Puurmani Castle

Puurmani Castle / Description

A neo-renaissance building, started in 1864, had 32 rooms. In the addition to these rooms larders, a wine cellar, a bathroom and a furnace room were on the basement. Piped water was used in the building and since 1918 electricity as well. Food was brought from the kitchen to the dining room by a lift. A spacious hall with a flower room was on the ground floor. The large dining room, a billiard room and the count´s study with a treasury were next to the hall. A 25m-high tower with a flagstaff is on the eastern part of the castle.The national flag was hoisted for the time when the count stayed in the castle. On the roof above the portal there was the coat of arms of the Puurmani Count. The park was designed by a German specialist in French and English style. Until 1920 the castle was owned by the Mannteuffel family. The place and the castle take the name from Major General Christopher von Buhrmeister. The Kuperjanov Partisan´s Battalion, which fought in the Estonian War of Independence, was formed in this castle in 1918. Since 1923 the castle has housed a school.
The count had usually four horses harnessed to his coach. When he was riding together with the countess, 6 horses were harnessed. The horses had pompons on their heads and the harness was shining. The countess was proud and wicked. She forbade peasant children to gape at the roadside. She also took away baskets from the people who were coming from mushrooming. The count is said to have had a snore room in the castle.