Lohu () is a village in

Kohila Parish Kohila Parish () is the northernmost Municipalities of Estonia, municipality of Rapla County, Estonia. It has a population of 5,925 (as of 1 January 2009) and an area of . Settlements ;Borough: Kohila ;Small boroughs: Aespa, Rapla County, Aespa ...

Rapla County Rapla County ( or ''Raplamaa'') is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in the north-western part of the country and borders Järva County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, Lääne County to the west, and Harju County to ...

, in northwestern

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Lohu railway station, on the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

railway line operated by Elron, in a short distance from the village. The ''Lohu Lelu'' company in Lohu produces wooden toys. It started trading in 1993.

Lohu manor

Lohu manor house was built in 1620. It originally belonged to a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

family, and throughout most of its history continued to be in the hands of the local aristocracy. When Estonia proclaimed its independence in 1919, sweeping

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

s seized lands owned by almost all Baltic German families and signed them over to ethnic Estonians. In 1920, the manor was owned by Johan Pitka although it later changed hands several times. The original manor house was built of wood; it was replaced in the early 18th century by a stone house in

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, later used as a manager's estate. A new main

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

building was erected in the 1780s, partly altered in

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

fashion during the 19th century. The interior boasts some fine

grisaille Grisaille ( or ; , from ''gris'' 'grey') means in general any European painting that is painted in grey. History Giotto used grisaille in the lower registers of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua () and Robert Campin, Jan van Ey ...

mural paintings, executed by Gottlieb Welté and considered to be among the finest examples of such interior details in Estonia. Other noteworthy interior details, such as the wainscoting and other carved wooden details, date from the late 19th century.

References

Villages in Rapla County Kreis Harrien {{Rapla-geo-stub