Estonia, Investments, Legislation, Real Estate, Tourism

Last week, the City council of Parnu approved the sale of the ownership rights to the enterprise KV3.

According to the previous deal, Kilk possessed ownership rights for Ammende Villa till the year 2045. The deal is not going to effect the city.

Representatives of KV3 stated that the company was interested in historically valuable buildings.

Ammende Villa is a luxury hotel which offers 17 spacious double rooms and one single de luxe room.

One of the richest merchants of Parnu – Hermann Leopold Ammende, whose ancestors had moved from Germany to Estonia in the 18th century, ordered a luxurious project from Mieritz & Gerassimov, an architect’s office in St. Petersburg for the wedding party of his daughter Ellen.

The architects from St. Petersburg started to work immediately and a project for a Art Nouveau style building was completed soon.

The building was erected rapidly: without greenery and fence it was completed by August. The final decor was significantly more sophisticated as compared to the initial blueprint. plenitude of colors and materials, a stylish result was achieved.

In 1927, the Ammendes decided to move back to Germany, and the gorgeous building was sold to the municipality of Parnu at an auction. At first, the municipality intended to use the building as a Kurhaus and a beach hotel. The town architect Olev Siinmaa made preparations for reconstruction of the ground floor. The new design followed the classicist style; fortunately enough, they did not manage to carry out all their plans.

In 1935, Ammende Villa was rented to a family who operated a casino here till 1940 when it was seized by Russian military authorities. There was a casino for officers in the villa also during the German occupation. In various periods after World War II, the building accommodated a health improvement establishment, a library and a restaurant.

In 1995, two Estonian businessmen decided to renovate the beautiful villa and open it for the public. As the pre-war reconstruction had mainly been limited to removing the Art Nouveau decor from the interior and had not touched the facades, the historical research and photos received from Germany provided sufficient background, it was decided to renovate it in the style of the beginning of the 20th century. The restoration design rested on the concept of the milieu of the home of a rich merchant of that time. Major renovation work was initiated in 1997.

In 1999, Ammende Villa, a renovated exclusive hotel and restaurant with historical interiors and furnishing opened in September. The most stylish and well-preserved Art Nouveau building of its time has been revived and has become one of the most exquisite pearls of architecture in Estonia.