Räpina (Räpina)
| Rapina | |||
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| State : |
 Estonia
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| Circle : |
 Põlva
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| Founded : | 1993 (city rights) | ||
| Coordinates : | 58 ° 6 ′ N , 27 ° 28 ′ E | ||
| Area : | 3.7 km² | ||
| Residents : | 2,219 (01/01/2017) | ||
| Population density : | 600 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Time zone : | EET (UTC + 2) | ||
| Telephone code : | (+372) 79 | ||
| Postal code : | 64504 | ||
| Mayor : | Kaido Palu
( SDE ) |
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| Postal address : | Kooli 1 64504 Räpina |
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| Website : | |||
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Räpina ( German Rappin ; Võro Räpinä ) is a town in Põlva County in southern Estonia . Administratively it is part of the rural municipality Räpina (Räpina vald) .
Population and location
The city of Räpina has 2219 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017). It is located 64 kilometers southeast of the second largest Estonian city Tartu (German Dorpat ) on the lower reaches of the Võhandu River. The river forms a 19.1 hectare lake at Räpina, the Räpina Paisjärv . The distance to the eastern Peipussee is five kilometers.
history
Räpina was first mentioned in the 16th century under the name Repin . In 1582, Hof Rappin was founded on part of the village as the center of an office of the Dorpat economy . In 1625, the entire office of Rappin was given to the governor general of Livonia , Bengt Oxenstierna (1591-1643). In 1681 the Swedish crown withdrew it. From 1717 the farm was again privately owned. Until 1835 it belonged to the noble Baltic German family Löwenwolde . The last private owner before the expropriation in the course of the Estonian land reform in 1919 was the Baltic German Alexander von Sivers .
In 1734 Karl Gustav von Löwenwolde, the owner of Rappin , founded a paper factory next to his court. Soon afterwards, the "paper village " (Estonian Papreküla , later Paberiküla ) came into being. In 1873 a machine park was added to the factory. Until the 20th century it produced, among other things, banknotes for the Russian Empire and later for the Republic of Estonia.
The factory created a larger settlement on site in the 20th century. In 1945 Räpina was given the status of a large village (alevik) . From 1950 to 1961 it was the center of the Soviet Räpina Rajon. When Estonian regained independence, Räpina received city rights in 1993. In autumn 2002, the city of Räpina and the rural community of Räpina merged into one administrative unit. Today Räpina has the status of a town within the rural municipality.
In the city there is now a kindergarten, a grammar school, a music school, a library, a people's house , the region's hospital and the horticultural school founded in 1924, which trains gardeners for all of Estonia.
With a height of 50 meters, the Räpina Leevaku chimney is the highest sauna chimney in the world. It was originally built in 1923 as part of the local brick factory. After the company's bankruptcy, a sauna was built in the building .
Paper mill
For the paper mill, which was built in 1734 and is the oldest still existing industrial company in present-day Estonia, a dam was initially built on the Võhandu River under the direction of the builder Johann Georg Keizer. Because of the name of the builder, it is popularly said that the Russian “emperor” personally helped build the factory.
A sawmill, a paper mill and a grain mill were built from the red bricks produced on site. The propulsion was obtained by water power.
Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of the owner Peter Anton von Sivers and the leaseholder of the paper mill Emil Friedrich Schulze, the Räpina paper mill was greatly expanded in the middle of the 19th century. The factory building and a complicated lock system were thoroughly rebuilt. Today they are among the unique examples of European industrial architecture. The first machine for the production of paper was delivered to Räpina from Germany. She was able to produce different writing and printing papers. Three more machines were delivered within a short period of time, one of which is still working today in a modified form.
After the Second World War, the factory mainly produced roofing felt and insulation paper for the Soviet market. When Estonian regained independence, the factory was privatized and modernized again in the early 1990s. Today it is one of the leading manufacturers of paper, cardboard and cardboard in Estonia.
Sillapää Castle
The historic manor house of Räpina was built in the 1830s. It is also called Sillapää Castle (Sillapää loss) . With its majestic columns, the two-story building is one of the finest examples of classicist architecture in Southeast Estonia. The Räpina Museum of Local History and Horticulture ( Räpina koduloo- ja aiandusmuuseum ), founded in 1995, is now housed in the house. It offers a broad overview of the history and way of life of the region. The city's music school is on the second floor.
The manor house is surrounded by an 8.5 hectare park with over 300 trees and bushes. The park laid out by Baron Peter von Sivers according to plans by the Baltic German horticultural architect Walter von Engelhardt (1864–1940) combines the English , French and forest park style on its site . In the park there are two memorials to those who fell in the Estonian War of Independence and World War II .
Houses of worship
Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Evangelical Lutheran St. Michaelis Church is located directly on the lake of Räpina. The church, built in the late Baroque style, was consecrated in 1785. The previous building was destroyed during the Northern War at the beginning of the 18th century. The two-part altarpiece "Jesus appears to Maria Magdalena" and "The burial of Jesus" was made by the artist Carl Antropoff in 1871. The font made of white marble is a work from 1905. The old organ was installed in 1857. The new organ from 1934 is the work of the Estonian organ builder August Terkmann (1858–1940).
Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church of Saints Zacharias and Saint Elizabeth was built between 1829 and 1833 on the orders of the Russian Tsar Nicholas I , after the previous wooden building from 1752 burned down in 1813. The plans were made by the Kassel- born architect Georg Friedrich Geist (1782–1846). The classical church with its simple iconostasis from 1832 was built on the plan of a Latin cross . In 1911 a new church tower was added. The church is now subordinate to the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAÕK).
Methodist Church
There is also a Methodist congregation in Räpina .
Personalities of the place
- Johann Friedrich Heller (1786–1849), Baltic German Evangelical clergyman, pastor in Rappin and researcher of the Estonian language
literature
- Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 1: Estonia (including Northern Livonia) (= sources and studies on Baltic history. Volume 8/1). Started by Hans Feldmann . Published by Heinz von zur Mühlen . Edited by Gertrud Westermann . Böhlau, Cologne / Vienna 1985, ISBN 3-412-07183-8 , p. 486f.
Web links
- Official website (Estonian, English, Russian)
- Entry in Eesti Entsüklopeedia (online version)
- Räpina paper mill (German)
