The Life of the Baltic Nobility

 
Built, inhabited, and managed by the aristocratic upper class, mostly of German but also Swedish, Polish, and Russian origin, the manor houses shaped the cultural landscape of present-day Estonia and Latvia until the early 20th century. With more than a thousand preserved buildings, they still represent one of the largest groups of monuments in the Baltic region despite all the losses and fascinate both the general public and researchers more than other art or architectural monuments.

Some of the oldest Baltic manor houses were converted from castles belonging to the Teutonic Knights. Even in the 18th century, most of the buildings were still constructed of wood. Most of the surviving manor houses were eventually built in the 19th century in various styles of historicism – and some are still surrounded by parks and landscaped gardens today.

The traveling exhibition shows the architecture, furnishings, and development of Baltic manor houses, providing insights into the largely German-Baltic aristocratic culture and life and work on a Baltic estate, which included farm buildings, granaries, and stables for riding and working animals, as well as living quarters for servants and the long-time serfs. The history of the Baltic region and the further fate of the estates after 1900 (and especially during the Soviet era) are also addressed and outlined.