Manors of Estonia

 

29. Udriku (Uddrich)

Kadrina
1796-1803

The Udriku Manor was separated from the Polli Manor in 1642. It belonged to the Rehbinder family from its foundation until the 1919 Land Reform. The majestic Neoclassical main building was completed in 1803. In front of the portico are two cast-iron lions.

The main building was surrounded by an English landscape garden. On its back side is a big pond. Ruins of a distillery can be seen nearby (1868, renovated in 1888 following the plan by Friedrich Modi).

 

30. Kirna (Kirna)

Türi
Late 1760s or early 1770s; after 1804 and before 1816 (?)

The Kirna Manor was established in the 1610s or 1620s, when the territory was donated by King Gustav II Adolf to the Fersens. In the late 1760s or early 1770s they constructed a new main building in Late Baroque style. Of that structure only the wooden servants’ staircase survives. Then the manor went to the Osten-Sacken family, who renovated it in Neoclassical style at the beginning of the 19th century.

In 1816 the manor was pawned to the Pilar von Pilchau family in whose possession it remained until 1919. The Gothic vaults of the vestibule are from their time.

 

31. Kolga (Kolk, Kolck)

Kuusalu
1642; 1765-1768; 1820

The history of the Kolga Manor goes back to the 1230s, when the King of Denmark gave the territory to the Roma Abbey, based in Gotland. The first mention of the manor is from 1298. The medieval manor was abandoned in 1519, damaged in the Livonian War, and demolished in the 17th century.

In 1581, John III, King of Sweden, gave the territory to Pontus De la Gardie. His successors kept it until the mid-17th century, when it went through marriage to the Stenbock family. The latter remained the owners of the manor until 1940.

The first stone main building was built in 1642. Remains of that building survive in the cellars of the current structure. In 1765-1768 the main building was reconstructed in Baroque style, and in the 1820s it was turned into a Neoclassical palace.

In the pediment of the central portico the coat of arms of the Stenbock family can be seen.

The main building is flanked by two courtyards. The front courtyard was made up of stables and carriage houses. The rear courtyard was formed by the steward’s house, the servants’ house, and the granary.

Servants’ house (on the right) and granary (on the left)

The Kolga Manor was the largest in Estonia at the time. It is the most evocative of the Neoclassical main buildings of Estonia, precisely because of its ruined state.

 

32. Aruküla (Arroküll)

Järva
1782-1789; mid-1820s

The Aruküla Manor was established in the first half of the 17th century. In the 18th century it belonged to the Lode family and then to the Knorrings. The latter constructed an Early Neoclassical main building in the 1780s. It suffered from fire in the first decade of the 19th century.

In 1820 the complex was bought by the Toll family, who reconstructed the main building in the Empire Style as it was known in Saint Petersburg. The manor remained a property of the Tolls until the 1919 Land Reform. Since 1920 it has housed a school.

 

33. Keila-Joa (Fall)

Lääne-Harju
Andrei Stackenschneider, 1831-1833

This manor was probably established at the beginning of the 17th century. Its first owners were the Wrangells. In 1827 it went to Alexander von Benckendorff, who built a new main building on a scenic spot right next to the Keila Waterfall. Its inauguration was attended by Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra. A few decades later it went though marriage to the Volkonsky family, who kept it until the 1919 Land Reform.

The main building was one of the first Gothic Revival buildings in Estonia. It was the first independent work of Andrei Stackenschneider, who later designed several imperial palaces in Saint Petersburg, including the Mariinsky Palace (1839-1844), the Nicholas Palace (1853-1861), and the New Michael Palace (1857-1861).

The Gothic Revival elements are predominant in the interiors as well.

Several notable structures of the manor survive, such as the guesthouse-chapel (1835).

