History
Kuimetsa (Kuimetz) is one of the few defense foundations made by a female order. The village appeared in sources for the first time in 1345 and belonged to the Cistercian monastery in Tallinn (Rewel). The construction of stone fortifications was probably started in 1412, and their main task was to protect the stocks, collected from nearby Cistercian estates. The building played its role until 1560, when, like other fortifications of the region, it was destroyed during the Livonian War by thw Muscovite army. In the following years, the ruined building belonged to private hands, but no renovation action was taken. At the beginning of the 19th century, the tower was in quite good condition, but unfortunately it was soon dismantled for building material.
Architecture
The appearance of the stronghold is not fully known. The preserved drawings suggest that it was a single, rectangular defensive house, probably a tower-like character, to which a small, lower, irregularly shaped building was adjacent to the south-east. The main building probably had two floors and an attic, and its corners were crowned with at least two small turrets erected in front of the wall. The tower had a basement with a vaulted room measuring 7×5 meters.
Current state
Only the stone foundations of the main building, covering the vaulted cellar, have survived to this day.
bibliography:
Borowski T., Miasta, zamki i klasztory. Inflanty, Warszawa 2010.
Tuulse A., Die Burgen in Estland und Lettland, Dorpat 1942.