Luke Manor is a manor

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 near Tartu

Tartu

Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

. It's located in Luke

Luke, Estonia

Luke, Estonia is a village in Nõo Parish, Tartu County, Estonia.The Luke Manor is located in the village....

 village, Nõo Parish

Nõo Parish

-Settlements:Small boroughs:Nõo - TõravereVillages:Aiamaa - Altmäe - Etsaste - Enno - Illi - Järiste - Kääni - Keeri - Ketneri - Kolga - Laguja - Luke - Meeri - Nõgiaru - Sassi - Tamsa - Unipiha - Uuta - Vissi - Voika-External links:...

.

History

The earliest mentionings of Luke Manor originate from 1557, but it's even believed to have been established back in 1299 by Johann von Löwenwolde. The main building has been destroyed twice, first during the Livonian War

Livonian War

The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...

 and again during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The last owners of Luke Manor were the Knorring family and it was managed by the Lestal family.

Today

Nowadays the manor park is one of the main visitor attractions in the area. With cascading ponds, decorative elms and a lime-tree labyrinth, visitors are enchanted by the grounds. Recently, the manor complex, gardener’s house, pond with a series of cascades, and small pavilion have all been restored.

External links

• Luke Manor at Estonian Manors Portal