Kreenholm Manufacture

Kreenholm was founded in 1857 on an island in the Narva river where the falls provided power, and it grew into a cotton mill employing over ten thousand people by the end of the nineteenth century, at that point among the largest textile works anywhere, with its own housing, hospital, schools and churches built around it in red brick. Production continued through the Soviet period and ended in 2010. What remains is an enormous complex of brick weaving and spinning halls, water channels, bridges and workers' quarters, much of it empty, some of it collapsing, and access is by guided tour only, which takes visitors into the halls and along the river. Redevelopment plans have been discussed for years.

What you actually see

• The brick halls - the vast weaving and spinning buildings.
• The water system - the channels and races that powered the mill.
• Workers' quarters - the housing and institutions built around the works.
• The river setting - the Narva falls and the island the mill occupies.

When to go

May to September, when tours run most frequently; they must be booked in advance and are not offered daily. Guides will say where photography is and is not permitted within the complex.

Honest expectations

Independent access is not possible; everything is by booked tour. Much of the complex is derelict and only parts are entered. Tours are often in Estonian or Russian with English by arrangement. Redevelopment may change access.

Nearby

Narva castle lies downstream; Sillamae is west.