 

34. Kuremaa (Jensel)

Jõgeva
Emil Julius Strauss, 1836-1843

The Kuremaa Manor was probably separated from the lands of the Laiuse Castle in the 16th century. Its first known owners were the Wrangells. In 1834 it was bought by Alexander von Oettingen, who built the new main building. The Late Neoclassical building was designed by Emil Julius Strauss, who is the author of the very similar Suure-Kõpu Manor. Originally the galleries connecting the side wings to the central volume had one storey only. The second storey was added in 1935, when the main building operated as a school. Several other buildings of the manor survive.

 

35. Karlova (Karlowa)

Tartu
Late 18th century; 1805-1810; c. 1830; 1844

The Karlova Manor was separated from the Tähtvere Manor in 1793 or 1794. Its first owner was Carl Gustav von Krüdener, from whom it got its name. In 1828 the manor was acquired by Thaddeus Bulgarin, a Russian writer, in whose time it operated as the centre of Russian cultural life in Tartu. The manor remained in the ownership of the successors of Bulgarin until 1928.

The main building consists of multiple parts. The oldest is the one-storey wooden structure in Late Baroque style, dating back to the end of the 18th century. It may be the modification of an earlier farm house. In 1805-1810 Krüdener added a new stone wing which crossed the main volume of the old building. He extended the building to the south and decorated it in Neoclassical style. In around 1830 Bulgarin updated the manor once again, creating the Gothic Revival central protrusion. In 1844 he enlarged the complex with an L-shaped wing in Gothic Revival style.

 

36. Vana-Võidu (Alt-Woidoma)

Viljandi
1840s

This manor was first mentioned in 1507. Until 1622 it belonged to the Wrangell family. The Stryks acquired it in 1834 and rebuilt the main building soon after. It represents the late phase of Neoclassical architecture. The building originally had a higher central volume flanked by single-storey wings. The second storey was built on top of the latter in 1939, as the agricultural school that operated then in the manor needed more space.

 

37. Ropka (Ropkoy)

Tartu
Second half of 18th century & mid-19th century

This manor was earlier known as Karlefer and Taubenhof in German, after the families that owned it. Its first mention is from 1531. It had multiple owners throughout the history. The main building is from the second half of the 18th century (wooden parts) and the mid-19th century (stone parts).

The steward’s house (in Heimatstil) is from the early 20th century.

 

38. Oti (Peudehof)

Saaremaa
18th century; 1850

This manor was first mentioned in 1309. It was a property of the Pöide Castle, from which it got its German name. Nearby is the Pöide Church, one of the oldest surviving churches in Estonia. After the Saint George’s Night Uprising in 1343-1345 the manor was acquired by the Uexküll family, who kept it until the early 18th century. It then when to the Aderkas family, who retained its ownership until 1919.

The oldest parts of the main building are from the 18th century. It was originally a single-storey structure. To the both ends of the building balconies were added at some point. The two-storey central projection is from 1850. The renovation was carried out by Karl Wilhelm Ottokar von Aderkas, from whom the Estonian name of the manor is derived.

 

39. Hellenurme (Hellenorm)

Elva
Last quarter of 18th century; second half of 19th century

This manor was first mentioned in 1641, when it belonged to the Wrangell family. At the end of the 18th century the main building was built in Baroque style. Its last owners before the 1919 Land Reform were the Middendorffs. Alexander von Middendorff, the famous zoologist and explorer of the Arctic and Siberia, lived here. He modified the main building in the Late Neoclassical style.

The granary with the central plan was also built.under Alexander von Middendorff in the second half of the 19th century.

 

40. Jootme (Jotma)

Tapa
1859

This manor was established in the 17th century. In the 19th century it belonged to the Wrangell family and since the 1880s to the Maydells. The main building was a huge wooden structure with a Neoclassical portico. The surviving structure is significantly smaller than the original building.

 

41. Heimtali (Heimthal)

Viljandi
Late 1850s

The history of the Heimtali Manor goes back to the Middle Ages, when it belonged to the Karksi Castle. The first mention of the manor is from 1528. From 1744 to 1919 it belonged to the Sivers family. The Neoclassical main building was built in the late 1850s.

