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Town in Estonia
Photo: Ypsilon from Finland, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
Põltsamaa is a town of 4100 people (2024) in South Estonia. Põltsamaa is the centre of Estonian winery and wine production. The main attraction is the castle, first established in the 13th century but now reduced to its walls, with several buildings inside the castle walls including the St. Nicholas Church, all surrounding a square.
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Põltsamaa loss
The construction of Põltsamaa castle began in 1272. The shape of the square circular wall has been preserved from the 14th century. Duke Magnus ruled the Kingdom of Livonia from there in 1570-1578. In the 1770s, Woldemar Johann von Lauw built a Rococo-style castle from the convention building of the fortress. The ruins of the unique castle, which was destroyed in 1941, have not yet been fully conserved, and other parts of the fortress are also partially unconserved. In the castle yard are located: Põltsamaa Museum and tourist information point; a wine cellar and food museum; the Central Estonian art gallery pART; Põltsamaa Handicraft Society's Refreshment Room
Põltsamaa kirik
In 1633-1634, a new Lutheran church was built between the ring wall of the fortress and the separate cannon tower. The altar, made in the 1870s, has a reversible altarpiece: for most of the church year, the congregation sees the painting "Christ on the cross" by Julie Hagen-Schwarz, from Easter to Ascension Day, you can admire the painting "Women at the Tomb" by Woldemar Friedrich Krüger, an Estonian artist from Kaavle. During the Second World War, the church and the fortress were damaged, and the Põltsamaa Suur Sild was also destroyed in 1944 .
Põltsamaa Roosiaed
The Rosarium was established on the land of the apple orchard of a collective farm. Approximately 5,000 rose bushes of nearly 1,000 varieties grow in the rose garden. Põltsamaa Roosiaed is the largest in the Baltics in terms of the size of the collection and is one of the 10 largest rosaries in Europe.
Mandri-Eesti keskpunkt
The centerpoint of continental Estonia is marked by a rock on the eastern side of the highway. If driving along the Tartu-Tallinn highway it's easy to stop at the adjacent parking lot to take some photos.
Sõprus Park
There are more than 6,000 trees in the park. Trees have been planted in the park by famous Estonian and foreign social, cultural and sports figures. Several granite sculptures, a statue of the plowing Kalevipoja and a monumental sculpture "Road to Olympus" have been installed there, the columns of which have the names of all Estonian Olympic medalists engraved on them.
After having a couple of glasses of wine, this is probably the place you want to fall in bed to.
By train
The nearest railway stations are located in Võhma (25 km) and Jõgeva.
By car
Põltsamaa is at the intersection of the Tallinn-Tartu and Võhma-Mustvee highways. It's 30 km from Jõgeva, 127 km from Tallinn and 59 km from Tartu.
You can walk around town, it's quite small. For places further out, a car would be your best option.
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