Pirita Convent Ruins

About this place

The Pirita Convent ruins are the remains of a large Gothic convent in the Pirita district of Tallinn, the Estonian capital, near the mouth of the Pirita river, about 6 km in a straight line north-east of the city centre. It was a Bridgettine convent for both nuns and monks, active from 1407 to 1575. Tallinn merchants proposed it around 1400, the architect Heinrich Swalbart oversaw the building, and the Bishop of Tallinn consecrated its main church in 1436. It was the largest convent in Livonia, and its church, with a floor area of 1,360 square metres, was the largest church building in medieval Estonia. The convent was destroyed in 1577 and has stood abandoned ever since. The tall west front of the church, with its sharp triangular gable, still stands and can be seen from far off above the trees, along with the long side walls with their pointed Gothic windows, all in grey dolomite. Visitors walk between the high walls open to the sky and see the remains of cloisters and vaulted passages. A modern convent for Bridgettine nuns, opened in 2001, stands beside the ruins. Entry to the ruins carries a small fee. It is easy to combine with nearby Pirita beach.