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Kuressaare Post-tour

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We reach Saaremaa by taking a ferry trip to Muhu Island. Saaremaa is the biggest island of Estonia which has succeeded to maintain its unique style - the ancient villages with stone fences and log houses with cane roofs, preserved national customs and peculiar way of speech. You can familiarize with all of this during the stop in the Village of Koguva. On the way to Kuressaare the Field of the Kaali Meteorite Craters will be visited. Sightseeing after lunch will take place in the old town of Kuressaare deriving from the 17-19th century as well with a visit to medieval Kuressaare Bishop Stronghold being erected in 13th century.

08:00 Departure to Saaremaa from Strand Hotel
10:00 Ferry trip from Virtsu to Kuivatu harbour
11:00 Visit to theVillage of Koguva
12:40 Visit to the Field of Kaali Meteorite Craters
13:30 Lunch
14:30 Sightseeing in Kuressaare and visit to Kuressaare Bishop Stronghold
16:30 Leaving Kuressaare
18:00 Ferry trip from Kuivastu to Virtsu and heading for Pärnu


Kuressaare was officially declared a town in 1563 by Duke Magnus, brother of the Danish king Frederik II. The town centre of Kuressaare lies at its present place from the I half of the 17th century. Earlier the town center was situated closer to the castle. The downtown with its small triangular squares took shape at the end of the 17th century and are now continuously restored.

The most important sight in Kuressaare is the Bishop Stronghold Among the medieval castles in the Baltic countries this is the one that has survived best. The castle was built of chiselled dolomite blocks in the late 14th century. The basic plan of the building is a square with sides 43 metres. There are two towers on the northen side of the building: The Watch Tower, also called Tall Herman, and the Defence Tower or Sturvolt. The entrance to the castle is also situated on the northen side. In the centre of the building there is a quadrangular courtyard, surrounded by a vaulted gallery, so called cloister on the first and second floors.

 


The Village of Koguva is the best preserved 19th century village in Estonia. All of the buildings are architectural landmarks and under historical protection. Apparently there is much truth to the folk wisdom that taught old men how to fell trees – the logs have lasted undamaged for over 200 years.
The center of the village museum is Tooma farm, which was the original home of the writer Juhan Smuul's forefathers. It should also be mentioned that aside from the one museum complex, Koguva village is a lived-in village. It is home to the villagers of Koguva.
The traditional Saaremaa farm was generally composed of a long farm house where the family lived and where the great room was also used for threshing, several storehouses, a sauna, barns and a summer kitchen. Very often the farm also had a smithy. The grain, meat, fish, and clothing storehouses were built separately. The number and size of storehouses depended on the wealth and size of the farm family.

 


The Field of Kaali Meteorite Craters is the most extraordinary geological marvels on Saaremaa. In the main crater there is a natural body of water that is known as Lake Kaali. Its circular shape, the discovery of 30 meteorites in the area in 1937 and other explorations have confirmed that it is a meteor crater. It is estimated that the meteor fell in the year 700 B.C. Folk tradition has long held that Kaali lake is a bottomless lake. That is unfortunately not true. Exploration has discovered a hard bottom at 16 meters. The lake itself is 50 meters in diameter, and the entire crater has a diameter of 110 meters.
Kaali lake has an important place in tradition. It was known as Holy Lake and there is archaeological evidence that it was a place of offering for many centuries. The lake was surrounded by a wall during the early Iron Age. An extraordinarly number of animal bones have been found inside the walled area as Estonians made animal offerings to ensure good harvests and increase in domestic animals. It was a place of worship and pilgrimage. The offerings continued to be made in secret long after the Chruch forbade such "pagan " practices.


  
  

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A. Adamsoni 1, 80014 Pärnu, Estonia
phone: +372 44 71 480, fax: +372 44 71 482, e-mail: info@parnuconvention.ee