Puurman Castle
Photo: Peeter Bush
Photo: Peeter Bush
I pulled into a large yard and garden through some imposing gates and sure enough, it was indeed a castle. The sign said that construction had begun in 1864 and that the castle had 32 rooms. It had had electricity since 1918. It had belonged to the Mannteuffel family.
Apparently, when the graf went for a drive in his carriage he only hitched up 4 horses, however, when the missus was aboard, 6 horses were required. I couldn’t tell if this was vanity on her part or whether the extra horsepower was required because she was a very large woman. Grafin von Mannteuffel was described as “proud and wicked”. She forbade peasant children (read Estonians) at roadside to gape at her in her coach as she drove by. She also was reputed to have taken baskets away from people that were returning from mushroom picking. It sounds like she was mean to her husband as well because he was said to have his own “snore room” somewhere in the castle. Like many other large manor buildings from that era the castle had been used as a schoolhouse and was in fairly good repair. Another sign said that J. Kuperjanov’s road to war started from this location in 1918.
Earlier in the week I had stopped the car on the road close to Valga when I noticed a sign and found a large monument dedicated to the battle at Paju. The marker, in several languages, indicated that there had been a decisive and bloody war of Estonian independence battle there in early 1919. The commanders were listed as being Lt. J. Kuperjanov in charge of a ranger battalion named after him and Lt. Col Hans Kalm in charge of a Finnish volunteer regiment known as “Põhja Pojat” (northern sons). Although I had heard the name Kuperjanov before it did not mean much to me at that time.
Julius Kuperjanov was a young school teacher in the village of Kambja. At the start of World War 1 he was mobilized into the Tsar’s army and was commissioned after receiving basic officer training. He was wounded in both legs. In 1917 he joined Estonian forces during the start of the War of Independence. In December 1918 he received permission to form a ranger battalion, which he did at Puurman Castle. His wife Alice was with him. Among the first group to join were a couple of dozen students from Tartu’s H. Treffneri Gümnaasium, a place I had passed often during my evening walks.
Paju manor was defended by elements of a Latvian Red Rifle regiment, considered an elite force. The battle took place on January 31, 1919. Kuperjanov’s rangers attacked on their own without support from the Finnish troops and Kuperjanov was mortally wounded. Lt. J. Soodla took over from him and the Finns joined the battle which ended with the enemy being completely routed. Casualties amounted to 42 dead and 159 wounded. The casualty rate was the highest of any War of Independence battle.
This significant victory cut off the Soviets’ vital railroad supply line, denied their use of armoured trains and paved the way for southern Estonia to be cleared. It contributed significantly to the eventual final victory of the new republic in Latvia.
Kuperjanov died a few days later at Tartu; the former hospital building on Vallikraavi St. is clearly marked and belongs to the university. It has been conjectured that the lengthy delay in getting medical attention was fatal. He was highly decorated by the Estonian government earning the medals VR1/2, VR11/2 and VRlll/3. Streets in several cities bear his name and to this day the Estonian armed forces have an elite battalion named after him.
Not bad for a 24 year-old village schoolteacher who wanted to do something for his country.