Rakvere, Estonia

My second Estonian swap, this time showing Rakvere

Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia 20km south of the gulf of Finland. During its history it has been under many different rulers, including Germany, Denmark, Poland and Russia.


On the card you can see the Rakvere Castle and the Tarvas statue of an aurochs. (the aurochs was a very large type of cattle that was prevalent in Europe until its extinction in 1627).
The statue was made by the Estonian sculptor Tauno Kangro, and is thought to be the largest animal statue in the Baltic Countries.
It is situated on the edge of Vallimägi hill and was erected for the town's 700th birthday. Along with the granite lock it sits on, the statue is seven meters long, four meters high and weighs about seven tons. The statue is made out of bronze. The names of the companies and private people who financed it are engraved in the granite block.