Halfway between Tallinn and Tartu, Paide makes a pleasantly quiet interlude between Estonia's two busiest cities. It uses a heart as its logo, given its position in the centre of Estonia. Abroad it is best known as the birthplace of the composer Arvo Part, born here in 1935. Paide means 'limestone' in Estonian and the German name for the town, Weissenstein, means the same. A visitor in 1923 enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, ascribing it to the fact that the town 'had neither communists, nor capitalists, only petits bourgeois'. He would not be disappointed were he to return now, since the architecture of the 19th-century Town Hall Square has remained largely intact and the octagonal tower Pikk Hermann, blown up by the retreating Soviet army in 1941, has now been fully restored. It was first built in the 13th century. A walk to the top offers an extensive view of the surrounding countryside, some of which can also be enjoyed from the cafe on the first floor. It shows quite how flat so much of the countryside in this area is. At the top, the tower has photographs beside each window of how it looked from that angle before 1941. Some of these pictures date from the 19th century. Further down, the tower has no permanent displays but a range of different temporary exhibitions; in winter, the heaters on each floor are most welcome. The tower is surrounded by castle ruins, now used as an open-air display of modern sculpture. It has been in this condition since the early 17th century, but was bitterly fought over before that between the Russians, Swedes and Poles. There were no subsequent attempts to restore it.The Church of the Holy Cross in the town centre has also suffered tremendous damage but has always been rebuilt. The present structure dates largely from the mid 19th century, with some internal work added in the early 20th century. It is a mystery why the tower is in the middle and not at the west end of the church. Much restoration still needs to be done to the interior as it was totally neglected in Soviet times. Neil Taylor "Estonia. The Bradt Travel Guide", 2007 |
