The Benson signal., 1920-02-28

IN 1918, the Danish king, Waldemar
II, landed his forces on Esthonian
soil and, after having conquered
/, the region Of Wyck (HapsaD, 7,
Harlem (RevaD, and Alutaga (Narva).
settled down and founded in 1919 the
town now known as Reval.
Reval is one of the few towns which
has emerged, with all it's beauty, from
the Middle Ages, says the Christian
Science Monitor. Approaching Reval
from the sea, one cannot but admire
the gorgeous picture it makes, stu
ated on the rock shore, with it's won
derful castle perched on the hill, look
ing proudly down over past days of
sad history, as if despising the sor-
row and anxiety which now prevail in
that unique town.
Reval in summer, with its clear,
blue sky, reminds one somewhat of
Naples. Fitting in with the climate is
the wonderful complexion of the peo-
pie, and one is struck by the beauty
of the women, and the numbers OF
happy children.
There is no firmly established opin-
ion as to the derivation Of the name
Reval. One legend has it that the
name Reval is derived from the Dan
ish word "reffel' (reef), as in those
days the Island of sKarlos, which is
two or three versts from the town,
was long rocky peninsula.
Medieval and Modern Mingled.
The old town is still partly sur
rounded by a thick wall from which
rise many queer, medieval towers, the
highest Of which is the Long Her
manu. Then there is the Eat Cor
thick) Margaritta," and the "Kick in
de Keck." The latter, overlooking the
town, receives it's name, according to
rumOr, because one can peep into all
it's kitchens from it's windows. Splen-
did boulevards give modern touch to
this town, despite it's narrow, old
world, winding streets.
Like Athens, it has seven gates: the
Big Strand Cor sea) gate; the Small
Strand, or Nicholas gate; the Wiru, or
Narwa gate; the Karja, or Michailoff
gate; the Harju, or New gate; the
Dom gate, and the Cistern gate (Which
the Esthonians call Nunnavarov, de
rived from the Nun gate, as convent
was once situated nearby.
The towers and walls are riddled
with bullet marks, which date back to
the times when the Moscovian cZar,
Ivan Vassilivitch beSieged the town.
The gates are decorated with the coat
of arms of the city. dating from the
Danish period. Some have three
light blue lines on gold ground, sur
rounded with red red and blue feath-
ers ornament the helmet, on which
rests a crown. A woman clad in
red garment holds cross in her
hands. A silver cross on red ground
is also sometimes found.
Historical Houses and Castle.
Reval, as already mentioned, is one
of the few towns in Europe to survive
medieval days. For one who loves
historical towns, to indulge himself
in admiring the wonderful old Danish
and Swedish houses which ornament
these narrow streets, is a real joy.
The square near the castle and the
market place are of peculiar histor-
ical interest; those streets known as
Broad street and Long street are the
principal thoroughfares and contain
most of the fashionable shops and
residences.
Turning to the magnificent Dom
berg. with it's cat'e. or Ritterhaus, a
new and no less wonderful vista opens
before us. The castle was built in
the thirteenth century by Waldemar,
and was partly rebuilt in 1922. 1t is
surrounded by walls and beautiful
park. Formerly, this quarter was di-
vided into two parts, one belonging
to the church. the other to the knights.
On the right, the house of the nobil-
ity contains many interesting fea-
lures. Unfortunately the archives,
which were kept there, were lost,
when, for some unknown reason, those
dating from before 1890 were sent by
ship to Sweden in 171O. Two out Of
the three ships were wrecked. The
only reliable source from which one
could trace the history of Esthonia
has thus been destroyed.
Some Ancient Churches.
The churches of Reval are also of
great interest The Lutheran and
Nicolai churches were built in the
fourteenth century. The Olaf church
was built in 1929, and probably de-
rived it's name from the Danish king,