There was excitement in the air as we loaded our luggage onto the bus at the Porvoo office on Thursday morning. We set off with local manor operators on a history-filled study trip to the manors of Latvia and Estonia. The boat trip there went smoothly, with a delicious brunch, and to make sure we didn’t get hungry, we stopped for lunch at the Ammande restaurant in Pärnu. In the early evening, we arrived at Birini Castle in Limbazi, where we stayed in the magnificent castle rooms. After settling in, we enjoyed a delicious dinner with our partner Leader Brasla. The conversation was lively, and networking and exchange of experiences began immediately.
On Friday morning, we spent time at a seminar in the interesting company of Solvita Muižniece, owner of Brini Castle. She told us about the history, art, and development of the castle. Afterwards, we met the director of Cesvaine Castle and Linda Vizuma, representative of the Latvian Manor Association, who gave us a thorough explanation of how each Latvian castle and manor can tell its own story and what development opportunities and unique themes can be found in cultural heritage sites. The tour guide Heli also talked about sustainable development in local villages and how the Finnish LEADER group works with the community, cultural heritage, and entrepreneurship. The final speaker at the seminar was Toms Treimanis, who gave a lively account of his experiences with the Valmiera Manor Network.
After the seminar, we got to visit three manor houses in the Leader Brasla area. At Igate Castle, Kristīne Lāce, the castle manager, presented the activities and upcoming events, for which the students had made beautiful flower arrangements. Sandra Kļaviņa, the manager of Jaunlāde Manor, gave a humorous account of the history and current state of the manor. What was special about this location was that the building had previously served as a school. At Puikule Manor, we were given a tour by Dace Tauriņa, director of the Braslava and Brīvzemnieki Parish Service Center. Inside the magnificent red-brick manor house, we found a truly unique collection of art, a museum from the Soviet era, and unique handicrafts. We ended the evening with dinner in Limbazi.
On Saturday, we set off for Estonia after breakfast. We arrived at Kernu Manor in the afternoon, where we enjoyed a wonderful tour of the manor and sampled the fruits of the manor garden with coffee. Everyone on the trip will surely remember the lovely manager of the manor, Krista, and the King Charles curtains she bought at an auction in London, which could be found in different colors in every window of the building. Our second destination was Kumna Manor, where Raivo Kalve gave a wonderful presentation on the history of the manor and we toured the beautifully restored rooms.
Our final destination was the breathtakingly beautiful Schloss Fall/Keila-Joa loss manor house. During a delicious dinner, we listened to an interesting presentation by Andrei Dvorjaninov on the history of the castle. We were also joined by Jaanus Kiili, a representative of the Estonian Manor Association, who told us about Estonian practices related to the development of manors. We spent the night at the Park Inn Radisson Central Hotel in Tallinn, and Sunday morning was free for us to buy souvenirs. We arrived back in Helsinki in the evening, tired but enriched by many new experiences.
The best part of the trip was the discussions and exchange of experiences between the manor operators. The examples of development projects and the world of manors shared by the Latvians and Estonians opened new doors for ideas that could also be implemented in manors in Finland. We are eagerly waiting to see what wonderful ideas will be implemented in our region!
