What to do and see in Laane County, Laane County: The Best Churches & Cathedrals

Karuse church is one of the oldest sacral buildings in Laanemaa – it was built in the 1260s as a fortress-church for the Livonian Order.Inside the church you should pay attention to the Baroque-style pulpit and altar. When walking around the churchyard you will see the trapezoid headstones originating from the 13th century and wheel crosses dating back to the 17th century.Interesting facts:It is likely that the master of the Livonian Order who was killed near Karuse in the sea ice battle with the Lithuanians is buried in the church.

The original church of St Elizabeth in Lihula was destroyed in a battle between the German order and a bishop in 1297. A new church was then erected which remained standing until 1874, when its poor status saw it condemned. The current church was completed two years later, in 1876. Its altar, pews and chancellery were the work of a local master, Laurberg, while its baroque sculptures date from an even older church - as do its altar painting and one of its bells. The organ was made by a master builder by the name of Tanton.

Kirbla church built in the beginning of 6th century is one of the smallest stone churches in Estonia. Its length is 30 metres and its width 11 metres. According to the legend people could not agree on the location for the church. Finally heaven itself gave a sign and a sudden bolt of lightning struck Kirbla hill. Lightning had shattered a sacrifice stone as big as a sauna – this was the place where the church was built.Interesting facts:The church is unique for its varying size of windows and the position thereof. One window is in the north wall, the one in the west wall is round and the middle window in the south wall is narrower and higher compared to the others.The grave of the last Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia (1918-1940) – Juri Uluots – who died in Sweden in 1945 is in the churchyard.

Of the interior of the church which dates back to the 13th century one should pay attention to the pulpit, chandeliers, organ, altar painting, H. Goseken’s epitaph and triumphal arch group.Interesting facts:In the churchyard you will see Estonia’s oldest wheel cross which reads Sitta Kodt Matz. According to a legend Matz had been gathering horse droppings, then fertilised the field with those and then he grew mighty rye there. He became so rich that he could get himself buried in the churchyard.Estonia’s first professional composer Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918) is buried in the churchyard.Nearby you will find Kullamaa Rohumagi – Estonians’ for of nearly 2000 m2 dating back to the 11th-12th centuries.Kullamaa is also the place where the oldest Estonian language signs were found.

The Estonian Orthodox Maria Magdaleena Church is located in an idyllic area of Haapsalu – on the Promenade. Russian Tsar Alexander II attended the opening of the church in 1852. The church was restored to its present state only a few years ago. The church is open on Sundays from 9 am to noon. To visit at other times, please contact us in advance.Interesting fact: The church and the surrounding buildings are depicted in Ilon Wikland’s book Long, Long Journey. Ilon Wikland, who was the illustrator of Astrid Lindgren’s books, describes her Haapsalu childhood in the book.

Vormsi church which dates back to the 14th century and is the main memento of its history and culture – is located in the centre of the island, in Hullo. The church was unused for a long time after the Swedish escaped from the island in the end of World War II. The church was dedicated again on Olav's Day in 1990.Be sure to take a look at the characteristic square-shaped nave and have look at the old ceiling paintings in the altar room.Interesting facts:The first church in Vormsi was a wooden church.* St. Olav’s church in Vormsi is unique for the fact that it has no belfry, the bell hangs above the door under the high ridge.* There are two gnarled pine trees at the gate of the church – this is the place where the pillory stood.

Noarootsi Church in late-Gothic style was built around 1500. You will first notice the Falu red plank roof – the church is one of the three plank-roof churches in Estonia. In the medieval times the lime and rubble stone building also had the function of being a fortified church.Inside the church one should pay attention to the baptising stone, baroque pulpit, limestone baroque epitaph to Minister Martin Winter.Interesting facts:By the entrance there is a stone slab with royal autographs from the present King of Sweden – Carl XVI Gustav who visited Noarootsi in 1992. Across the road from the church you will see the oldest wooden building in Lannemaa – the parsonage originating from the 17th century.

St. John’s Church in Haapsalu which is rebuilt from a 15th century warehouse differs from other churches for its location of north-south orientation. When entering the church you should certainly pay attention to the 5-metre stone altar and the wooden pulpit.Interesting facts:St John’s Church has been a church for an Estonian congregation and many of the simpler citizens have been buried under the floor and in the churchyard.The clock in the tower of the church is one of the oldest in Estonia and the oldest in the west of Estonia.The church is accessible on the outside all year round; the interior of the church can be admired during the events in the church calendar.

The ruins of Rooslepa chapel originate from the 17th century. It was originally built as a wooden chapel. The present stone chapel was built in 1834. The chapel fell apart after World War II, but the sanctuary which has by now been completely restored was recommemorated in August 2007. The chapel has a brand new belfry with the ball and weathervane. The weathervane depicts a whale with its toothed mouth open.Interesting facts:The stone inside the chapel near the entrance waited for 10 years to return to its original place. The stone is unique for the autograph by the father of the present King of Sweden dating back to the year 1932.