On the market for €3.8 million, the award winning Kau Manor hotel has an illustrious history dating back to the Middle Ages
The Estonian Manor, currently operating as an award-winning boutique hotel, is listed for sale with Christie’s International Real Estate for €3.8 million.
Just 50 kilometres from Tallinn, Estonia’s medieval capital on the Baltic Sea, the historic estate comprises a 20-bedroom residence set on more than 37 acres of land. Constructed in the 13th Century, this is one of Estonia’s oldest properties having been owned by several noble families including 19th Century Russian navigator Otto von Kotzebue. The estate has most recently served as a beautiful hotel, Kau Manor, following a period when it was used as a school between 1941 and 1975. Kau Manor won the award for ‘Most Inspired Design Hotel’ at the 2016 Boutique Hotel Awards.
Six years ago, the manor underwent extensive restoration as it transformed into a hotel. This included preserving its architectural provenance and adding unique details inspired by the life and travels of Otto von Kotzebue who left an honourable legacy. The city of Kotzebue in Alaska, and a species of butterfly in the Philippines, Pachliopta kotzebuea, take their name from the explorer. The living spaces at the manor are adorned with collectables including ornaments from Africa and the Far East, hunting equipment from the 19th Century, artwork from the Neoclassical and the Romantic era and French Rococo furniture. The architecture is typically Baroque, a style popular with the Russian imperial administration who governed at the time.
The manor complex is made up of eight buildings. The main house has 11 bedrooms and features reclaimed hardwood floors, century-old beams and exquisite tiling. The Coach House boasts a further nine bedrooms with glass balconies and a studio that can be used to host events. Completing the Estonian Manor are a stable house, a granary, a garden pavilion, root cellar, the Regent’s House for staff living quarters and an old distillery, which produces the estate’s cider and spirits. Additional on-site amenities include a wine cellar and a cigar room, library, and private sauna with an indoor pool.
The grounds include a newly resurrected homestead, historical park and contains three breath-taking ponds, sculpted gardens, and a walking path through the parkland. Outside, park lights illuminate the trees, buildings and roads.
Georgina James at Christie’s International Real Estate said: “Whoever buys the Estonian Manor is not only purchasing a beautiful residence but a piece of history. There are few properties in Estonia that can be traced back to the first ever Danish Census Book, an important source of information during the Middle Ages. The Manor offers its owner the prospect of a strong revenue stream at a time when Estonia’s tourism and technology industries are booming, or it could be a private retreat for a collector who wants to immerse themselves in the history of the area. The potential on offer is without limits.”
Estonia is one of Europe’s emerging technology hubs, attracting thousands of ambitious entrepreneurs. Once the playground of great powers from Scandinavia and Russia, Estonia has forged its own identity with its peaceful port towns, photogenic landscape, medieval buildings and a number of digital cities like Tallinn, which is home to fintech start-ups and innovative e-commerce companies. The country introduced an e-Residency programme in 2014, which has attracted 10,000 global entrepreneurs, while tourist numbers continue to increase, up 6.6 per cent in 2017 compared with 2016, according to official statistics. Tallinn, which has been called the Silicon Valley of Europe, now has more start-ups per person than anywhere else on the continent.
The country’s property market also remains robust, fuelled by the low interest rates as well as good economic growth. Additionally, Estonia is one of the most stable economies in the European Union with the lowest national debt to GDP ratio making The Estonia Manor a reliable investment.