Kolga Manor, Kuusalu, Estonia

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’s history has had many phases: the stone building, built in de la Gardie’s time, has remained intact among the other buildings. Between 1765 and 1768 Count Karl Magnus Stenbock had a late-Baroque central section with a high roof built.

The Stenbock family is one of the most famous Swedish families. Their forefather, Field Marshal Magnus von Stenbock, was one of the most influential people in Sweden alongside King Karl XII. Generally known as humane masters, his grandson Carl Magnus von Stenbock became notorious for permitting 1200 farmers from his manor to be deported to Ukraine in the 18th century. Among all the family members bearing military titles, there were also those with a different destiny, such as Eric von Stenbock, bohemian poet and a friend of Oscar Wilde, who died at a young age in England. Today the manor is in the hands of Finnish relatives of the Stenbock family.

Kolga was one of the largest manors in Estonia. With its 50000 hectares of land and many other smaller manors nearby, such as Kiiu and Kõnnu, all in all it was almost the size of some smaller German duchies. Even if most of the buildings are in ruins, the manor still leaves a powerful impression. Next to the main house, in the former stable, is a cosy hotel (with 20 double rooms) and conference rooms are located in the manager's house. The main building houses the village shop and a rural restaurant.

Reference: Manor.ee

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Robert Hellrand (4 years ago)
Impressive architecture but in nerd of repairs

Magnus Mägedi (4 years ago)
Must visit manor in Estonia. This is the largest manor in Estonia and if you won’t manage to get inside of main house, it’s still worth to see outside area and on the top of manor, there is very nice museum in side building - open from Wed to Sunday from 10 AM - 6 PM. Our family truly enjoyed!

Yerlan Akhmetov (4 years ago)
Must visit place in Kolga. This is the biggest manor in Estonia. It is still in the process of renovation.

Ruslan Podzigun (4 years ago)
It's more like abandaned place

Rene-Mario Johanson (4 years ago)
Beautiful old building!

Kolga Manor

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Church of St Donatus