Taagepera Castle (German name: Wagenküll) is a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

in Taagepera village,

Helme Parish Helme Parish () was a rural Municipalities of Estonia, municipality of Estonia, in Valga County. It had a population of 2,525 (as of 1 January 2009) and an area of 312.73 km2. Geography Populated places There was Populated places in Esto ...

Valga County Valga County ( or ''Valgamaa'') is a first-level administrative unit and one of 15 counties of Estonia. It comprises the former area of Valga District. The present-day county was created on 1 January 1990. The capital and largest town of Valga Co ...

, Estonia. It was registered as a national cultural monument on 27 September 1999.

History

The first recorded mention of the mansion dates to the 16th century. During the Polish rule and Swedish rule of Estonia, the mansion belonged to the

Rehbinder Rehbinder is a German surname, and Baltic nobility of Westphalian origin: * Berndt-Otto Rehbinder (1918–1974), Swedish Olympic fencer * Johan Adam Rehbinder (1733–1809), Swedish historian * Rehbinder (noble family) ** Henrik von Rehbinder (16 ...

family. In 1674, it was sold to the Swedish major Otto von Stackelberg. In 1819, the almost bankrupt mansion was sold to (1746–1829), who married Anna Elisabeth von Oetting (1763–1825) in 1782. The last owner of the mansion was his great-grandson Hugo von Stryk, who lost the mansion in the 1919 land reform.

Mansion complex

Mansion house

The current mansion house was built in 1907 to an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

design by the German architect

Otto Wildau Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded from ...

. The western corner of the house includes a 40-metre tall tower. Because of the large size of the mansion house, it is commonly called a castle. After the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

in 1919, the mansion house was converted into a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

. In the late 1930s, a new sanatorium building was added, designed by the architect

Alar Kotli Alar Kotli (27 August 1904 in Väike-Maarja – 4 October 1963 in Tallinn) was an Estonian architect. He studied sculpture at the art school ''Pallas'' in Tartu during 1922–1923 and mathematics at the University of Tartu. He graduated from the ...

. The mansion house served as a sanatorium until 2000; since 2002 it has been a hotel. In mid-2018 it reopened after renovations as Castle Wagenküll Spa Hotel.

Graveyard

In the late 19th century, a family graveyard was constructed near the mansion house. Among those buried there are: * Katharina Mathilde von Stryk (née Rogge), born 15 July 1815 – died 13 April 1892 * Bernhard Heinrich Konstantin von Stryk, born 29 July 1827 – died 5 January 1912

Postage stamps

In 1933,

Eesti Post Omniva is an international post and logistics company based in Tallinn, Estonia, that targets the Baltic region, Baltic states. The name Omniva was adopted in June 2014; the company was previously called AS Eesti Post, whose history can be trac ...

designed a series of four stamps with an anti-

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

theme, of which the blue/red 10-cent stamp and the dark blue/red 20-cent stamp depict the Taagepera mansion house (at that time a sanatorium). A new stamp depicting the Taagepera mansion house was issued in 2006.2006 Estonian postage stamp depicting Taagepera Castlearchived
from the original on 20 December 2013.

Gallery

File:Taagepera Castle 00.jpg, Exterior view File:Taagepera Castle 01.jpg, Lobby File:Taagepera Castle 02.jpg, Lobby File:Taagepera Castle 03.jpg, Lobby File:Taagepera Castle 04.jpg, Stairway to second floor File:Taagepera Castle 05.jpg, Billiards room on the second floor File:Taagepera Castle 05a.jpg, Jahisaal File:Taagepera Castle 06.jpg, Jahisaal File:Taagepera Castle 07.jpg, Jahisaal File:Taagepera Castle 08.jpg, Jahisaal File:Taagepera Castle 09.jpg, Jahisaal File:Taagepera Castle 10.jpg, Jahisaal - a chess board in the hall File:Taagepera Castle 11.jpg, Anna Sophie restaurant File:Taagepera Castle 12.jpg, Anna Sophie restaurant File:Taagepera Castle 13.jpg, Anna Sophie restaurant File:Taagepera Castle 14.jpg, Anna Sophie restaurant - castle cat File:Taagepera Castle 15.jpg, Hugo Saal File:Taagepera Castle 16.jpg, Hugo Saal File:Taagepera Castle 17.jpg, Rüütli Saal File:Taagepera Castle 18.jpg, Rüütli Saal File:Taagepera Castle 19.jpg, Stairway in the tower File:Taagepera Castle 20.jpg, Observation room in the tower File:Taagepera Castle 21.jpg, Stairway to top floor of tower from floor below File:Taagepera Castle 22.jpg, Top floor of tower File:Taagepera Castle 23.jpg, View from top floor of tower File:Taagepera Castle 24.jpg, View from top floor of tower File:Taagepera Castle 25.jpg, View from top floor of tower File:Taagepera Castle 26.jpg, View from top floor of tower

References

External links

*
Wagenküll
{{Coord, 57, 59, 35, N, 25, 39, 58, E, type:landmark_region:EE, display=title Buildings and structures in Valga County Manor houses in Estonia Hotels in Estonia Tõrva Parish Art Nouveau architecture in Estonia Art Nouveau houses Art Nouveau hotels Art Nouveau hospital buildings Hospitals in Estonia Tourist attractions in Valga County