Bibliophile Peeter Tulviste - Publications about Narva

Peeter Tulviste had a particular interest in the regions at the eastern border of Estonia, especially Narva and Pechory. His collection is especially rich in materials about Narva and its surrounding areas, and their history.

August Tõnurist was an active researcher of Ida-Viru County in the early 20th century. The exhibition features two of his books: Narwa: Kirjeldused Narwa linna ja ümbruse minevikust ja olewikust. Piltidega, kaartidega ja plaanidega (1912) and Narwa lossid ja muinasjutud (1924).

Heinrich Johann Hansen studied the history of Narva thoroughly in the 19th century; his extensive volume in German from 1858 is also on display.

Two books are about song festivals held in Narva.

A particularly rare item in Tulviste’s collection is a book in German from 1780, documenting the visit of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great to Narva from 10 to 12 May in the same year. The book was printed in St Petersburg and is known to be the only copy in Estonia.

Several publications focus on the Narva river and Narva-Jõesuu: Tartu-Pihkwa ja Narwa veetee (1920), Naroowajõe uurimise andmed ja weejõu kasutamise kawa (1923), and Narwa-Jõesuu sadama olud 1923/1924. a. uurimise andmetel (1925).

A different kind of publication is the Soviet-era book by Peet Sillaots, Kreenholmi streik 1872, published in 1952.

Find out more about the exhibition here.