:Pärnu

{{Infobox settlement

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = Estonia

| subdivision_type1 = County

| subdivision_name1 = Pärnu County

| subdivision_type2 = Municipality

| subdivision_name2 = Pärnu

| timezone = EET

| utc_offset = +2

| timezone_DST = EEST

| utc_offset_DST = +3

| mapsize = 230px

| map_caption = Location of Pärnu in Estonia

| pushpin_map = Estonia#Baltic Sea#Europe

| pushpin_relief = 1

| image_skyline = {{Photomontage |border=0 |size=225 |spacing=2 |color=none |photo1a=Pärnu kesklinn - Aerial photo of Pärnu in Estonia (2).jpg|photo2a=Pärnu - Punane torn (Red tower).JPG|photo2b=Pärnu Eliisabeti kirik.jpg|photo3a=Pärnu main street.jpg| photo4a=Pärnu beach 2023.jpg|}}

| imagesize = 290

| image_caption = Pärnu

| official_name = Pärnu

| settlement_type = City

| other_name = Pärnu linn
City of Pärnu

| established_title = Founded

| established_date = 1251

| area_total_km2 = 32.22

| population_total = 41520

| population_footnotes = [http://pub.stat.ee/px-web.2001/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=PO0240&lang=1 Population by sex, age and place of residence after the 2017 administrative reform, 1 January]. Statistics Estonia.

| population_rank = 4th

| population_as_of = 2024

| population_density_km2 = auto

| demographics_type1 = Ethnicity (2021)

| demographics1_footnotes =

| demographics1_title1 = Estonians

| demographics1_info1 = 83.7%

| demographics1_title2 = Russians

| demographics1_info2 = 10.6%

| demographics1_title3 = other

| demographics1_info3 = 5.7%

| elevation_m = 10

| area_code =

| registration_plate = F

| coordinates = {{Coord|58|23|N|24|30|E|region:EE|display=inline,title}}

}}

Pärnu ({{IPA|et|ˈpærˑnu}}) is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located {{convert|128|km}} south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and {{convert|176|km}} west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga, which is a part of the Baltic Sea. In the city, the Pärnu River drains into the Gulf of Riga.

Pärnu is a popular summer holiday resort town among Estonians with many hotels, restaurants and large beaches. The city is served by Pärnu Airport.

History

File:Pernau 1554.jpg

Pärnu or Old Pärnu ({{langx|la|Perona|links=no}}, {{langx|de|Pernau, Alt-Pernau|links=no}}, {{langx|et|Vana-Pärnu|links=no}}), which was founded by the bishop of Ösel–Wiek {{circa|1251}}, suffered heavily under pressure of the concurrent town, and was finally destroyed {{circa|1600}}. Another town, Embeke (later {{langx|de|Neu-Pernau|links=no}}, {{langx|et|Uus-Pärnu|links=no}}) was founded by the Livonian Order, who began building an Ordensburg nearby in 1265. The latter town, then known by the German name of {{lang|de|Pernau}}, was a member of the Hanseatic League and an important ice-free harbor for Livonia. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took control of town between 1560 and 1617; the Poles and Lithuanians fought the Swedes nearby in 1609. Sweden took control of the town during the 16th-century Livonian War as part of Swedish Livonia, although it was not formally ceded by Poland-Lithuania until the 1660 Treaty of Oliva. Sweden then lost Livonia to the Russian Empire in the 1710 Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia and the 1721 Treaty of Nystad, following the Great Northern War. It belonged to the Imperial Russian Governorate of Livonia until 1917, when it was transferred to the short-lived Autonomous Governorate of Estonia. The city is occasionally referred to as Pyarnu, an incorrect reverse-transliteration from the Russian {{lang|ru|Пярну}}.

The town became part of independent Estonia in 1918 following World War I and the Estonian War of Independence.

The city was occupied by the Soviet Red Army along with the rest of Estonia in 1940 during World War II, and its German population fled the town. It was briefly occupied by Germany from 1941 until 1944 before it was reoccupied by the Soviet Union during its counteroffensives. Pärnu then continued as being part of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, when Estonia restored its independence.

