava löik Kantrekülas 44
Viljandi tikuvabriku hooned 45
Viljandi raudteejaam Pärnu mnt
poolt
46
Viljandi vaksal. Vaade moisaküla
poolt
47
Viljandi Piimaühingu hoone 48
Vaade
õhust
Männimäe lennuväljale 49
Vaade Vaksali-Kauba-Tallinna tänavate ristmikule 50
Tallinna tänava algus 51
Tallinna tänav 52
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi
maja,
1913 53
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi
maja,
1920 54
Põllumeeste
seltsi näituse avamine 55
Feldt trükikoja hoone 56
Vaade Seasaare
kõrtsile
57
Endine Vene
klubi
hoone 58
Esimene
turupäev Viljandi uuel
turul
59
Aadlielamu Tallinna ja
Posti
tänava nurgal 60
Vaade nn Stiftihoonele 61
Vennastekoguduse palvemaja 62
Viljandi uue vangla hoov 63
Vaade veetornist Suurturule/Johan Laidoneri platsile 64
Vaade Suurturu/Johan Laidoneri platsi pohjaküljele 65
Taksopeatus Suurturul/Johan Laidoneri platsil 66
Turupäeva hommik Suurturul/Johan Laidoneri platsil 67
Vaade Suurturule/Johan Laidoneri platsile turupäeval 68
Vaade Suurturu/Johan Laidoneri platsi pohjaküljele 69
Kindral Laidoneri
plats
70
Suurturg/Johan Laidoneri
plats vaatega
Trepimäe poole 71
Vaade Suurturu/Laidoneri platsi pohjaküljele 72
j a n
Veetorn
pärast valmimist 73
Vaade vanale raekojale
ja Linnu tänavale
74
Vaade veetornist vanale raekojale, tiitarlaste gumnaasiumile
75
Viljandi raekoja tagakiilg
76
Vaade
piki
lossi
tänavat 77
Hotell-restoran EVE
78
Hotell-restoran EVE ehitus
79
Lossi
ja
Tartu
tänava nurgal asunud elu- ja ärihoone 80
Vaade Lossi
ja
Tartu
tänava ristmikult 81
Viljandi linavabrik
82
Rahvas Viljandi hipodroomi
tribüünil 83
Vaade Lembitu/A. Maramaa puiesteele
84
Vaade Jaani kirikule Esimeselt
Kirsimäelt 85
Viljandi Jaani kiriku
öpetajamaja
86
Vaade
Pikale tänavale
Munga
ja Kauba tänava
poolt
87
Villa Engelhard/Mats
Nõgese
maja
88
Vaade
Ріка
tänava alumisele
osale
89
Vaade nn Muksi majale 90
Munga
tänav vaadatuna Suurturult 91
Tükike Kauba tänavat vaatega Suurturu poole 92
Kassisaba/Oru tänav 93
Kauba tänava algus 94
Tartu tänav vaatega Lossi tänava poole 95
Kurrikoffi
majas
asunud vünapood 96
Tõllasepa
maja
97
Tartu ja Lossi tänava ristumiskoht vaatega Tallinna tänava poole 98
Tartu ja Lossi tänava ristumiskoht vaatega Harjutuse/Koidu tänava
poolt
99
Vaade Tartu tänava ja Väikese tänava hoonestusele 100
Tartu tänava
lõpuosa
101
Vaade Kivistiku linnaosale 102
Viljandi KäsitÖöliste Abiandmise Seltsi hoone 103
Posti
ja Lossi tänava ristmik 104
Vaade kasiinohoonele tagant 105
Harjutuse/Koidu ja
Posti
tänava ristmik 106
Viljandi kohtuhoone 107
Elamu-ateljee
Posti
ja Koidu tänava nurgal 108
Vaade Projekti/Eha tänava idaküljele 109
Hoone Projekti/Eha ja Väikese tänava nurgal 110
Villa
Doll
Jakobson! tänaval 111
Viljandi Lastepark 112
Aadlimaja ehitus Veske/Jakobsoni tänaval 113
Kaitseliidu staap 114
Jakobsoni tänav vaatega Tallinna tänava poole 115
Veske/Jakobsoni tänav 116
Veske/Jakobsoni tänav vaatega Viiratsi
poolt
117
Veske/Jakobsoni tänav 118
Endine Viljandi maagümnaasium 119
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi hoone 120
Viljandi Eesti
Põllumeeste
Seltsi hoov 121
Viljandi Eesti Haridusseltsi tütarlaste progümnaaslumi saal 122
Vaade ordulinnusest järveäärsele 123
Viljandi järveäärne
ala
Trepimäe
poolt
124
Vaade Trepimäele ja Villa Sellheimile 125
Tuleviku spordiklubi korraldatud
kursustest
osavõtjad
126
Firma Siegel &
Co töömehed
127
Vaade järveäärsele 128
Viljandi rannakohvik 129
Viljandi Tennise ja
veespordi Klubi
130
Tennise ja Veespordi
klubi
poolt
ebítatud RannakasHno
131
Viljandi
suusahüppemägi 132
Uueveski suvituspiirkonna
bassein 133
Suvítajad
Uueveski
männíkus
134
Summary
135
Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
München |
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| bvnumber | BV023389251 |
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| era_facet | Geschichte 1880-1940 |
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| genre_facet | Bildband |
| geographic | Viljandi (DE-588)4581329-2 gnd |
| geographic_facet | Viljandi |
| id | DE-604.BV023389251 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| index_date | 2024-07-02T21:19:10Z |
| indexdate | 2024-07-09T21:17:30Z |
| institution | BVB |
| institution_GND | (DE-588)10179654-7 |
| isbn | 9789985625903 |
| language | Estonian English |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-016572214 |
| oclc_num | 239688077 |
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| owner | DE-12 |
| owner_facet | DE-12 |
| physical | 156 S. zahlr. Ill. |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publishDateSearch | 2007 |
| publishDateSort | 2007 |
| publisher | Tänapäev |
| record_format | marc |
| spelling | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos koostanud Ain-Andris Vislapuu Viljandi in old photos [Tallinn] Tänapäev 2007 156 S. zahlr. Ill. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Text estn. und engl. - Zsfassung in engl. Sprache Geschichte 1880-1940 gnd rswk-swf Viljandi (DE-588)4581329-2 gnd rswk-swf (DE-588)4145395-5 Bildband gnd-content Viljandi (DE-588)4581329-2 g Geschichte 1880-1940 z DE-604 Vislapuu, Ain-Andris Sonstige oth Viljandi Muuseum Sonstige (DE-588)10179654-7 oth Digitalisierung BSB Muenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=016572214&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Abstract Digitalisierung BSBMuenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=016572214&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Inhaltsverzeichnis |
| spellingShingle | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4581329-2 (DE-588)4145395-5 |
| title | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos |
| title_alt | Viljandi in old photos |
| title_auth | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos |
| title_exact_search | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos |
| title_exact_search_txtP | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos |
| title_full | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos koostanud Ain-Andris Vislapuu |
| title_fullStr | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos koostanud Ain-Andris Vislapuu |
| title_full_unstemmed | Viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos koostanud Ain-Andris Vislapuu |
| title_short | Viljandi vanadel fotodel |
| title_sort | viljandi vanadel fotodel fotosid viljandi muuseumi kogust viljandi in old photos |
| title_sub | fotosid Viljandi Muuseumi kogust = Viljandi in old photos |
| topic_facet | Viljandi Bildband |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=016572214&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=016572214&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
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