Palmse Manor

The restored Palmse Manor and park at Palmse, 8km north of Viitna, is the showpiece of Lahemaa. In the 13th century a Cistercian monastery occupied the land, and it was later developed as a private estate by a Baltic-German family (the von der Pahlens) who ran the property from 1677 until 1923 (when it was expropriated by the state).

Fully restored to its former glory, the manor house, dating from the 1780s, contains period furniture and fittings. Other estate buildings have also been restored and put to new use: the ait (storage room) is a summer exhibition hall; the viinavabrik (distillery) houses a hotel and restaurant; the kavaleride maja (house of Cavaliers), once a summer guesthouse, is now a souvenir and book shop; and the supelmaja (bathhouse), which overlooks a pretty lake, is now a charming café.