Palaces, manors and town halls in Estonia

Õisu Manor

The Classicist main building of the Õisu Manor was built at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The wide and high parade staircase with sculptures of white marble makes the mansion impressive; one of the sculptures is a Protege of Home, the other one symbolizes Power. Many outbuildings belong to the Manor Ensemble, of which one of the most interesting one is the so-called "wry stable". There is an English-styl ...
Founded: 1760-1767 | Location: Viljandi, Estonia

Kehtna Manor

Kehtna Manor was first mentioned in 1470 as Kectel and in 1485 as Hof Kechtenal. The Early-Classicist main building was built in the 1790s. After a fire in 1905 it was rebuild in 1906-10 and gained its nowadays' Baroque look. The manor is surrounded by a 5 ha large park with a varied collection of shrubs.
Founded: 1790s | Location: Kehtna, Estonia

Kirna Manor

The Kirna estate was given as a gift to the von Fersen family in 1614 and remained in the ownership for over a hundred years. After 1787, it belonged to various Baltic German and Russian families from the nobility. After 1919 it was used as a school up until World War II. During the Soviet occupation of Estonia, the manor housed the offices of a collective farm. Today it stands in private ownership and is used for it's en ...
Founded: ca. 1820 | Location: Kirna, Estonia

Maidla Manor

Maidla manor (Wrangelstein) traces its history back to at least 1465, although the village is mentioned for the first time as early as the 13th century, in the Danish Census Book. The manor estate has over the centuries belonged to several different aristocratic families. The present baroque manor house was built in 1764-1767 according to plans by architect J. P. Dürschmidt, during the ownership of the Wrangel family ...
Founded: 1764-1767 | Location: Maidla-Hirmuse, Estonia

Pürksi Manor

Pürksi estate was founded in 1620. The building is from 1852. It was the home of artist Johann Carl Emanuel von Ungern-Sternberg(1773-1830), some of whose works are currently at the Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn. The manor, which lies in a part of Estonia that formerly had a sizeable Swedish minority, is today occupied by a school that is specialised in teaching Swedish.
Founded: 1852 | Location: Pürksi, Estonia

Vihterpalu Manor

In 1622, Vihterpalu estate was granted to Thomas von Ramm by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. The present building probably dates from the 19th century and is in a late Neoclassical style. Elisabeth von Ramm married Gustav von Knorrig in 1816 and they started to build a new main building, which was completed in the 1820s. The façade is dominated by a central pedimented section. Today Vihterpalu manor provides a ...
Founded: 1820s | Location: Vihterpalu, Estonia

Kalvi Manor

The estate was first mentioned in 1485, when there was a vassal fortress built by the von Lode family. Later on, the estate belonged to the Kalffs, von Essens and von Stackelbergs. The Early-Classical main building that had replaced the medieval fortress in the 1770s burnt down in 1911 (in ruins), after which a new luxurious eclectic main building was erected nearby and completed in 1913. Because of its corner towers and ...
Founded: 1913 | Location: Aseri, Estonia

Väinjärve Manor

Väinjärve estate was established after 1663. The current building is from the 1860's and built in a historicist style with an eight-sided tower. Johann von Michelsohnen, the first Russian General of Estonian decent, was born on the estate in 1735.
Founded: 1860s | Location: Väinjärve, Estonia

Vigala Manor

Vigala estate is one of the oldest in Estonia and belonged to the family of Uexkülls. The history of manor date back to the 13th century. It was transferred to its present location in the 1760s.The two-storey Early Classicist main building was constructed in the 1770s and slightly altered in the 1860s. The building was burnt down in 1905 but thereafter restored to its previous form; it now houses a school. The family ...
Founded: 1770s | Location: Vigala Vald, Estonia

Kasti Manor

The Kasti estate was first mentioned in 1488, and it served as the vassal castle of von Uexkülls in the Middle Ages (parts have been preserved in the current main building). Later on, the manor was associated with the noble families of von Baranoff, von Sivers and von Stackelberg. The manor house was rebuilt as a modern mansion round 1825, when the owner was count Sievers and when it became additional buildings with ven ...
Founded: 1825 | Location: Märjamaa, Estonia