More famous than the main building is the distillery of the manor, completed in 1858. The single-volume Neogothic structure has four slender towers at its corners, which is vaguely reminiscent of the Tower of London. In the 1860s it was converted into a dairy.

Another notable building of the manor complex is a hexadecagonal stable, dating from the 1850s.

 

42. Padise (Padis)

Lääne-Harju
1770s; 1860

The history of the Padise Manor is closely linked to the nearby Cistercian abbey.

The construction of the Padise Abbey was started in 1317. It was consecrated in 1448. In 1559, during the Livonian War, it was closed down. In 1622 the damaged structure was donated by King Gustav II Adolf to Thomas von Ramm, the bürgermeister of Riga. The Ramms used the more intact parts of the abbey for residential purposes, i.e. turned it into a manor.

In 1766 the abbey suffered great damage from fire. Soon after a new main building was built, and the remains of the abbey were used for economic purposes of the manor from then on. The main building was originally a single-storey structure. The second floor and the veranda were added in 1860.

The Ramms remained the owners of the Padise Manor until 1919.

 

43. Lasila (Lassila)

Rakvere
1862

The Lasila Manor was separated from the Vohnja Manor in the 17th century. It later belonged to the Baers, the Ungern-Sternbergs, and the Rentelns. Karl Ernst von Baer, the founder of embryology, spent a part of his childhood here. The main building was built in 1862 in Historicist style. The circle of honour, unusually, surrounds a big pond.

 

44. Saka (Sackhof)

Toila
1862-1864

The Saka Manor was established in the Middle Ages, with its centre being a castle located a few kilometers to the east of the current complex. On the current site the manor exists since 1626. In the 19th century it belonged to the Löwis of Menars, a Baltic German noble family of Scottish origin. The Renaissance Revival main building was built by them in the 1860s.

 

45. Pärsti (Perst)

Viljandi
1871-1872

This manor is first mentioned in the mid-16th century. Over the history belonged to many noble families. The surviving wooden main building was built by the Stryk family. The last owners before the 1919 Land Reform were the Clapier de Colongues, a Baltic German noble family whose roots go as far as Andalusia.

 

46. Porkuni (Borkholm)

Tamsalu
1870-1874

The Porkuni Manor stands in the middle of Lake Porkuni next to the ruins of a castle built by Simon von der Borch, the Bishop of Tallinn, in 1477-1479. It is from him that the island (and, subsequently, the manor) got its name.

The main building as we see it today was constructed by the Rennenkampff family right after their acquisition of the manor in 1869. The building is shows the influence of both Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Since the 1920s it has operated as a school for students with hearing impairments for many years.

The granary of the manor is from the late 18th or early 19th century.

In front of the manor is a large Stalinist school building from the 1953-1955.

 

47. Arkna (Arknal)

Rakvere
1877-1879

This manor was established in 1772. In 1875 it was bought by the Schubert family, who subsequently renovated it. The asymmetrical main building is in Historicist style. In front of it is a beautiful park with a river.

 

48. Kukulinna (Kuckulin)

Tartu
18th century or first half of 19th century; 1870s

This manor, located on a beautiful spot on the coast of Lake Saadjärv, was first mentioned in 1553. It had various owners in the history. The main building is a wooden structure from the 18th or the first half of the 19th century. In the 1870s a new volume in Gothic Revival style was added to it. The additions were originally much more ornate as they look today.

Closer to the lake is another structure with decorative elements in Gothic Revival style (cf. Sicilian Gothic architecture). It is thought to be the servants’ house, but this may not be correct, considering its location right on the lakefront. It is from the 19th century, possibly from around 1880.