During the Great Northern War, the University of Dorpat (Tartu) was relocated to Pärnu from 1699 to 1710. The university has still maintained a branch campus in Pärnu to this day (1,000 students in the 2004/2005 school year).[https://www.pc.ut.ee/en University of Tartu Pärnu College]

Geography

=Districts of Pärnu=

File:Pärnu coastal meadow hiking trail, beach and town in Estonia.webm

There are seven districts in Pärnu: Ülejõe, Rääma, Vana-Pärnu, Kesklinn, Rannarajoon, Eeslinn and Raeküla.{{cite web|title=LINNAOSADE JA -JAGUDE LÜHENDID|url=https://www.eki.ee/knab/kb_lxhik.htm|access-date=18 March 2020|website=www.eki.ee|language=et}}

= Climate =

Pärnu lies within the temperate humid continental climate zone.

{{Weather box|location= Pärnu (normals 1991–2020, extremes 1842–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 9.0

|Feb record high C = 8.3

|Mar record high C = 19.6

|Apr record high C = 26.2

|May record high C = 31.2

|Jun record high C = 32.6

|Jul record high C = 34.1

|Aug record high C = 33.4

|Sep record high C = 28.0

|Oct record high C = 22.4

|Nov record high C = 12.6

|Dec record high C = 10.3

|year record high C = 34.1

|Jan high C = −0.8

|Feb high C = −1.0

|Mar high C = 3.0

|Apr high C = 10.2

|May high C = 16.7

|Jun high C = 20.2

|Jul high C = 23.0

|Aug high C = 21.8

|Sep high C = 16.6

|Oct high C = 9.9

|Nov high C = 4.3

|Dec high C = 1.1

|year high C = 10.4

|Jan mean C = -3.0

|Feb mean C = -3.7

|Mar mean C = -0.5

|Apr mean C = 5.4

|May mean C = 11.4

|Jun mean C = 15.4

|Jul mean C = 18.3

|Aug mean C = 17.2

|Sep mean C = 12.5

|Oct mean C = 6.8

|Nov mean C = 2.2

|Dec mean C = -0.9

|year mean C = 6.8

|Jan low C = −5.5

|Feb low C = −6.6

|Mar low C = −3.7

|Apr low C = 1.2

|May low C = 6.1

|Jun low C = 10.7

|Jul low C = 13.6

|Aug low C = 12.8

|Sep low C = 8.6

|Oct low C = 3.8

|Nov low C = 0.0

|Dec low C = −3.1

|year low C = 3.2

|Jan record low C = −34.8

|Feb record low C = −34.3

|Mar record low C = −28.5

|Apr record low C = −19.7

|May record low C = −5.3

|Jun record low C = -0.1

|Jul record low C = 3.4

|Aug record low C = 2.6

|Sep record low C = −4.7

|Oct record low C = −10.9

|Nov record low C = −22.2

|Dec record low C = −34.5

|year record low C = −34.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 61

|Feb precipitation mm = 49

|Mar precipitation mm = 43

|Apr precipitation mm = 40

|May precipitation mm = 39

|Jun precipitation mm = 78

|Jul precipitation mm = 74

|Aug precipitation mm = 84

|Sep precipitation mm = 61

|Oct precipitation mm = 83

|Nov precipitation mm = 73

|Dec precipitation mm = 71

|year precipitation mm = 761

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 12.6

|Feb precipitation days = 10.4

|Mar precipitation days = 9.5

|Apr precipitation days = 8.4

|May precipitation days = 7.7

|Jun precipitation days = 9.7

|Jul precipitation days = 9.6

|Aug precipitation days = 10.4

|Sep precipitation days = 9.6

|Oct precipitation days = 12.2

|Nov precipitation days = 13.5

|Dec precipitation days = 14.0

|year precipitation days = 127.6

|Jan humidity = 88

|Feb humidity = 87

|Mar humidity = 81

|Apr humidity = 73

|May humidity = 68

|Jun humidity = 73

|Jul humidity = 75

|Aug humidity = 78

|Sep humidity = 82

|Oct humidity = 86

|Nov humidity = 89

|Dec humidity = 89

|year humidity = 81

|Jan sun = 38.8

|Feb sun = 69.6

|Mar sun = 148.2

|Apr sun = 210.1

|May sun = 300.3

|Jun sun = 293.5

|Jul sun = 306.4

|Aug sun = 258.6

|Sep sun = 172.8

|Oct sun = 95.5

|Nov sun = 36.5

|Dec sun = 24.3

|year sun = 1950.2

|source 1 = Estonian Weather Service

{{cite web

| url = http://www.ilmateenistus.ee/kliima/kliimanormid/ohutemperatuur/?lang=en

| title = Climate normals-Temperature