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Founded: 1760-1770Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Estonia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Estonia)
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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 construction, it is known that the rooms were lit by ten brass chandeliers, the curtains at the windows had golden fringes, and there were twelve large Flemish carpets hung on the walls.
In 1677 the new owner, J. von Osten-Sacken, had two large brass cannons placed in front of the manor. These he had received as a gift from the Swedish king, Karl XI. The cannon were still there at the beginning of the 20th century.
The next extensive reconstruction and building period took place during 1760-1770. Maps and charts dating from 1784 picture the manor very similar to what it looks like today, a single-story building with a hipped roof and three chimneys. In the middle of the 19th century, the new owner F. W. von Buxhoevden added further "improvements" to the building in the form of then-popular classisistic details, such as the portico with four Ionian pillars.
The classisistic style continued in the landscape design that surrounded the manor house. Full-grown, mature trees formed the backdrop for the house, and on the south side among the trees there were placed three arched gate buildings. Unfortunately, only one has survived.
Today Kõljala manor stands in private ownership.
Reference: Saaremaa.ee
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.