 

49. Kohala (Tolks)

Rakvere
Friedrich Modi, early 1880s

This manor was first mentioned in 1489, when it belonged to the Wrangell family. Then it was owned by various other noble families, until in 1801 the Wrangells reacquired it. The main building is from the early 1880s. Its central volume was originally lower. The second floor was added in the 1920s, when the manor was turned into a school.

 

50. Puurmani (Talkhof)

Põltsamaa
Friedrich Hübbe, 1877-1881

The history of the Puurmani Manor goes back to the Middle Ages, when on its spot or somewhere nearby stood the Kursi Castle. Its German name comes from the tradition of lime burning (Kalk, Talk) in Kursi. In Estonian the manor (and the subsequent settlement) was named after Christopher von Buhrmeister, to whom Christina, Queen of Sweden, donated it in 1645. It belonged to the Manteuffel family from 1713 until 1919.

The centre of the manor was properly developed in the second half of the 18th century, in Baroque style. The surviving main building is from 1877-1881. It is one of the best examples of Renaissance Revival architecture in Estonia.

The interiors of the main building are decorated in various Historicist styles, most notably Baroque and Rococo.

Rococo stuccoes in the great hall

Chinoiserie wallpaper

In front of the main building are the remains of a French formal garden. A gate with Gothic Revival towers leads to it.

On the back of the main building is an English landscape park, with a horseshoe-shaped pond and three bridges. The red-brick fence of the park survives until this day.

Between the main building and the Pedja River is a small Neoclassical monument, a postament with an urn. It may have been moved to the current spot from somewhere else in the English park.

Several of the auxiliary structures of the manor survive, some in good condition, others not. The most unusual of these is the stable with a circular plan (cf. Heimtali). Some, such as the servants’ house, stand on scenic spots right on the coast of the river.

The main building has been used as a school since the 1920s. I studied here in 1993-2005.

 

51. Imastu (Mönnikorb)

Tapa
Friedrich Modi, 1882

This manor was first mentioned in 1447. The main building was built at the time when the owners were the Rehbinder family. Of the older surviving structures of the manor the most outstanding is the granary (from the end of the 18th century).

 

52. Sangaste (Sagnitz)

Otepää
Otto Pius Hippius, 1874-1883

The Sangaste Manor belonged to the Bishop of Tartu in the Middle Ages. It was relocated to the current spot some time later. In 1808-1939 it was owned by the Berg family. According to a local legend, Count Friedrich Georg Magnus Berg wanted to marry the daughter of an English count, who, however, rejected him by saying that he would let his daughter marry a savage from Russia! Berg decided to build the magnificent red-brick building in Gothic Revival style to prove him wrong.

It is one of the most remarkable manors in Estonia. The architect was Otto Pius Hippius, who also designed the Charles Church in Tallinn (1870) and the Alexander’s Cathedral in Narva (1884).

The manor has rich interiors. The most notable is the octagonal great hall, which is covered by a vaulted dome and has a niche with a rare Moorish Revival arch.

The most important of the auxiliary buildings of the manor are the quadrangular stable and carriage house and the water tower.

The park that surrounds the manor is one of the biggest in Estonia. It was created as a Baroque garden at the beginning of the 19th century, but then converted into an English landscape park at the end of the century. It is very diverse in terms of the species of plants and trees.

 

53. Malla (Malla)

Viru-Nigula
1651-1654; 1770s; 1881-1883

The Malla Manor, first mentioned in 1443, stands on the site of a Medieval castle. It was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt many times in the history. The Baroque structure built in the 1650s was replaced by an Early Neoclassical main building in the 1770s. In the 1880s the palace was modified in Renaissance Revival style. It was prolonged by a gallery leading to a tower on one side and by a small courtyard with a kitchen wing on the other side. The whole structure burned down in 2018.

The servants’ house is from the late 18th century (modified at the beginning of the 19th century).

A vase indicates the location of the well of the manor.

On the back side of the main building were originally terraces leading to the garden.

