Türi

For a long time, Türi was a simple village, first mentioned in chronicles in 1347, but the development of Tyuri began at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries with the construction of the railway from Tallinn to Viljandi, in which Paide was destined to serve as a dead-end station on a side branch. Then the line was extended beyond Paide, connecting with the Tapa-Tartu line, and Türi became the “railway heart of Estonia,” the largest railway junction in the country.

During the years of Estonian independence, Türi continued to develop, receiving city rights in 1926, and in 1937, with the construction of a huge radio tower, it became the centre of Estonian radio broadcasting. During the war, the tower was destroyed, and since then Tyuri has lost its former significance. However, the turbulent interwar period left a clear mark here: Türi is perhaps the only Estonian city that rose practically from scratch in the first half of the 20th century, which is why it retains a record number of buildings from the interwar period for a small town. Combined with a pretty medieval church and an abundance of greenery (it’s a spring capital, after all), this is a worthy reason to stop by for an hour.

1 Train and bus station, Jaama 8. The Türi railway and bus station is one wooden building with a small, dark waiting room. The station does not have opening hours: it may be open 24 hours a day. There is a cafe. There is a steam locomotive next to the building, and another, smaller one, is nestled at the back of the station, where the buses stop. Trains from Tallinn to Türi run 4-5 times a day, the journey takes 1.5–2 hours. Some of these trains then go to Viljandi. Tallinn–Viljandi buses can also call at Türi, but this is the exception rather than the rule, but all buses travelling along the Rakvere–Pärnu route inevitably stop in Türi. However, there are no more than 5-6 such buses per day. To quickly get to Tallinn, the most convenient way is to take a local bus to Paide, where there are many more options. (updated May 2024)

Türi is on highway 5, 80 km from Rakvere, 80 km from Pärnu, 105 km from Tallinn.