Kolga Manor

Kolga manor was founded in 1230 by the Cistercian monastery, located on the Swedish island of Gotland. In 1581 Sweden’s King Johan III presented Kolga to his army commander, Pontus de la Gardie. Through marriage, the manor changed hands from this well-known Swedish family to the Stenbocks who were the owners until the land reforms of 1920. In 1993 the grandiose mansion was returned to the Stenbocks. The building&rsq ...
Founded: 1230 | Location: Kuusalu, Estonia

Luua Manor

The manor house was first mentioned in 1519 and it has been linked with the Ludens, von Strömfelds, von Münnichs and von Oettingens. The one-storey Baroque main building was completed (on the basis of a middle-age building) in 1736; the building was made longer in the 19th century. The building has kept its two-storey form that it got in the 1950s. The building was renovated in 1997-2000 and is now used by a vocational ...
Founded: 1736 | Location: Palamuse, Estonia

Albu Manor

The earliest records of Albu manor date back to 1282, making it the oldest order manor in Järva County and one of the oldest in the whole of Estonia. The renovations carried out between 1995 and 2000 uncovered some beautiful paintings and sections of building from the 14th century. The current manor was constructed between 1742 and 1748 when Count Gustav Otto Douglas resigned his post as governor of Estonia and reti ...
Founded: 1742-1748 | Location: Albu vald, Estonia

Võisiku Manor

The estate of Võisiku was first mentioned in 1558. It has belonged to the von Bocks, von Manteuffels, von Samson-Himmelstjernas and von zur Mühlens. The one-storey stone-made main building was completed in the 1750s. It now belongs to the complex of a local nursing home. The family cemetery of the von Bocks is located 1500 meters to the west. Reference: Estonian Manors
Founded: 1750's | Location: Põltsamaa, Estonia

Lohu Manor

The Lohu Manor was established in the 17th century. The second Baroque-style main building, completed in the beginning of 18th century, still remains as a steward house. The current main building was built in the 1780’s and reconstructed to the present appearance in the end of 19th century. The well-preserved and restored manor is today privately owned.
Founded: 1780s | Location: Kohila, Estonia

Kiviloo Manor

Kiviloo was founded as an Episcopal castle in 1413. The few ruins of the Episcopal castle (destroyed in the Livonian War in 1558) can be seen even at present. The current eclectic manor house (in private possession) was built during the ownership period of the von Stackelbergs in about 1906-1910 (the earlier wooden structure was burnt down in 1905). Reference: Estonian Manors
Founded: 1906-1910 | Location: Raasiku, Estonia

Loona Manor

Small Loona manor-house in Kihelkonna is a vivid example of a long and complex story of reaching it's present form. Oldest parts of the building date back to Middle Ages, the cellar uses battlements of an old vassal-castle built in the 16th century. Next major stage of building took place in 1785-1786, when the building was given most of it's present appearance. Today Loona manor hosts a guesthouse, café a ...
Founded: 1785-1786 | Location: Saaremaa, Estonia

Kõljala Manor

The earliest records of Kõljala manor date to 1509. Traces of the oldest construction have been preserved in the cellars, and these date to the 17th century. In those days the manor belonged to Otto von Poll, a leader of the Saaremaa German nobility. His lifestyle was somewhat different from the rest, and this was reflected in the furnishings of the manor house. Although the house itself was of one-story limestone ...
Founded: 1760-1770 | Location: Saaremaa, Estonia

Lyckholm Museum and Saare Manor

The von Rosen family has owned Saare (Lyckholm) Manor since the Great Northern War (1720). After the Soviet occupation Gustav von Rosen acquired the manor and established a homestead museum to the old barn. The Baroque-style main building, built in the end of 18th century, provides today accomodation services. Reference: Tapio Mäkeläinen 2005. Viro - kartanoiden, kirkkojen ja kukkaketojen maa. Tammi, Helsinki, ...
Founded: 18th century | Location: Noarootsi, Estonia

Edise Manor

First mentioned in 1477, the manor was a small stronghold (now destroyed) and belonged to the Tuve (von Taube) family in the Middle Ages. The main building was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in the 1860's and both this and the storehouse-dryer (now reconstructed as the Valge Hobu Trahter, White Horse Inn) have remained till today. Reference: Estonian Manors
Founded: 1860's | Location: Jõhvi, Estonia

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.

From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.

As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.

Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.