History

Laitse manor, or Laitz in German, began life as a separate estate in 1642, when it was partitioned from the neighbouring Ruila manor. At the start of the 20th century, Nissi county had 14 estates, consisting of 1 church estate, 9 main knight estates with 2 adjoining estates and 2 half-estates, and two grazing estates. Situating a few dozen kilometers southwest of Tallinn, Laitse has been mentioned as early Henrik`s Livonian Chronicles, where it`s recorded as a village called Ladise where crusaders sought refuge from the bitter colds of late February, 1219. For a long time the village was part of the Ruila order estate and was gifted along with it to the burgmaster of Riga, Johann Ulrich, in the spring of 1622.

​It was during his reign that the Laitse manor was fouded, its existence confirmed by 1637 at the latest. Laitse was mostly held by the Ulrichs until 1814, when it was bequeathed to the Mohrenschildts. /../ The Mohrenscildts remained in Laitse until the spring of 1860, after which the estate was held in succession by the pastor`s widows and orphans fund of Tallinn, the industrialist Alexander Eggers and Paul Heinrich von Dehn, until in April 1883, the wealthy Natalie von Uexküll of Kose-Uuemõisa bought it for her son Woldemar.

The current neogothic manor house was built by Woldemar von Uexküll around 1890. It is a romantic castle, and a romantic spirit was shared by its builder. Starting out in a military career, he later resigned and found his calling in literature and religious mysticism. /../ One of his closest compatriots was Nicolai von Glehn, and it`s not unthinkable that that amateur architect had his part to play in the look of the Laitse manor house.

Uexküll, though, remained the owner of Laitse only until 1909, since his only son had been expunged from knighthood and couldn`t inherit, and his daughter had moved abroad. Thus the estate finally ended up at the hands of the Bremens.

Ants Hein, “Eesti Mõisaarhitektuur”.