About Estonia

     Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti or Eesti Vabariik; Germanic languages: Estland), is a country in Northern Europe. Estonia has land borders to the south with Latvia and to the east with Russia. It is separated from Finland in the north by the Gulf of Finland and from Sweden in the west by the Baltic Sea.

     Estonia has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004 and of NATO since 29 March 2004.

     The Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns, with the Estonian language sharing many similarities to Finnish.

     The modern name of Estonia is thought to originate from the Roman historian Tacitus, who in his book Germania (ca. AD 98) described a people called the Aestii. Similarly, ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the country's name are Estia and Hestia.

About Parnu

     Pärnu (German: Pernau; Russian: Пярну, formerly Пернов) is a city on the Baltic Sea coast of Pärnu Bay, in southwestern Estonia. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city, which is served by Pärnu Airport.

     The city is occasionally referred to as Pyarnu, an incorrect reverse-transliteration from Russian Пярну.

     Pärnu is a health resort of international stature. In addition to guests arriving from around fifty countries, it is also proved by its membership in the European Spas Association (since 2000) and the European Blue Flag that has been flying at the beach of Pärnu since 2000. Most tourists in Pärnu are Finns and Estonians. Hotel and restaurant staff speak English and some Finnish in addition to Estonian.

     In 1837, a few business-minded entrepreneurs decided to rebuild a lone tavern near the beach into a bathing establishment, thus preparing the ground for the development of the resort of Pärnu. This wooden building was the predecessor of the present-day mud baths. The establishment, which was opened in 1838, accommodated 5-6 bathrooms that provided hot seawater baths in summer and operated as a sauna in winter. The wooden building was burnt down in the course of World War I. In 1927, the present stone building of Pärnu Mud Baths was erected at the same site. Later, the wings were attached to the building to accommodate a bath unit and a pool.

     Today, disorders of the joints, spinal column and peripheral nervous system, gynaecological problems and dysfunction of the central nervous system are treated at Pärnu Mud Baths. The therapies include hydrotherapy, mud and ozocerite therapies, massage, laser and electrotherapies, lymph and inhalation therapies, aromatherapy and ECG. There are 130 rooms in the hotel of the Mud Baths.

     Since 1996 Pärnu has been known as Estonia's Summer Capital.