Lüganuse Municipality considers selling historic Purtse Castle

Lüganuse Municipality in Ida-Viru County is considering putting Purtse Castle up for sale. The building is in need of significant renovation work, but the municipality does not have the money to finance it.
Purtse Castle, also known as Purtse Manor or Vassal Fortress, is currently being rented by the Von Taube Restaurant. However, with the building in need of significant investment, the owner of the property, which is located on the eastern bank of the Purtse River near the Tallinn – Narva highway, Lüganuse Municipality, is considering selling up.
"Lüganuse Municipality currently has contract with the tenant, which expires in January. We have commissioned a property valuation for Purtse Manor. What happens next will be up to the municipal council to decide in January," said Lüganuse Municipality real estate specialist Agnes Heinmaa.
Several sizable issues in the building need to be resolved, said Mihkel Luus, owner and chef of the Von Taube Restaurant.
"One is heating - keeping the house warm in winter is a real headache. And, of course, the entire old electrical system needs to be replaced," Luus explained.
Luus, whose restaurant has won several awards, is looking forward to Lüganuse Municipal Council's decision. He has no plans to buy the manor house himself but, as a restaurateur, wants to continue operating in the building.

"I could carry on the same way as I have been doing so far, so that I can run my own restaurant and organize events," Luus said. He admitted however, that running a restaurant is a very expensive hobby.
Purtse Castle has a basement and two main floors and was built in the 16th century. The property has been restored several times having been burnt down on a number of occasions. In 1940 it was abandoned completely, before being restored in the late 1980s. The building in the Estonian National Registry of Cultural Monuments.
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Editor: Michael Cole