Viljandi

Viljandi (Fellin in German, Felin in Polish, Ви́льянди in Russian) is a 17,407 inhabitants town by river Valuoja, in the southern part of Estonia. It's the capital of the county of Viljandi and the 6th most inhabited town in Estonia, as well as the capital of Estonian folk music and an important cultural center.

How do I arrive to Viljandi?

  Viljandi is quite communicated and connected with the rest of Estonia. 

• Train: there is four daily trains from Tallinn (aprox. 2 hour 15 minutes) and the same quantity back with the same duration.
• Bus: from Viljandi Bus Station there are 14 daily buses to Tartu (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes), 11 buses to Pärnu (aprox. 1.5 hours), at least 6 buses to Valga (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes), 11 buses to Tallinn (aprox. 2.5 hours) and twice every day to Kuressaare (aprox. 5 hours).
• Car: if you rented a car, it's a 40 minutes journey from Soomaa National Park, 1 hour from Tartu and Valga, 1 hour 10 minutes journey from Pärnu and 2 hours from Tallinn. The town isn't far from the Latvian border so it can be reach in a 1 hour 30 minutes journey from Valmiera, the entrance to Gauja National Park.

History

Viljandi was first mentioned as a stronghold around 1154 in al-Idrisi's world atlas, being the economic center of the ancient Sakala distric. In 1211 the hillfort was besieged by a joint army of Germans, Latvians and Livs and in 1223, the Livonian Order captured it. The Grand Master Volquin led the construction of Valjandi Castle, one of the largest in the Baltic region. In the 13th century a medieval town grew around the stronghold, joining the Hanseatic League in the 13th century. Johann Wolthus von Herse, master of the order in 1470 took up residence in the castle and in 1481, Ivan III of Russia tried to conquer the castle. During the Livonian War the forces of Prince Kurbski of Muscovite Russia seized and demolished the town and castle. In the first quarter of 17th century, during the Polish-Russian War, it was destroyed again and after the Great Northern War, Russians seized the power. With Catherine II of Russia reforms it became a district town and its importance starte to increase again.

 

What can I visit in Viljandi?

Viljandi has a nice Old town with several wooden houses with precious details and, in spite of being quite unknown, it's one of the most suggestive destinations in Estonia. A very good idea is enjoying folk music at the Estonian Traditional Music Center (Tasuja puiestee 6), particulary during the festivals Viljandi Folk Music Festival and Viljandi Old Music Festival.

These are Viljandi's main attractions:

• Viljandi Castle Ruins and Park: castle ruins located in an impressing park with panoramic views of Viljandi and its lake. The castle was built in 1224 by the Livonian Order and abandoned after Polish-Swedish wars and currently it can just be seen parts of the wall and the foundation. In a part of the park there's an small cementery for WW2 German soldiers. Here it's also located
  
  Viljandi Suspension Bridge, a rope bridge has become a favourite for both residents of and visitors to Viljandi and one of the town’s most important symbols.
  
• St. Jaani Lutheran Church (11-18 Mon-Sat, 9-18 Sun from May to Sep; 9-17 Mon-Fri from Oct to Apr; free): part of a former 15th century Franciscan abbey, this church with remains of frescoes from pre-Reformation times was recently restored after being used as a furniture storage under the Soviet Union ruling.
• Kondas Center (11-18 from May to Aug; 10-17 Wed-Sun from Sep to Apr; 3€/ 2€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): the only art gallery in Estonia dedicated to naïve art pays tribute to the local artist Paul Kondas, as well as other less known. There are strawberries all over the town, his work Strawberry eaters, pointing to the gallery. There's a combined ticket for Kondas Center, Viljandi Museum and the Old Water Tower (5€ /3€  adults/ retiree, students and kids).
• Viljandi Museum (11-18 from May to Aug; 10-17 Tue-Sat from Sep to Apr; 4€/ 2€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): small museum that shows the history of the town from Stone Age to mid-20th century, displaying traditional dressing, old Viljandi photographies, viking jewery and a mockup of Viljandi castle.
• Viljandi Old Water Tower (11-18 Mon-Fri from May to Aug; 10-17 Mon-Fri from Sep to Apr; 2€/ 1€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): curious and iconic water tower 30 m high where enjoying the beauty of the surrounding landscape.  
• St. Pauluse Lutheran Church (10-15 Tue-Fri, 10-13 Sun from Jun to Aug; free): church that dates back to 1866 in a style similar to Tudor's one. Inside there are a wooden pulpit and gallery, with a crucifixion scene. 
• By Viljandi Lake there are many things to do apart from having a relaxing walk. In summer locals come swimming here with volleyball pitches or boat renting posts. Outside the center of Viljandi it's located Väikemõisa Manor too. This 20th century manor is a good example of the Swiss chalet style influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. 

St. Jaani Lutheran Church

Viljandi Castle Ruins

Where can I eat in Viljandi?

Despite its size there aren't many recommended places in Viljandi but some of them are the cafe Aida (Tasuja puiestee 6), the pubs Suur Vent (Turu 4) and Tegelaste Tuba (Pikk 2b) or the cafe Fellin (Tasuja puiestee 1).

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