Details
Founded: 1904Category: Religious sites in Estonia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Estonia)
User Reviews
There has been a church in Värska since 16th century. The present St. George’s Orthodox Church was completed in 1904. The neo-Historical Orthodox church with a crossing cupola has a beautiful contrast between stones and brick cornices. The images of the iconostasis date from the time when the church was built. The famous Seto folk singer Anne Vabarna and the captain of the steamship Aurora Ivan Fjodorov have been buried in the churchyard.
References:Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.