Päidla is a village in Palupera Parish, Valga County

Valga County

Valga County , or Valgamaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. Its capital is Valga, which is located on the Estonian-Latvian border. It is situated in southern part of the country and borders Põlva County and Võru County to the east, Latvia to the south and to the west, Viljandi County and Tartu...

 in southeastern 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 about 6 km (4 mi) north of the town of Otepää

Otepää

Otepää is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it's the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Town has a population of 2,189 . Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia...

. Päidla has a population of 94 (as of 1 January 2011).

Besides the 23.8 ha (58.8 acre) Lake Mõrtsuka, there are several smaller lakes located in the village: Ahvenjärv, Kalmejärv, Kõverjärv, Mõisajärv, Näkijärv and Uibujärv. The landscape around the lakes is hilly.

Päidla Manor was first mentioned in 1522 as Krowelshof, later known as Samhof and Paidel. In the 19th century it was owned by explorer Alexander von Middendorff

Alexander von Middendorff

Alexander Theodor von Middendorff was a Baltic German zoologist and explorer.- Early life :Middendorff's mother Sophia Johanson was an Estonian peasant girl who had been sent to Saint Petersburg for education by her parents. There she met with the future director of the St...

. Nowadays the manor buildings are destroyed, only an alley has survived.