The Ruins Park of Kärkna Monastery

The monastery to the northwest of Tartu at the distance of 13 km at the foot of the river Amme was the oldest and largest in Estonia. The first bishop Hermann of the Tartu Bishopric had it built in 1228. Hermann spent his life here in old age and he is buried in the monastery’s graveyard. In its peak period in the 14^th – 15^th century there were about 40 monks in the monastery, in addition to them there were the lay brothers and salaried workers who took care of the monastery’s everyday life. The monastery finished its activities in 1558 during the Livonian War when it was conquered by the Russian troops. The buildings were destroyed and a part of monks, including their abbot, were deported to Russia.

Later the monastery was like a quarry when building materials were found. The 18^th century was most probably fatal to the buildings of the monastery when powerful fortification structures were built on the Toome Hill in Tartu. Later stone buildings were erected in Tartu. At present only parts of the walls of the monastery covered with broken stones survive. In some places the walls are several meters high. In the last years they have been cleaned of shrubbery, also some walls of St. Michael’s Chapel have been dug out.

After the monastery was destroyed, a state-owned manorial estate was established here. The centre was built to the southeast of the monastery at the distance of one and a half kilometres at the crossroads, on top of a small hill. At present the heart of the manor has fully disappeared because the buildings were on top of a gravel hill which was used as a building material.