The history of Kirna Manor
History
Foto ca 1938
Until the beginning of the 13th century, Estonians in Järva County enjoyed life as free people in harmony with nature. In Kirna is located a powerful ancient Estonian sacred grove, a natural holy site where various rites and rituals were performed in ancient times.
The invasion of Järva County by the Livonian Order took place in 1019, and in 1238, the entire region passed from the Danes to the Order under the Treaty of Stensby. No written records from this time have survived. According to legend, a monastic settlement was established on the lands of Kirna Manor, where monks from the Pskov Monastery lived and worked. They lived ascetically, grew turnips and beans for food, caught fish from the river, and made cheese and butter from goat’s milk.
After the collapse of the State of the Teutonic Order in the Livonian War, the entire county fell under Swedish rule in 1561. During the Order’s time, the number of knightly manors in Järva County was very small because most of the land was in the Order’s own hands. Now began the distribution of lands by the Swedish government to its nobles and military officers.
In Järva County, the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf gifted 5 villages to Hans von Fersen, the head of the Estonian Knighthood, who established a manor there in the 1620s with its center in Kirna. The manor remained in the possession of this family until 1787.
The initial Kirna manor house was a wooden building with three windows, under the same roof as the granary. The manor complex also included a sauna, a carriage shed, a stable, and a cattle barn.
Fassaad 1950-ndad
Grott
During the time of Carl Gustav von Fersen in the mid-18th century, a representative white stone manor house was built, which stood out on the hilltop from afar, as there were no tall old trees surrounding the house at that time. Local folklore tells that the stones needed for the construction of the massive walls came from a limestone quarry about a kilometer away, and they were carried to the manor in a human chain, with pre-cut stone blocks being passed from hand to hand. People from many surrounding villages were gathered for this work.
After C.G. von Fersen’s death, the manor was inherited by his niece, Helene Dorothea von Fersen, who was married to Johann Gustav von Osten-Sacken and later to Prince Mikhail Gorchakov. 1 The twice-widowed princess mortgaged Kirna Manor to Count Manteuffel in 1798.
In 1804, the Osten-Sackens regained Kirna for 120,000 silver rubles, and the manor became the property of Johann’s younger brother, Carl Magnus, who had made a brilliant court career in St. Petersburg, serving as tutor to Tsar Paul I and Grand Duke Constantine. Returning to his homeland, he took over the neglected management of Kirna Manor and redesigned the main manor house according to the taste of the St. Petersburg nobility. A grand columned portico was added to the front facade, balconies were added to both the front and rear, and the park layout was changed towards free-form designs. The interior design of the manor house was also brought into line with the lifestyle of the high nobility: column motifs were added to the second floor, and the ceilings were decorated with stucco. The design of the grotto-like vestibule on the first floor and many other exotic neo-Gothic elements also date from this time. The large hall was adorned with 27 paintings depicting family members, as well as parade portraits of contemporary celebrities. Next to the hall was a library, and next to that, a study. On the other side were the dining room and the countess’s rooms. There were three guest rooms in the house.
Groti ornamendid
Fassaadi sambad
C.M. von Osten-Sacken also had an atlas of the manor’s maps made in 1805. It shows that the manor complex consisted of 19 buildings. In front of the manor house, an esplanade enclosed by outbuildings opened up. Barns, stables, and carriage sheds were located closer to the owner’s eye. Buildings related to animal husbandry and distilling were moved further away.
However, high aristocratic life was probably too expensive. Already in 1816, the manor was mortgaged to Major General Georg Ludwig Pilar von Pilchau, and five years later, the contract for the purchase of the manor was formalized. The manor remained in the possession of this family for almost a hundred years until its expropriation with the Estonian land reform of 1919.
The Pilchau period in Kirna was conservative. The large and pretentious manor ensemble was kept in order, and minor repairs were made. All 19 buildings remained in the same condition. In 1892, Kirna passed into the hands of the sisters Helene and Julie Johanna Pilchau, and life in the manor almost completely died out. There were no pedigree animals or the cultivation of varietal crops, no butter or cheese production, no brick making, and no distilling at Kirna. Kirna’s heyday had remained in the early 19th century.
In 1919, Kirna Manor was nationalized, and a period began where the buildings were no longer repaired but only used. An elementary school was established in the manor house. During the war, a German officers’ training center operated in the manor. The manor continued to be used as a school in the early Soviet era. Later, it housed a library, a post office, the center of a collective farm and a canteen, and a number of small apartments.
Today, we can still meet people who attended school, worked, or were at work and recreation camps in Kirna Manor. We would be very grateful for any stories, legends, and traditions related to the history of Kirna Manor. Old photographs of both the manor and the park would also be of great help in restoring the manor.
Helle Anniko [2010a.]
During the war, a German officers’ training center operated in the manor. The manor continued to be used as a school in the early Soviet era. Later, it housed a library, a post office, the center of a collective farm and a canteen, and a number of small apartments. After Estonia regained its independence, the manor stood empty.
In 1997, the state sold the dilapidated and neglected manor house at auction into private hands. Healer Helle Anniko, who understood the world of subtle energies, saw and felt the natural and energetic potential of this place and established the energy healing park in Kirna Manor Park, which is now known worldwide. Helle Anniko put all her energy and heart into developing Kirna Park until her death.
In the autumn of 2014, Reimo Lilienthal and Tuuli Org bought the manor and continue to develop Helle Anniko’s valuable legacy. The long-term vision is to transform the manor into a holistic health and lifestyle center.
Today, we can still meet people who attended school, worked, or were at work and recreation camps in Kirna Manor. We would be very grateful for any stories, legends, and traditions related to the history of Kirna Manor. Old photographs of both the manor and the park would also be of great help in restoring the manor.