fbpx

History

This page will give you a short overview of the manor`s history.

Luke manor`s known history dates back to XIII century. From the XIII century, Luke manor was owned by Löwenwolde family. In 1451 the manor was given into use to pay bishopric depts. Löwenwolde family probably kept the usufruct of the manor. During the Livonian War (1558–1583) the manor was completely looted and in 1600 the manor was given to bürgermeister Kretzmar. In that same year, the manor became the possession of the Löwenwolde family again. There is very little information about the manor in XIII and XIX century. The fact that Luke manor`s squire Karl Mangus von Löwenwolde died in Luke manor in 1799 is one of the few proofs that the manor was in use. In 1841 the manor went to von Knorring family by women beneficiaries. In 1857 Artur von Knorring became the owner of the manor. It is very likely that the construction boom of Luke manor park started in that time. In 1909 Mary and Woldemar von Knorring were the owners of the manor and in 1920 the manor was nationalized.

The building of Luke manor has gone through three stages:

The main building was a middle sized one-storey building, which was built (or reconstructed) during the turn of the century. Projects of the main building were designed by R. von Engelhardt, in reality the project was only partly realized. From 1922 the main building was used as a school. The main building was destroyed in a fire in 1944. Steward`s house was a two-storey stone building, which originated from the second half of the XIX century and has probably gone through several reconstructions.

After the nationalization steward`s house was used as a community center. After the war, when the main building was destroyed, the school was moved to steward`s house. The school was closed somewhere in the seventies. Gardener`s house was built in the beginning of the XX century, restored in 2005 and is now the most spectacular building in the park. The small rectangular building is embellished with wooden lace, red bricks and white plastered surface.

The stable was once part of a bigger stable complex, which was shaped like letter H. The stable originated from the beginning of the XX century. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1998.

Distillery was located at the end of the pond system. It was a stone building with a big and high chimney. The distillery was once a grandiose enterprise, which output was directed to the distillery’s cellar through pipes.

Garner is located collinear with the main building in the crossing of the roads. In the 1930-s the garner was changed into a community house.

Barrelhouse and cartridge clip garner are both built in 1856.
Pavilion, which was completed in 2006, was built on the ruins of the former pavilion. It was built by a new project in a suitable style, because there were no remaining photos of the old pavilion.

The cascading pond system was restored in 2005.