Perona (German: Alt-Pernau, Estonian: Vana-Pärnu), which was founded by the bishop of Ösel–Wiek c. 1251, suffered heavily under pressure of the concurrent town, and was finally destroyed c. 1600.
Another town, Embeke (later German: Neu-Pernau, Estonian: Uus-Pärnu) was founded by the Livonian Order, who began building an Ordensburg nearby in 1265.
The latter town, then known by the German name of Pernau, was a member of the Hanseatic League and an important ice-free harbor for Livonia.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took control of town between 1560–1617; the Poles and Lithuanians fought the Swedes nearby in 1609.
Sweden took control of the town during the 16th-century Livonian War as part of Swedish Livonia, although it was not formally ceded by Poland-Lithuania until the 1660 Treaty of Oliva.
Sweden then lost Livonia to the Russian Empire in the 1710 Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia and the 1721 Treaty of Nystad, following the Great Northern War.
It belonged to the Imperial Russian Governorate of Livonia until 1917, when it was transferred to the short-lived Autonomous Governorate of Estonia.
The city is occasionally referred to as Pyarnu, an incorrect reverse-transliteration from the Russian Пярну.

The town became part of independent Estonia in 1918 following World War I.
The city was occupied by the Soviet Red Army along with the rest of Estonia in 1940 during World War II, and its German population left the town.
It was then occupied by Germany from 1941 until 1944 before it was reoccupied by the Soviet Union as part of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1944–1991.

During the Great Northern War, the University of Dorpat (Tartu) was relocated to Pernau from 1699–1710.
The university has a branch campus in Pärnu today (1,000 students in the 2004/2005 school year).


In 2002 a war memorial was erected in Pärnu showing a bas-relief of a soldier in a Waffen SS uniform along with the words: “To all Estonian soldiers who died in the war of liberation for their country and a free Europe in the years 1941–1945.”
Perona (German: Alt-Pernau, Estonian: Vana-Pärnu), which was founded by the bishop of Ösel–Wiek c. 1251, suffered heavily under pressure of the concurrent town, and was finally destroyed c. 1600. Another town, Embeke (later German: Neu-Pernau, Estonian: Uus-Pärnu) was founded by the Livonian Order, who began building an Ordensburg nearby in 1265. The latter town, then known by the German name of Pernau, was a member of the Hanseatic League and an important ice-free harbor for Livonia. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took control of town between 1560–1617; the Poles and Lithuanians fought the Swedes nearby in 1609. Sweden took control of the town during the 16th-century Livonian War as part of Swedish Livonia, although it was not formally ceded by Poland-Lithuania until the 1660 Treaty of Oliva. Sweden then lost Livonia to the Russian Empire in the 1710 Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia and the 1721 Treaty of Nystad, following the Great Northern War. It belonged to the Imperial Russian Governorate of Livonia until 1917, when it was transferred to the short-lived Autonomous Governorate of Estonia. The city is occasionally referred to as Pyarnu, an incorrect reverse-transliteration from the Russian Пярну.
The town became part of independent Estonia in 1918 following World War I.
The city was occupied by the Soviet Red Army along with the rest of Estonia in 1940 during World War II, and its German population left the town. It was then occupied by Germany from 1941 until 1944 before it was reoccupied by the Soviet Union as part of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1944–1991.
During the Great Northern War, the University of Dorpat (Tartu) was relocated to Pernau from 1699–1710. The university has a branch campus in Pärnu today (1,000 students in the 2004/2005 school year).

In 2002 a war memorial was erected in Pärnu showing a bas-relief of a soldier in a Waffen SS uniform along with the words: “To all Estonian soldiers who died in the war of liberation for their country and a free Europe in the years 1941–1945.”
Pärnu