The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-02-27
Street Scene In Revar.

TN 1918, the Danish king, Waldemar
III, landed his forces on Esthonian
| soil and. after having conquered
the region of Wyck (HapsaD
Harlem (RevaI), and Alutaga (Narva),
settled down and founded in 1919 the
town now known as Reval. l..
Revai 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 1t makes, stu
ated on the rock shore, with its 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 naIne
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 Karlos, 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 thick wall from which
rise many queer, medieval towers, the
highest of which is the Long Her
manu." Then there is the Fat Tor
thick) Margaritta," and the "Kick in
de Keck." The latter, overlooking the
town, receives its 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 (or seal 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 q convent
was once situated nearby.
The towers and walls are riddled
with bullet marks, which date back to
the times when the Moscovian car,
Tx,oy UoccsIfx,itnh hactn1aA
The gates are decorated with the coat
Of arms Of the city, dating from the
Danish period. Some have three
light blue lines on a gold ground. sur
rounded with red: red and blue feath-
ers ornament the helmet. on which
rests crown. A woman clad in a
red garment holds a cross in her
hands. A silver cross on red ground
Is also sometimes found.
Historical Houses and Castle.
RevaI, 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 10Y.
The square near the castle and the
market place are OF peculiar histor.
zeal interest; those streets known as
Broad street and Long street are the |
principal thoroughfares and contain
most of the fashionable shops and
Turning to the magnificent DOM
berg, with its castle. 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. It is
surrounded by walls and a beautiful
park. Formerly, this quarter was d.
vided into two parts. one belonging
to the church, the other to the knights.
On the right, the house of the nobil-
lty contains many interesting fea-