It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border.

[11] The castle and surrounding town of Narva (Narwa, in German) became a possession of the Livonian Order in 1346, after the Danish king sold its lands in Northern Estonia.

[10] However, due to opposition from Tallinn, Narva itself never became part of the Hanseatic League and also remained a small town – its population in 1530 is estimated at 600–750 people.

[10] Captured by the Tsardom of Russia (Muscovy) during the Livonian War in 1558–1581, for a short period Narva became an important trading port and transshipment center of Russian goods from Pskov and Novgorod.

During the Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595), when Arvid Stålarm was governor, Russian forces attempted to regain the city without success (Treaty of Teusina, May 1595).

Beginning in 1680s, an outstanding system of bastions was designed by renowned military engineer Erik Dahlbergh and built around the town.

[11] Administratively the city of Narva, including its then suburb of Ivangorod (Jaanilinn) was a part of the Saint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire until 1917.

The factory used the affordable energy of the powerful Narva waterfalls, and at the end of the century became, with about 10,000 workers, one of the largest cotton mills in Europe and the world.

In August 1890, Narva was the site of a key meeting between German Kaiser Wilhelm II and Russian Tsar Alexander III.

The status of Narva was resolved in a July 1917 referendum, when the district population, at that time roughly equally divided between ethnic Russians and Estonians, voted to attach itself to the newly autonomous, and soon to be independent state of, Estonia.

[4] However, as the focus of the Battle of Narva, the city was destroyed by Soviet bombardment and fires and explosions set by retreating German troops.

The original native inhabitants were not allowed to return after the war, and immigrant Russian-speaking workers from other parts of the USSR were brought in to populate the city.

[5] The main reason behind this was a plan to build a secret uranium processing plant in the city, which would turn Narva into a closed town.

[19] The planned uranium factory and other large-scale industrial developments, like the restoring of Kreenholm Manufacture, were the driving force behind the influx of internal migrants from other parts of the Soviet Union, mainly Russia.

[24] Overall, by 2014, Russian residents were happy with their status as both Estonian and European Union citizens and lived peacefully alongside their compatriots.

[26] The invasion and subsequent conflict seriously reduced cooperation between the two neighbors, especially as visas became difficult to obtain and the residents of Narva increased the take up in Estonian citizenship.

[26] Narva took in many Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war[26] and previously popular Russian TV stations among older Russophone residents were banned by the Estonian government.

[26] On 10 June 2022, the Estonian foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to protest about remarks by President Vladimir Putin praising Peter the Great for having captured Narva in the early 18th century.

[27] In August 2022, a Soviet T-34 tank memorial was removed from a stretch of road between the city center and Narva-Jõesuu, to mixed responses.

[36] Between 2001 and 2008, more than 1,600 cases of HIV were registered in Narva, making it one of the worst areas in Estonia, alongside Tallinn and the rest of Ida-Viru County.

[49] Kudruküla is the largest of Narva's dacha regions, located 6 km (4 mi) to northwest from the main city, near Narva-Jõesuu.

Narva is officially divided into 15 neighbourhoods: Elektrijaama, Joaoru, Kalevi, Kerese, Kreenholmi, Kudruküla, Kulgu, Olgina, Paemurru, Pähklimäe, Siivertsi, Soldina, Sutthoffi, Vanalinn and Veekulgu.

The sprawling complex of the Kreenholm Manufacture, located in the proximity of scenic waterfalls, is one of the largest textile mills of 19th-century Northern Europe.

Other notable buildings include Swedish mansions of the 17th century, a Baroque town hall (1668–71), and remains of Erik Dahlberg's fortifications.

[citation needed] Across the Narva river lies the Russian Ivangorod fortress, established during the rule of Grand Prince Ivan III of Muscovy in 1492 and also referred to in some contemporary sources as the "Counter-Narva".