In October, three bright yellow signs appeared in Narva, marking the city’s record-breaking landmarks: Narva’s defensive structures — the best-preserved fortification system in Estonia, Krenholm Manufacturing Company — the largest industrial complex in Europe in the 19th century, and Narva Reservoir — the largest artificial lake in the country. The signs, designed as elongated vertical drops or map markers with an empty space in the center creating a “window” effect, were installed as part of the project “Marking Estonia’s Record Places in Ida-Virumaa.” Similar signs have been placed throughout the county. In addition, several so-called “gates” with the inscription IDA-VIRU have been installed at the entrances to the county, one of them in Narva, opposite the railway station.

 

By the end of the year, all signs will feature informational plaques providing more detailed insights into the history of each site. Currently, 19 record locations have been marked, inviting people to discover them, take photos, and share their own “record moments.” The initiative to highlight record places originated from a study conducted in the spring and summer of 2020 by the University of Tartu, which confirmed that Ida-Virumaa is Estonia’s most record-rich region. The study identified 34 record sites in total.

 

As part of the project, an adventure game related to these records will also be developed — in fact, two games: one for the northern and one for the southern parts of Ida-Virumaa.

 

The project “Marking Estonia’s Record Places in Ida-Virumaa” is co-financed under the support measure for implementing county development strategies.

 

More information and a map of the record sites: https://idaviru.ee/rekordpaigad