Martna

58.85444423.801389Koordinaten: 58 ° 51 'N, 23 ° 48 ' E

The village Martna ( Martna küla ) is in the northwest of the Republic of Estonia. It is the capital of the homonymous country church Martna ( Martna vald ) in Lääne ( Lääne maakond ). Its historical German name is St. Martens.

Population and location

The village has 155 inhabitants (as at 31 December 2011). Its area is 2.0 square kilometers. It is located on the middle reaches of the river Rannamõisa ( Rannamõisa Jõgi ), which empties into the Bay of Matsalu. The distance to the county capital of Haapsalu is seventeen kilometers.

Church

The original name of the place was Ummern. The Church of Martna has already been mentioned in the 13th century documented. The church and its cemetery and the parish became the center of the parish. From the patronal feast of St. Martin, the present name of the village derives. The present village was built as a compact settlement only in the period after the First World War.

The first church in Martna was destroyed in 1298 in the battles between the Teutonic Order and the Archbishop of Riga. The present church was in 1500 under the auspices of Bishop John III. Orgies built, who headed the diocese Osel - Wiek to 1515. Being inserted into the wall of Arms Stein adorns the north portal.

Characteristic of the church are the nave and square west tower, which was added in the 17th century. The present appearance of the church dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1860s.

2004 medieval wall paintings was uncovered in the church. Get the native of Gotland baptismal font from the 14th century. The carved altarpiece in 1700 comes from the born in Königsberg champion Christian Ackermann. The pulpit from the first half of the 19th century is decorated in the Empire style. The organ is a work of the Estonian organ builder Carl August Tanton from the 1820s.

The church is now under the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church ( EELC ).