Järva County

Järvamaa is about bogs and swamps, crystal clear springs, fertile soil and ancient cultural traditions. It is worth coming to Järva County for an active holiday any time of the year. There are plenty of possibilities and a wide variety of activities: horse riding, go-kart driving, shooting range and other sports. The best ski tracks are located in the North of the county, in Albu, where cross-country skiing competitions are held for the Cup of Jaak Mae. Orienteerers of the county have mapped a considerable part of Järvamaa for practicing and competitions. Hikers will find numerous marked hiking trails. Alternatively, you can spend a day or two canoeing on the rivers of Järvamaa and great opportunities exist for hunting.
With its area of about 2700 km², Järvamaa is home to a bit more than 36 300 inhabitants. One of the oldest villages of ancient Estonia, Kareda, is also in Järvamaa: it was first mentioned under the name of Carethen in Latvian Henrik’s Chronicles in 1212. Permanent settlement in Järvamaa started probably in the 13th century when German Order built an order castle with a 30-metre octagon-shaped tower called Tall Hermann in 1265. Local building material – limestone- lent its name to the stronghold: Weissenstein, the city of Limestone or today’s Paide.
Järvamaa could be considered the centre or the heart of Estonia, since the largest cities Tartu, Tallinn, Pärnu, Rakvere and Viljandi are all an hour’s drive away from Paide, the centre of the county.
In the Northwest of the county is Kõrvemaa, a region which has become famous from the books written by Anton Hansen Tammsaare. He described the hilly landscape of Järvamaa as follows: “a hill here, a hill there, and a third one further away…” Järvamaa, with its numerous springs and swamps is a great source for clean water. Considerable part of water resources of North Estonia are produced here. Large part of the county belongs to the Pandivere National Water Reserve. Further, more than a half of the county is under state protection. Estonia’s deepest spring (4,8 m) and the biggest spring lake (2,5 ha) are both located in Järva County. This spring lake is also the beginning of Estonia’s longest river, the Pärnu River.

Järvamaa is rich in unique objects of cultural heritage. The mechanism of the Paide Holy-Cross church clock, which is partly made of wood, has shown the citizens the right time for over a hundred years. The century old church windows filled with stained glass, made by Ernst Tode in Riga, are also of great value, since this is the only fully preserved set of stained glass windows in Estonia.
Local song and dance festival, which was first held in 1907, is one of the many traditional cultural events which attract a great number of spectators and participants.