Where to go and WHAT TO DO in Järva County in Paide town that is in the heart of Estonia? + PICTURES FROM PAIDE IN THE SUMMERTIME!
NordenBladet – What is it that unites Arvo Pärt, Ita Ever, Ain Hanschmidt, Sven Mikser and Jaak Salumets together? All these prominent people come from Paide. While on your way from Tallinn to Tartu or to Viljandi, we recommend you to visit the nice tourist attractions close to the main road. One interesting place to stop is indeed Paide in the middle of Estonia, located less than five kilometres from Mäo crossroads.
Among the more interesting sightseeings in Paide are Paide Central Square that was earlier known by the name Marketplace, and the historic wall tower Paide Vallitorn and the mound Paide Vallimägi that is the location for Wittenstein Time Centre (read more about it from my blog: Helena-Reet: A visit to Wittenstein Time Centre in Paide wall tower and a celebration in the cafe Tainas/Pastry Catering), where one can take a time machine to go on a journey through 8 storeys and 8 time periods in history. In the Centre there is also the restaurant Ajastute Toidud (Foods of the Epochs), where among the most interesting meals they offer is bear steak.
Paide is also an attraction for its limestone sculptures. The most often visited limestone sculptures are Laur Tiidemann’s “Hitchhiker’s sculpture” that is at Olerex gas station roundabout at the entry to Paide town, and Riho Kuld’s sculptures named “Limestone symphony” and the piano-shaped “Source of creation” in Arvo Pärt’s music garden. The music garden in Paide was opened in September 2016 and it marks the place of the composer Arvo Pärt’s birthplace. Arvo Pärt himself was there when the garden was festively opened. Tourist attractions are also the wall paintings, painted in the years 2017-2018 by Paide town artists to house walls, all in all 9 paintings.
Fans of culture can also visit Järva County Museum which is among the oldest of county museums in Estonia. The permanent exhibition of Järva County Museum is refined by theme rooms: from ancient times to early Iron Age through the prism of archaeological findings with a nature section, an old 18th century drugstore, the aspects of culture and schooling, a manor room, economic life from early last century, a tradesman’s room from a century back, room of an intellectual from the 1960s, a photography corner with photos from the 1970s. The expositions in the temporary exhibition room are renewed every 2-3 months.
In the summertime also make sure to visit Paide artificial lake, founded in 1981.-82. with two bathing spots and a boat bridge. It is possible to walk, in the summertime run and in the wintertime ski around the lake. There is a picnic area with a fireplace near the lake, also a children’s playground and volleyball fields.
__________
Paide is a town in Central Estonia, in Järva County, it is the centre of the municipality called Paide. The town has been first mentioned in written documents with relation to the year 1265 that marked the beginning of building works of Paide fortress. The settlement earned city rights in 1291. In the beginning of 2019 the number of inhabitants in Paide was 7905 people.
Photos: NordenBladet/Helena-Reet Ennet
High quality & nature friendly luxury cosmetics from Scandinavia - ElishevaShoshana.com
