Cistercian Monastery in Padisi (Kharjumaa, Northern Estonia)

The monastery in Padisi was founded around 1310 by monks of the Cistercian Order near the site of an ancient Estonian settlement. The monastery was built long and difficult, but by the beginning of the 15th century most of the buildings were erected, and the church was consecrated in the name of the Trinity and many saints. Monks not only prayed and rewrote spiritual books, but also engaged in heavy physical labor: they worked the land, twisted boulders, threshed grain on the mill they built, bred fish, herded cattle. It was a time of prosperity for the monastery. But the Livonian War changed his fate: the Master of the Livonian Order in 1569 ordered to take the monastery from its rightful owners and rebuild it into a defensive structure. For several years the fortress changed hands: the Livonian knights surrendered it to the Russian troops, and the Russians, after an eight-month siege, to the Swedes. In the Swedish period, the lands and buildings of the monastery were awarded for merit by King Gustav Adolf to the commandant of the city of Riga Thomas von Ramm. In the early 18th century, lightning struck the buildings rebuilt by Rammami and the building was badly damaged by fire. Now the powerful ruins of the ancient structure amaze with their grandeur, and the view from the observation tower is a wide perspective. The journey from Tallinn to Padiz takes only 40 minutes and guarantees an unforgettable experience.