Godoy in Pärnu

Dear Fran,

this is what my friend has sent me

<<14/09/19 Saturday

A flock of cranes and geese come to say goodbye to Päeva Villa. I imagine they are looking for the warmth of the south.

Lydia Koidula's memory has remained by my side during the time I was in Pärnu.

The route from Haapsalu to Pärnu crosses, among other towns, through Risti and Vana-Vigala, according to this service, and thus appears on the station panel. I have time to wait in what was once the imperial pavilion, today humble but still retaining its own dimensions for such travellers. A lady strives to shine on uneven tiles that seem to have been attacked by smallpox.

I get on the bus. From the window I observe that the land of this country is dark. Black as the middle strip of its flag.

The driver of this bus is very considerate and waits a moment at each stop. You have to think that it is the only service per day. Wait, looking in your rear view mirror, that the person who gets on sits, only then gets moving. Expect even a traveller to take money from a Pangaautomat. She had got on without paying the ticket!

Once Risti is left behind (Kullama, Teenuse and Vana-Vigala) flooded lands appear with lagoons and numerous streams... The Velise jõgi bridge is barely distinguished by the thick vegetation.

Approaching Pärnu, unexpected hailstorm. The driver has to significantly reduce speed. I arrive at the hotel, which is very close to Bussijaam, check in and go out to eat.

After lunch I enter the St Elizabeth Church. Cream-coloured and a wooden plinth on the walls. Simple main altar with an image of the Resurrected Christ. Three chandeliers; more complex the closest to the altar. The church was named in honour of Russian Empress Elizabeth, as she had founded its construction. Its organ is reputed as one of the finest in Estonia.

As rain threatens, I don't want to get away from the hotel much in case I have to take refuge or change my clothes.

Passage to the stone granary

The park dedicated to Lydia Koidula is right in front of my hotel. Did you know that Lydia was born in a nearby town and that her family lived at least thirteen years in Pärnu? ‘She began her literary activity during the Pärnu period, assisting her father with editing the newspaper Perno Postimees, the first newspaper in Estonian. With the publication of the collection Emmajõe Öpik in 1867, Koidula became the leading poetess of the national movement’.

Last year in Hajnowka was the first time I entered an Orthodox church and attended their services. Do you remember that I told you, Mary? Well again - and without having proposed it - I attend Friday's liturgy in the Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. It is a relatively young church and belongs to the Estonian subcongregation of the Apostolic Orthodox Church.

Mary, it was something impressive. A long event, much longer than the one I attended in Poland and was — I am not sure — officiated by the Patriarch of Pärnu.

Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord

The first thing I perceived upon entering was the smell, different from the churches we have here (mainly incense) that I was not able to recognize. Very ornate church, where the golden colour is the one that prevails over others. The parishioners are distributed throughout the sacred precinct where they want (at least it seems so to me) and continuously give signs of their faith by bowing their heads and crossing themselves. I would have liked to know who the authority he officiated was, but the person I asked did not speak English and I did not want to bother anymore. When I leave the church the sun is setting, but there is enough light to discover a plaque with the following text

His All-Holiness Bartholomeu, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, celebrated with His Eminence Metropolitan Stefanus of Tallin and All Estonia the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour in Pärnu on the 8^th of September, 2013, marking the 90^th anniversary of the autonomy of the Orthodox Church of Estonia, and bestowed on Maestro Arvo Pärt and Mr Viljo Vetik the tittle of Archon of the Ecumenical Throne.

I only have time to take some pictures of the Pärnu river.

 

Sunset over Central Bridge

15/09/19 Sunday

Who to pay attention to? To José Milhazes, who advised me not to make the trip in autumn or to my cousin Rafa, who has always told me that - at least in Munich - in September it rains more than in October?

Three days in a row of rain! As it continues to rain, I have waterlogged feet again and to top it all today is Sunday and the shoe stores are closed. In order to write this, I take refuge in the cantilever of the Seegi Maja Restoran Hotell, which, incidentally, is the oldest building in Pärnu, as I can read on the notice board... ‘The foundation structure originates from the period 1250-135…  The hospital/almshouse also gave its name to the Hospidali Street.’

Seegi Maja

I've been circling around the Red Tower without seeing it - with this storm it's hard to read a map - until I've finally found it. It is hidden by many buildings. I imagined it taller.

The richest and best expressing baroque church in Estonia could well be the church of St Catherine. Yesterday, when I passed by here it was closed; today I have it at my feet. It seems that it was built in four years and was designed for the use of the Pärnu garrison. It was Empress Catherine II who gave the order for its construction and the small detail of putting the money. If I had to save only one work of art, I would be the Virgin with the Child. Divine.

 

Virgin with the Child

A museum is always a recommended place to visit. In the Pärnu Museum I contemplate

Pärnu Cog. Found in 1990. The wreck was at the bottom of the river, it was covered by 30 to 40 cm of mud. According to radiocarbon analysis, dates back to the 14^th century. The oldest ship found in Estonia.

The oldest extant tombstone from St Nicholas Church in Pärnu (covering the burial vault of the merchant Johannes Buchorn who died in 1308).

Human figure made of horn, which was named ‘Stone-Age Madonna’, at least 8200 years old.

Stone-Age Madonna

May it really a man? What would you say, Mary? I send you the photo.

Caltrops. Curious invention that security forces continue to use today.

Historical videos.

1838 ‘was a period of radical change: a closed fortified town became an open seaside resort with its many parks, shady lanes and elegant architecture’.

Trench mortar. FR8K. ‘Used in the War of Independence and produced at the Izora factory from 1915 to 1917.’

Priboi Operation. (Lagle Parek´s family).

Heino Lesmet's story.

History of Tõnis-August Avingo.

Kakuaam. Boat typical of Pärnu coastal fishermen.

Erika Salumäe's showcase

…

What I feared: the Lydia Koidula Museum is closed. It seems they are under refurbishing. I should have made sure before. Completely wet I will have lunch.

I took a last walk on the Pärnu Beach Meadow (on the way, the place of residence of Raymond von Bööke, Estonia's best-known cello artist). It is number 21 on Supeluse Street.

Pärnu Beach Meadow

The sand on this beach is thin and a little darker than the one we have in Huelva or Cádiz.>>

     Y. a.

     Mary