In the neighbourhood of the Narva waterfalls there is Krenholm Island. The Narva waterfall used to be one of the biggest in Europe. The sound of falling water could be heard several kilometres away. Unfortunately, nowadays, all this beauty is no longer available to locals or tourists. The island is an industrial complex, which is of great importance for Narva, although sacrificed to the greatness of nature.
In the middle of the 19th century large shareholder Ludvig Knop bought Krenholm Island from Narva merchant Sudhov for a new factory. In April 1857, the first industrial complex was laid out on the island. The construction progressed very quickly, and by the end of the following year the first 8,000 spinning machines were up and running. By 1862, when the entire original building was fully completed and in operation, the Krenholm Manufactory had become the most modern textile enterprise in Russia at that time. The spinning machines were driven by water, which was fed to the turbines through specially constructed canals.
In 1870, the "New Spinning Mill" was built. In the following Yoala and St George factories were built and put into operation. By 1872 enterprises employed about 6 thousand people. The premises were lit by gas lamps. Each of them was equipped with ventilation. In particularly dusty workplaces. at particularly dusty workplaces, additional ventilation was installed. In addition, special humidifying devices were used to remove dust in the air of the rooms, special humidifying devices were used, all factory buildings were constructed of non-combustible materials. In addition, the factory was equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system, which was activated when the temperature rose to a certain level, pumps were switched on and water was sprayed over the source of the fire. Thus, for those years, the plant was extremely well equipped in terms of production, labour conditions and the safety of the manufactory itself and the people working there.
At the Manufactory, in addition to the industrial buildings there were other buildings. Here were built workers' barracks, in which mostly commuters and their families lived. Since the factory factory employed many minors and illiterates, the manufactory had its own two-year school, as well as a crèche where the workers could leave their children all day. For the factory workers there was a bathhouse and a laundry with hot water, which which they could use free of charge.
On the territory of the manufactory there were markets and shops, and a mill was built. In 1872 a police station was opened, and a telegraph office a few years later. From 1893 on the territory of the factory was opened its own bakery. At that time, all family events such as weddings, births children, funerals were not held without the participation of the church. That's why in 1881-1884 Alexander Lutheran Church was built, and in 1890-1896 - the orthodox Resurrection Cathedral. On the territory of the enterprise there was also a hospital, for the maintenance of which two kopecks were kept for the for the maintenance of which two kopecks per ruble were withheld from the workers' wages.
Thus, the Krenholm manufactory was a kind of city, which was constantly expanding and rebuilding. As a result, the Krenholm architects managed to create their own original style, linked to the historical traditions of Narva architecture.
However, not everything was going so smoothly. The workers complained about the heat, as the ventilation did not always work well. Plus the long working day, which lasted from 5 am to 8 pm. Workers could get a monetary penalty for being late and even for breaking a machine. This enterprise, in addition to its size, also became famous for a strike of 1872, which has made its way into the history books as the Krenholm strike. In the summer of 1872, a cholera epidemic broke out in the province of Estonia. The disease killed and Krenholm was not spared. Some of the workers, in order to avoid infection, asked for early termination of their contracts. Many of the factory workers revolted, because of the poor and unsanitary living conditions. The workers made a number of demands, some of which, as a result of negotiations, were met.
In 1900. the company's products were awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris World's Fair. It is worth noting that there is no analogue of such a complex in modern Estonia, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary and is still the largest employer in the city. And the institutions built by Krenholm are still in operation today.