 

54. Lehtse (Lechts)

Tapa
19th century; tower – 1884

The manor was first mentioned in 1467, when it went to Hans von Lechtes, after whom it got its name. Since 1783 it belonged to the Hoyningen-Huene family. The main building was built in the 19th century. To the simple one-storey structure a new volume was added some time later, and the whole building got a Gothic Revival look. The tower – the only element that survives until today – was added in 1884.

 

55. Alatskivi (Allatzkiwwi)

Peipsiääre
Arved von Nolcken, 1880-1885

The Alatskivi Manor was first mentioned in 1601. In 1870 it was acquired by the Nolcken family. Arved von Nolcken, who had just arrived from a trip Scotland, was so inspired by the Balmoral Castle and decided to build its miniature version in Alatskivi. He made the plan himself. The Gothic Revival residence is one of the most beautiful in Estonia.

The most important room in the main building is the two-storey vestibule. The interiors are in Historicist styles.

 

56. Illuka (Illuck)

Alutaguse
Friedrich Modi, 1885-1888

This manor was first mentioned in 1657. The Historicist main building is from the time when it belonged to the Dieckhoff family.

 

 

57. Vihula (Viol)

Haljala
Friedrich Modi, 1880s

The Vihula Manor was first mentioned in 1501. In the 17th and 18th centuries it belonged to the Helffreich family, who rebuilt the main building in Baroque style. In 1810 it went to the Schuberts, who expanded and modified the main building multiple times. The current Renaissance Revival look is from the 1880s.

The manor complex is located on the coast of the beautiful Vihula Lake.

Many structures in the park of the manor are modern.

On the road to the manor is a large Dutch-style windmill from the 19th century. Destroyed in a fire in 1917, it was recently reconstructed.

 

58. Hummuli (Hummelshof)

Tõrva
Wilhelm Sternfeld (?), late 1880s or early 1890s (?)

This manor was first mentioned in 1470. In the second half of the 19th century it belonged to the Samson von Himmelstrjerna family, under whom the standing red-brick building was constructed. Some sources claim that it was built in the 1860s, but its similarity to the nearby Sangaste Manor helps to date it to the late 1880s. Its architect may have been Wilhelm Sternfeld, the author of the renovation of the Lustivere Manor around the same time.

 

59. Kõltsu (Wellenhof)

Lääne-Harju
1891

This semi-manor, located near the coast of the Lahepere Bay, was built by the Uexkülls as a summer residence. It is a beautiful wooden structure, a notable example of the Swiss chalet style. Its last owners before 1919 were the Mohrenschildts.

 

60. Inju (Innis)

Vinni
Rudolf von Engelhardt, 1894

This manor was first mentioned in 1479. In 1877 it was acquired by Hermann Krause, the grandson of Johann Wilhelm Krause, who was the most important architect of Neoclassicism in Estonia and the designer of many structures of the Tartu University, including its main building. The main building is from 1894. It resembles a Renaissance palazzo and is one of the best of its kind in Estonia.

 

61. Luua (Ludenhof)

Jõgeva
Main building – 1736, late 19th century, 1949-1955; cavalier house – Rudolf von Engelhardt, c. 1899

The Luua Manor stands on the site of a medieval castle. Its first mention is from 1519. The main building was built in 1736, when it belonged to the Strömfelts. It went to the Oettingens in 1831, who modified it at the end of the 19th century. In 1948 the building was turned into a forestry school. The second storey is from the early 1950s.

Perhaps more beautiful is the cavalier house of the manor, built in Swiss chalet style, with rich carved wood decoration.

 

62. Vedu (Fehtenhof)

Tartu
Stable – late 19th or early 20th century

The Vedu Manor, first mentioned in 1489, got its name from the Fehte family, who owned it in the 16th century. Its last owners before the 1919 Land Reform were the Stackelbergs. The main building, which does not survive, was a one-storey building in Gothic Revival style. The stable is one of the most outstanding of its type in Estonia.