The main church
Dark domes in Russian Revival style.
Vaido Otsar — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vaido Otsar — CC BY-SA 4.0 · KalervoK — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Canes — CC BY-SA 3.0 ee
Pühtitsa Convent is an Orthodox community of nuns in eastern Estonia, between Lake Peipus and the Gulf of Finland. Founded in 1891, it is one of the largest Orthodox monastic communities in the Baltic states, known for its large dark-domed church set in a wide yard with tidy gardens. It stands at a place known as blessed. Orthodox tradition tells of a shepherd from Kuremäe who witnessed a revelation by a spring still venerated today, and of an ancient icon found by locals under a huge oak in the 16th century, stories that belong to the site's religious heritage. A small church stood here from the 16th century, and in 1888 a nun was sent from a monastery in Kostroma to establish the convent. The main church, designed by Mikhail Preobrazhensky in Russian Revival style, was consecrated in 1910, and the convent holds six churches dedicated to different saints. Also striking are its ornate brick gate and the firewood stacked carefully into dome-shaped piles in the yard, a sight many visitors remember. The convent lies about 18.9 km from Jõhvi and 42.6 km from Narva Castle in a straight line. It is a working convent, so dress modestly: women are usually expected to cover their heads, and men should avoid shorts. Ask before taking photographs, avoid photographing the nuns and keep your voice low.
Dark domes in Russian Revival style.
A brick entrance rich in detail.
Wood stacked with care into dome shapes.
Kuremäe, Ida-Viru County, Estonia
Modest clothes, usually a head covering for women, and no shorts for men.
Ask first and avoid photographing the nuns, since this is a working convent.