Lihula

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Lihula is a town in Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia.

Lihula Castle

Lihula Castle (German: Leal) was first mentioned in 1211, but it appears the site was used as a fortress since the Iron Age.^[1] In 1220, a Swedish army started constructing a castle here, but were defeated by Estonian forces on 8 August 1220, in the Battle of Lihula.^[2][3]

In 1238, however, the

Lihula Manor

Despite the fact that the castle was destroyed during the Livonian War, a new manorial estate grew up right next to the original location thereafter. In the 1630s, it was recorded as the property of the Swedish general Åke Tott. The manor stayed in the Tott family until 1684, after which it belonged to various aristocratic families. The present neoclassicist manor house was built in the early 19th century.^[6]

Episcopal see

From 1211, it was the see of the

For less than two weeks, Luhila had a monument honoring Estonian soldiers who fought in the Wehrmacht against the Soviet Union during World War II.

By order of Prime Minister Juhan Parts, the monument was removed. As of June 2007, it stands in the private Museum of Fight for Estonia's Freedom in Lagedi, near Tallinn.

Gallery

• 
  Lihula Castle ruins
• 
  Lihula Castle ruins
• 
  Lihula Castle ruins
• 
  Lihula Castle ruins
• 
  Lihula manor
• 
  St. Elizabeth's Church in Lihula
• 
  Aerial view of Lihula, with the cultural center in the foreground and Lihula Manor in the background

See also

• Pärnu County
• Matsalu National Park
• Monument of Lihula

References