Suuremõisa Park (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

''Suuremõisa'' 'Big Manor') is the largest park on the

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n island of Hiiumaa. It is in the village of Suuremõisa, which itself surrounds Suuremõisa Manor. The park covers . The manor and park are Estonian cultural heritage monument number 23623. The park was founded by Countess Ebba Margareta von Stenbock (1704–1775) (née De la Gardie) during the construction of Suuremõisa manor in 1755. The park was originally planned to be in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style, and the portions closest to the castle (terraces, roads, and ponds) reflect this design. Later portions of the park were built in the English style. The oldest portions of the park, to the east behind the main building, are surrounded by a high wall topped with red roof tiles. Little remains of the walls to the west of the main building. The main portion of the park is in front (west) of the manor. The park is mostly level with the exception being a hill found between the two ponds. This hill was once topped by a small cottage known as “Babylon”. The name came from the locals mispronouncing the name of the adjacent “pavilion”. The ponds are spring fed and separate the park from the apple orchard. The ponds have been also used to raise fish. To the west of the castle, the Suuremõisa River flows through the park from north to south. A forest park stretches from the western banks of the river to the village of Salinõmme. The park contains about fifty varieties of trees and shrubs, including Estonia's tallest European Silver Fir ('' Abies alba'') whose height was measured to be in 2000, Estonia's tallest Sitka Spruce ('' Picea sitchensis'') (), and Estonia's tallest Japanese Larch (''

Larix kaempferi ''Larix kaempferi'', the Japanese larch or karamatsu () in Japanese, is a species of larch native to Japan, in the mountains of Chūbu and Kantō regions in central Honshū.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera' ...

'') (). The largest European Ash ('' Fraxinus excelsior'') is () tall and in circumference. The largest wych elm is tall and circumference and the largest tilia is tall and circumference. The park contains

allee Allee is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Allee Willis (1947–2019), American songwriter Surname * Alfred Allee aka ''Alfred Y. Allee'' (1855–1896), American sheriff * Alfred Young Allee (1905–198 ...

s of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

horse chestnut The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species n ...

, and

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

. White pine, Swiss pine, Balsam fir, Northern Oak, and

White Spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii'', native to the Ro ...

are also found in the park. Outside the park boundaries lie several kilometers of Black Alder allees that delineate an old road towards the town of

Käina Käina (german: Keinis) is a small borough () in Hiiu County on the island of Hiiumaa in Estonia, located near the north shore of Käina Bay. Prior to the administrative reform of Estonian municipalities in 2017, Käina was the administrative ...

. Since 1959 the park has been under the protection of a nature conservancy.

References

External links

Suuremõisa Manor and Park
Number 23623 in the State Register of Cultural Monuments (in Estonian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Suuremoisa Park Parks in Estonia Hiiumaa Parish Geography of Hiiu County Tourist attractions in Hiiu County