Interesting facts about the history of the evolution of the health resort
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- For the 1927 summer season, the Pärnu beach house was completed – being the first of its kind in Estonia. Convenient deck chairs and beach baskets showed up on the beach sand, also being the first ones in Estonia.
- In 1945, the daily workload of the Pärnu Mud Baths was an average of 200 therapeutic baths per day – the establishment offered bog, coal acid, pine extract and salt baths.
- In the mid-1980s, the Pärnu sanatoriums received nearly 25 000 people per year, who came to recover their health. Each year, almost 300 000 tourists visited Pärnu.
- Beach café: The largest restaurant in Estonia, with 680 places, which upon need could seat up to 900 visitors. In summer, 7000 clients were catered.
- Upon the request of the city, the director of Riga parks, G. Kuphaldt, drafted a plan in 1889 for expanding the paths of the Pärnu parks. It included the design for the Merepuiestee and expansion of Rannapark with sports grounds, a cycling track, children’s playgrounds, arbours and villas planned inside.
- The first public site completed in the 21st century that effectively formed the appearance of the Pärnu beach area and the entire health resort was the promenade, built for the 2006 summer season.
- As heritage, the most renowned Major of Pärnu, Oscar Brackmann, also left us the marvellous parks and avenues with old-growth trees that are still vital.
- “Horses, cows, goats in the city parks and greenery were the inheritance of the generic Pärnu, both during the war as well as afterwards” (Oskar Randmäe 1944).
- In 1947, the first competition/festival of vocal ensembles “Pärnaõis” was held, the participants of which were to also sing a song about Pärnu.
- In 1970s, the fortification Vallikäär had become one of the most imposing sites for organising outdoor events in summer.
- The most massive public event in the health resort during the soviet period was the summer series of cultural and sports events ‘Tere, Pärnu suvi’ (hi, Pärnu summer) launched in 1978. The contemporaries recall that in contrast to the era, the party of that time was surprisingly folksy, with the five days filled with performances and competitions of folk groups, poetry nights and the special menus of Pärnu restaurants contained Estonian dishes. The entire event concluded with a fire festival that lasted till midnight. The mystical fire and water show continues to be included in the festival program “Tere, Pärnu suvi!”
Important dates in the history of the health resort
- 1834 Pärnu is removed from the list of burgs.
- 1837–1838 construction of the first bathing establishment in Pärnu
- 1921 bathing committee of the city decided to build a new mud treatment facility
- 1996 – Pärnu became the summer capital of Estonia. The University of Tartu Pärnu College was opened.