prominent buildings were built in Rakvere, including the market building, the old bank building (current SEB Eesti Ühispank), and Rakvere Gymnasium. In 1930, the town stadium was opened, during the tenure of mayor Heinrich Aviksoo. Local newspapers started to emerge, including the county paper Virumaa Teataja, which was first published in 1925. The idea of Rakvere's own professional theatre started to take shape as well. The construction of the theatre house was completed at the end of the 1930s and its festive opening was on 24 February 1940. The theatre survived World War II and is active to this day. Rakvere also has a professional theatre which is one of smaller, if not the smallest, town in Europe with its own professional theatre. Its roots date back to 1882 and it is still active and very popular. The theatre of Rakvere has given Estonia many renowned actors and actresses: Volli Käro, Üllar Saaremäe, Indrek Saar, Ülle Lichtfeldt, Aarne Üksküla, and others. It also holds the biannual event Baltoscandal, which gathers avant-garde plays and groups from all over the world. On 15 July 2000, a high-end F2/T5 tornado hit the town, killing one person and injuring one other. The tornado damaged 110 homes and destroyed 120 garage buildings. One car was even airborne. Transport The Rakvere–Pärnu highway starts in Rakvere. To the north of the city is the Tallinn-Narva highway that is part of the European route E20. The Tallinn-Narva railway passes the city. Long-distance transport connections from Rakvere include bus and train transportation. By bus and train one can travel to several destinations around Estonia. Train transportation is operated by Elron. Religion Main landmarks Rakvere Castle The oldest known archeological traces of the ancient fortress on Rakvere's Vallimäe hill date from the 5th-6th century. Throughout the ages, Rakvere castle has belonged to Danish kings, knight-monks of the Livonian Order and the Swedish and Polish states. During the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1629, the castle was partly blown up by the Polish troops in 1605, and later also by the Swedish army. The castle has lain in ruins ever since. Today there is a theme park in the castle representing the everyday life of the 16th century. Tarvas statue Rakvere is also known now for its Tarvas statue of an aurochs, which was made by the Estonian sculptor Tauno Kangro. It is thought to be the largest animal statue in the Baltic