Piirsalu

59.05083324.040278Koordinaten: 59 ° 3 ' N, 24 ° 2' O

Piirsalu ( German Piersal ) is a village (Estonian küla ) in the rural community Risti ( Risti vald ) in Lääne.

Population and location

Piirsalu is located six kilometers north of the village Risti. From 1926 to 1950 Piirsalu was an independent country community. The present village boundaries originated with the municipal reform in 1977. Those days the small villages Kabeli, Valkse, Vanamaa and Annamõisa was combined with Piirsalu.

The place now has 172 inhabitants (as at 31 December 2011). To the east of the village center of the 21 km long river flows Piirsalu Jõgi.

History

The place was first mentioned in documents in 1518 under the name Pirsell. In the 17th century the estate of Piirsalu was separated under the name Piersal from Good Kuijõe. It first belonged to the border box family, then the families Blanckenhagen and school man. End of the 18th century it was purchased by Cornelius of the mills ( 1756-1815 ).

From 1794 to the expropriation in the course of the Estonian land reform in 1919 the estate was owned by the noble family of Baltic German to mills. In the interwar period the property was used by the paramilitary organization Defence League.

Probably before the middle of the 19th century the manor of Piirsalu with its numerous outbuildings arose. Today the ruins are still preserved.

Attractions

A wooden chapel is occupied since the 16th century, when the Reformation took root in Estonia.

Today's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Piirsalu was inaugurated at the initiative of the landowner Arthur of the mills after four years of construction in September 1863. The stone building comprises 400 seats.

The church in neo-Gothic style was designed by the architect Jakob Olli, who took care of the village churches in Germany a role model. On the walls of the church hang the copies of engravings by the artist Frederic de widt. The works from the 17th century show the Way of the Cross. The originals are in the Läänemaa Muuseum in Haapsalu. The altarpiece is a copy of a painting by the Renaissance painter Antonio Correggio ( 1494-1534 ). It represents the birth of Christ

Also worth seeing is the historical jug above the provincial road that connects the cities of Keila and Haapsalu. The building, with coaching and its two barns built during the first half of the 19th century.

Raktenbasis

During the Soviet occupation of Estonia was located near the town of one of the largest missile bases of the Estonian SSR. There missiles R-12 were stationed.