Towers
Of limestone.
Abrget47j — CC BY-SA 3.0 ee · Sillerkiil — CC BY-SA 4.0 · KerdoKristjan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · KerdoKristjan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sillerkiil — CC BY-SA 4.0
Toolse Castle is the ruin of a medieval castle on a small headland on the north coast of Estonia, near the town of Kunda, about 22 km in a straight line north of Rakvere. It is the northernmost and youngest medieval order castle in Estonia, built around 1471. It was ordered by the Master of the Livonian Order, Johann Wolthus von Herse, to protect Toolse harbour from pirate raids, and it also served as the seat of the local administration. The harbour, first mentioned in 1437, was a place where Finnish and Estonian peasants traded grain and salted herring, and the remains of an old breakwater can still be seen in the bay. Today the ruins stand with their towers and high walls of limestone and rounded fieldstones, open to the sea and the meadows, and visitors can walk through the courtyards and see the gate and the vaults. The first conservation work was done in the 1930s, and since 2004 the Virumaa Museums have looked after the site and continued its restoration. We could not confirm whether a fee is charged. The site is quiet and exposed to the wind, and sunset over the Gulf of Finland is one of its finest sights.
Of limestone.
Old remains.
Over the Gulf of Finland.
Toolse, near Kunda, Estonia
On the coast near the town of Kunda.
To protect Toolse harbour from pirates.