Reval

Reval, or REVEL, a Russian seaport, capital of Estonia, stands on a small bay on the south side of the Gulf of Finland, opposite Helsingfors (52 miles distant), and 232 miles by rail WSW. of St Petersburg. It is divided into the (old) upper and (new) lower towns. The former contains the cathedral, the castle, governor's residence, and the houses of the (German) nobility. The new town extends outside the city walls. There are several mediæval guild-houses, in some of which are preserved valuable archives, and an important museum of antiquities. Reval exports cereals (chiefly oats), spirits, flax, and other commodities to the value of more than 2½ millions sterling; and imports cotton, coal, and other goods to the value of 6½ millions. There is little industry, brandy, vinegar, and wool being manufactured to a small extent. Pop. (1897) 64,578, of whom more than one-half were Estonians, and nearly one-fourth of German descent. Reval was founded by Waldemar II. of Denmark in 1219, and became a flourishing Hanse town. It was long held (from 1346) by the Livonian Knights, was made over to Sweden in 1561, and was besieged by Peter the Great and annexed to the Russian empire in 1710. In 1713 a naval harbour was founded. See works by Bunge (1874), Amelung (1884), and Hansen (3d ed. 1885).