Riisipere

Riisipere (German: Riesenberg) is a small borough (alevik) in the county of Harju, Estonia, and is the Nissi Parish administrative center. Located on the Ääsmäe-Haapsalu road, its distance from Tallinn is 45 km, from Haapsalu 50 km, Märjamaa 30 km, Rapla 40 km.

The town

Riisipere railway station, the terminus of the Elron Tallinn-Keila-Riisipere line, has been electrified since 1981. Originally the railway continued to Haapsalu, but the Riisipere-Haapsalu section was taken up in 2004.

Apart from the manor, Nissi Church is the main place of interest. The church was built in 1873 and designed by St. Petersburg architect David Grimm.

The composer Raimond Valgre was born in Riispere in 1913.

Riisipere manor

Riisipere manor (German: Neu-Riesenberg) traces its origins as an estate to 1394. It has been owned by various well-known Baltic German families over the centuries. The present building was erected in 1818-1821 during the ownership of Peter von Stackelberg. The grandiose building is one of the finest examples in Estonia of Neoclassical manor house architecture. The front façade is dominated by a six-column portico with a trunctated ornamental gable and two three-storeyed side projections. The interior displays an enfilade of representative premises, including a cupola hall, unique in Estonia, and a richly decorated hypostyle "white hall", abundant with details in stucco. The manor is set in a park with an artificial lake.