A journey in search of a past world:

Where did the painter Gregor von Bochmann grow up?

Google translation

Report of a day trip from Tallinn to West Estonia south of Haapsalu to the area where the painter's father lived in the middle of the 19th century, written down by GvBochmann (computer scientist) on the evening of the same day (August 13, 1999). Our guide (and friend) was Dr. Jüri Vain from Tallinn University of Technology.

Today we went with Dr. Vain to the area where my great-grandfather, the painter Gregor v. Bochmann, grew up. He was born in 1850 on the Nehat estate (Estonian Nehatu). This estate is located near the village of Vatla, which is near the Baltic Sea south of Lihula in the western part of Estonia. We also tried to find some buildings and other features that can be seen in the painter's pictures.

We had success with the famous Ridala Church (here is information in Estonian and back ) which can be seen in several of the painter's pictures. Dr. Vain had seen a picture of the church in Ridala in a tourist brochure with its tower on the side, as in the picture "Sunday morning in front of a church in Estonia". We saw that it was the same church. The surrounding trees let them see less. (There were also ripe blackberries, Relative of the blackberries, on the path shown in the picture). There was a woman in the church with information, brochures, and books for sale. We found a postcard with an older photograph that clearly shows the church. It is the most beautiful church that we have seen there in the country.

Before that, we had stopped in Haapsalu to see the ruins of the fortress monastery. From the rebuilt tower you have a good view of the place and the Baltic Sea. It is said that the mud of the sea is good for arthritis and similar diseases. Before the First World War, the wealthy Russians from St Petersburg (including the Tsar) came here.

Monastery ruin

View over the monastery walls (1) View over the monastery walls (2)

On the way to Lihula in front of the village of Kirba we saw an old bridge over a small river, which was built for the old road and which we could also see from the new road bridge. It has just been renovated. It is the first Estonian reinforced concrete structure, built at the beginning of the 20th century. We were told that the previous bridge was made of wood. I think the bridges in Bochmann's pictures are mostly shorter and made of stone. On our way back to Tallinn we saw a ruin such a bridge, but who knows where the bridges of the painted pictures are?

Then we drove from Hanila in the direction of Nehatu on an unpaved road. The area seems to be very poor. There is a lot of forest and many lands seem fallow. Every now and then you can see a one-lane car path that probably leads to a homestead. You rarely see a homestead directly from the main road. We turn in the direction of Öeküla and from Öeküla in the direction of Löo. Shortly afterwards we see a homestead and stop. There is no one at home. I take some photos. There is also a dirt road, which reminds me of some of the painter's pictures. Opposite the main path is another courtyard with a pretty outbuilding. We were told that this area used to be wealthier.

We return and drive towards Nehatu. At the corner of the path that leads through Nehatu, there is a large, stately house. Dr. Vain found a person in the Secret Annex who stated that the house was a school. After about 500 meters we soon came to another larger building complex. Two women sit in front of a big, ugly house; one is knitting or crocheting, and two young dogs, tied to long leashes, are also lying there. We are told that this is the "Land-Gut von Karuse" ("mansion for farming" by Dr. Vain translated from Estonian into English; Karuse is the name of a place and this area). (This is probably the Nehatu manor). The house was renovated in the Soviet era and then got a second floor (which was not there before). Behind the house there are stables that are no longer in use. Some tractors are also there. Another dog is in a cage under the trees next to the house. On the other side of the street you can see a ruin of a larger house on the left, which was probably used as a stable for animals, behind it a newer shed. Further to the right (no photo) there is a large new agricultural building and a little further to the right there is something new. Whether this ruin is the house that often appears in the pictures of the painter Bochmann. Sometimes you can see a draw well in the pictures. We were told that the small new shed (on the left in the photo "View of the ruins of the stables"

After we asked, one of the women got an older man who knew more about these buildings. We showed him some small images of pictures, but we don't know how well he could see them without glasses. The picture "Estonian farm" made him speak of the former blacksmith's shop, which was a little further east. Today you can only see remains of the former walls, which have been incorporated into a new building. You can still see the old windows and entrance arches, which have now been walled up.

On the other side of the road you can see one of those stone mounds that you see everywhere in Estonia. For centuries, farmers have largely freed the fields of these large stones (boulders) that were left here by the glaciers of the Ice Age, and collected the stones on small hills (see photo above right). Dr. Vain told us that when he was a student in the Soviet era, during the mandatory harvesting work, he sometimes had to do such stone cleanings. Incidentally, he said that harvesting was not so hated; they gave the opportunity to get together with other young people and often have a good party in the evening.

Then we drove on to find the "Karuse Manor" on which the "Land-Gut" originally depended. It is located in Vatla and is built in the style of castles at the end of the 18th century. It has a large forecourt with buildings for carriages and horses and storage buildings. On the other side is the park (today only a lawn with the forest behind). It used to be a symmetrical park, in the middle with a view of a windmill a kilometer away. In today's forest you can still find depressions that used to be water basins; one basin had a small island; you can still see a round moat today.

Today this little castle is a school. It was summer vacation. We found a man upstairs in the house who was doing renovations. Later, Dr. Vain that it was probably a teacher. He was very friendly and showed us a lot, including two old tiled stoves that are still upstairs and a dark vaulted room that was supposed to have been a bedroom and contains a vault painting from 1847 that depicts an underwater landscape should. (I didn't find it very graceful). He also showed us the park and the garden on the side, which is now looked after by students; In the background you can see an old wall that used to be the back wall of the greenhouse. He also showed us a hill under which the wine cellar used to be.

Before we went into the building and found the teacher, Elise discovered a large stone on the edge of the forecourt and hoped that we could find out something about this property written on it. But the plaque on the stone was a reminder of those who fell in World War II. A lot has happened in the last 150 years. The awakening of Estonian national consciousness, the attempts at Russification during the decades before the First World War. Then came the first independence, which was replaced by the Soviet regime after 1941 (with a short interruption due to German occupation during the Second World War). The country has been independent again for about 8 years and is striving towards better times. We saw a lot of renovation work in and around Tallinn and new industries are being tried to be built up. But I have the impression that these developments are bypassing Nehatu and this whole area. The people are very poor here and many are moving to the city.

On the way back I took photos of the church in Hanila and the house next to it, including the church in Karuse. The Church of Kömsi is Orthodox (Russian). Then I took a few photos of the moving car. Lihula also has fewer inhabitants than before; there are some very old ruins. Then there are some photos of farms and fields and the Koluvere manor, of which only its towers could be seen.

Farm from afar

Farm from afar Another farm from afar

Koluvere mansion

The director of the school of Vatla (in the manor house of Karuse) supposedly knows more about the history of this castle. Unfortunately he was not at home. He is also a German teacher and his name and address is: Mr. Olavi Vainu, Vatla sjk, Läänemaa, Estonia, tel. 372 47 79132.

Later I found the book "Palaces and Manors in Estonia" by Hubertus Neuschäffer (ISBN 38042-0624-7, Verlag Hubertus-Neuschäffer, Plön, 1993) in a bookshop in Tallinn in which the Karuse mansion was named "Gut Wattel" (Estonian Vatla) is listed. It is mentioned, among other things, that the mansion belonged to the family of Baron Maydell from 1845 to 1919 (until it was then expropriated).