Alatskivi Castle

Alatskivi Castle (Alatskivi loss, Schloss Allatzkiwwi) is a Neo-Gothic castle in Alatskivi, Estonia. Dating to the 16th century, it is situated in Alatskivi Parish, Tartu County. It was rebuilt in the late 19th century by Arved von Nolcken, modeled on the royal residence of Balmoral in Scotland. A renovation occurred between 2005 and 2011. Alatskivi Castle is one of the many structures that exists in a forested park of 130 ha area. Five rooms on the first floor house the Eduard Tubin museum, which documents his accomplishments as a music composer and conductor.

Location
Alatskivi Castle is located 40 km north of Tartu and 205 km from Tallinn. It was built on the high bank of Lake Alatskivi at the foot of the Alatskivi valley.

History
The earliest mention of the manor was in 1601. King Gustav Adolf II of Sweden gave it to his secretary, Johan Adler Salvius, in 1628. In 1642, its ownership passed on to the Cronmanns. In 1753, it was purchased by the Stackelbergs and inherited by the Nolckens in 1870. The castle was re-built from 1876–1885 on the initiative and according to the design of the Baron Arved George de Nolcken (1845–1909), in the Scottish baronial style, designed as a smaller version of Balmoral Castle, which he had visited in 1875. After nationalization occurred, the castle complex was taken over by the government under the Ministry of Agriculture and became a school, cavalry barracks, state controlled farm land, council offices, cinema and library. It has been fully refurbished to its original form based on the original pictures of the aristocracy and their descendents who resided here. After the 2005–11 restoration, the castle was opened to the public with the Alatskivi Castle Foundation administrating the castle and the manor complex.

Features
Refurbished, the old castle's main building features a slate roof and turrets, with stone masonry to an asymmetrical layout. The facade is structurally designed with a balcony, has slate roof and many turrets. The building has both single story and double storied floors. It serves as a community house for seminars, training programmes and small conferences. It contains three halls of varying seating capacity, and a canteen caters to the needs of the participants.

Completed in 2011, the Eduard Tubin Museum is located in five rooms on the first floor of the castle. Alatskivi rural municipality and the Estonian Theatre and Music Museum were associated with its establishment. The main feature is devoted to the life and work of Eduard Tubin who was one of Estonia's most esteemed composers. The initial exhibits are of members of the Tartu school who studied with Tubin, including Heino Eller, Eduard Oja, Alfred Karindi, Olav Roots, and Karl Leichter. Tubin's music scores, manuscripts, books, records, films and photos, musical instruments, records, books, and sketches of theatre costumes are all part of the display. The museum also houses a large-scale model of the castle. Tubin’s music is played in the museum.

Manor Park
The 130 ha Manor Park consists of oaks, ashes, maples, alders and an approach path lined with linden trees, some trees being grown on terraces. It is the largest in the Tartu County. A hiking track is laid through the park and it is integral to the Alatskivi Nature Reserve. Two reservoirs that have been created on the Alatskivi River. There is a large boulder at the extreme end of the park in Kõdesi Forest where Apollo Belvedere's statue existed in the past, although the statue has been shifted to Kadriorg Park in Tallinn. The main castle is surrounded by many stone buildings. During the 19th century, the manor had 57 buildings, of which 41 remain. These are grouped in four areas connected by roads. The first contains the castle, coaching house and cheese cellar; the second, the economic circle, contains the laundry, kitchen, stables and sheds; the third or border circle, contains the barn, mills, church and cemetery; the distant fourth circle contains the Apollo Belvedere statue and the final resting place of the Estonian folklore figure Kalevipoeg.