The place now known as Maarjamäe has for centuries been one of many summer retreat spots in Tallinn. It was formerly called Stritberg (also Streitberg, in Estonian Riiumägi – "hill of discord"), where at the end of the 17th century the head of the magistrate and member of the Brotherhood of Blackheads, Kristjan von Geldern, built the first small manor.
In 1811, the land at Stritberg was purchased by merchant Johan Gottlieb Klemenc. Under his leadership, a sugar factory was built there. This gave the place a new popular name – "Sugar Hill." It is known that by 1820, on this site, in addition to the sugar factory, there were 11 stone buildings for various purposes, a wooden residential house, several sheds, a smithy, a lime kiln, a vaulted ice cellar, and a pool with channels directing water to the factory. The area was enclosed by a limestone wall over 4 meters high. Several stone houses, the ice cellar, and part of the enclosing wall have survived to this day.
In 1861, the sugar factory was bought and converted into a commercial facility by the head of the magistrate Kristjan Abraham Rotermann. He built the first steam mill in Tallinn on the site and converted the buildings into a starch and alcohol factory. The factory was destroyed by a fire on March 19, 1869, and this marked the end of Rotermann’s activities at Stritberg.
By the 1820s, Tallinn had become a resort city intended for health recovery. On January 29, 1873, the land at Stritberg along with the buildings there was purchased from Rotermann’s heirs by Count Anatoly Vladimirovich Orlov-Davydov (1837–1905), who lived in St. Petersburg. Count Orlov-Davydov named the place Marienberg, presumably after his wife Maria. The Estonian version of the name – Maarjamäe – came into use from the late 1930s. Due to the revolutionary events of 1917, the Orlov-Davydov family emigrated from Russia, and the summer residence was rented out.
Of all the public meeting rooms, the most luxurious was the so-called Summer Hall on the first floor, with dark wooden wall panels and a coffered ceiling. At the beginning of the 20th century, one could exit directly from the Summer Hall into the garden.
During the construction of the Pirita road, which began in 1926, Marienberg lost its stairs and direct connection to the sea. On January 5, 1933, the most elegant restaurant-hotel Riviera-Palais was ceremoniously opened in the Maarjamäe castle. At that time, it was advertised as a beautiful outing spot where large receptions, celebrations with literary and musical programs, Ivan’s Night bonfires, and fireworks were organized. Guests were attracted by blazing fireplaces and illuminated glass dance floors.
Riviera-Palais was closed in 1937 because the manor was purchased by the state to open the Military Aviation School of the Republic of Estonia there. The school began its educational activities on November 1, 1937. The task of the aviation school was to train military pilots, reconnaissance pilots, and aircraft mechanics. During reconstruction work, the veranda and balcony at the front of the castle were demolished, and the facade’s appearance was significantly altered. The aviation school’s activities at Maarjamäe ceased with the beginning of the occupation of the Republic of Estonia.
In 1940, Maarjamäe passed into the hands of the Soviet Army. During the army’s deployment, the castle was built over with communal apartments. On the first floor, there was a small grocery store, with the former fireplace hall serving as its storage room. The once large and well-maintained territory with buildings fell into disrepair and began to deteriorate.
The first stage of renovation of the castle complex was carried out by restorers from the Wrocław branch of the Polish company PKZ between 1983 and 1988. The exterior appearance of the buildings and the large staircase complex were restored based on old photographs and drawings, but the interior spaces were rebuilt to meet the needs of the museum. An extension was created, housing a two-story cinema hall decorated with bronze sculptures by Ants Mölders titled "Worker" and "Collective Farmer," as well as several additional exhibition rooms.
In the former Summer Hall of the castle, the then Minister of Culture commissioned a mural called "Friendship of Peoples," reflecting the spirit of the time. The castle was connected via a gallery to a neighboring building, built in the classical style in the first half of the 19th century, where offices were created. At the end of 1987, a permanent exhibition called "Museum of the Revolution" was opened in the castle, introducing the history of Estonia from the mid-19th century to the present day. This was the last permanent exhibition in Estonia that had to follow the ideological directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia.
After the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Estonia, the former permanent exhibition was urgently updated. The buildings adjacent to the castle on the slope of Maarjamäe were converted into museum storage facilities, and the entire territory awaits landscaping. In 2008, the permanent exhibition on the second floor was updated with a large exhibition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia titled "The Will for Independence. 90 Years of the Republic of Estonia."
The current exhibition of the Historical Museum in Maarjamäe Castle opened in 2017. Today it is a full-fledged complex introducing the country’s history through symbols of different eras. In the castle park, there is an alley of Soviet sculptures, and most of the territory is given over to a children’s playground, which from a bird’s-eye view looks like a map of Estonia.
Several Soviet films were shot at the estate, including "Game Without Rules" (1965), "Variant Omega" (1975), and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1981). In "The Hound of the Baskervilles," the mansion played the role of Baskerville Hall.
The gates of the Baskervilles were supposed to be decorated with boar heads, but the eagles also look convincing. From the castle tower, Barrymore signaled to Selden.
Unfortunately, filming was not conducted in the tower or other castle rooms – all interiors of Baskerville Hall were shot in a studio.
By the way, the cameraman was very lucky with the weather: usually, in spring, under the tree he was filming from, it’s impossible to be without rubber boots because of the swampy ground.
The semi-ruined flagstone fence along which Watson wandered has long since disappeared, only a fragment remains. The lawn near the castle had become so overgrown that in summer the house was almost invisible behind thick bushes – only by spring 2010 were these “jungles” cleared again, making it possible to shoot more or less decent footage.
The view of the castle is now spoiled by a parking lot. Moreover, there are plans to build high-rise buildings nearby with views of the bay and the historic center.
Contrary to expectations, the main gates do not open onto peat bogs but directly onto the embankment of Tallinn Bay of the Baltic Sea, where the busy Pirita highway runs.
Sources:
Places found and photographed by Aleksei Leshkov, alzar007, Gara, altavista, Pinguin with tips from Igor Maslenikov and Arkady Tigai
https://dubikvit.livejournal.com/26094.html
https://jesenija.livejournal.com/850561.html
https://triptoestonia.com/tallinn/muzei/zamok-maarjamae/
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мариенберг_(мыза)
