The village of Nõva (Nõva küla) is located in the northwest of the Republic of Estonia. It belongs to the rural community of Lääne-Nigula in Lääne County and was the capital of a rural community of the same name until 2017.
The place has 112 inhabitants (as of
December 31, 2011). It is located on the Baltic Sea Bay of Keibu, 32
kilometers northeast of the district capital Haapsalu.
The
Nõva River (Nõva jõgi) flows through the village.
In the 14th
century the area belonged to the Lihula nunnery. It was exchanged
for the Padise nunnery in 1402.
Nõva itself was first
mentioned in a document at the beginning of the 15th century under
the name Neyve. The place name probably comes from the same
Finno-Ugric word that gave its name to the Russian river Neva. It
means marshland or wetland.
During the Middle Ages, mainly
Estonian Swedes lived in and around the village.
The Nõva Manor was first mentioned in 1559 as an
economic property of the Padise Monastery. In 1575 it came into
private hands. In 1663 the monastery property was expropriated
before it fell back into private hands.
During the 17th
century the estate changed hands frequently. After the Northern War
at the beginning of the 18th century, it initially belonged to the
noble Baltic German family Mohrenschildt. From 1833 it was owned by
the Ungern-Sternberg family.
The elongated, single-storey
wooden mansion probably got its appearance in the middle of the 19th
century. It was kept in the classicist style, but was redesigned
many times.
In the course of the Estonian land reform, the
estate and mansion were expropriated by the young Estonian state.
The last private owner was Josefine von Baggehufwudt (born
Ungern-Sternberg, 1839-1917) or her son and heir Eduard (Ned) von
Baggehufwudt.
The town's school has been located in the
former manor house since 1920. During the 20th century the building
was redesigned several times. In 2002 the dilapidated building was
completely replaced. The local authorities tried to preserve the
shape and appearance of the historic building.
One of the oldest surviving wooden churches in Estonia is
located in Nõva. The church already existed in the 17th century. It
is dedicated to St. Olav, which suggests that the church was founded
early.
The current church building was probably built in the
18th century as a beach chapel, as was typical of the Estonian
coast. Only a few of these wooden churches are still preserved. With
a footprint of 13.6 x 7.1 m, it is one of the smallest churches in
Estonia. The west tower adjoins the nave. The light enters the
church through arched windows. The original wooden church ceiling
has been preserved.
A wooden wheel cross has been preserved
inside. For the windows on the east side, painted parchment from
1836 imitates the missing glass windows. The separate pews for men
(with backrests) and women (without backrests) are designed
differently. The altar and pulpit are more recent and designed in
the neo-Gothic style. The oil painting depicting Christ in Golgotha
is a donation from 1820.
Next to the building is the local
cemetery. Characteristic of the cemetery are the numerous
individually designed wheel crosses made of iron, which were made by
local blacksmiths. The grave of the last private owner of the local
estate, the Baltic German noblewoman Josefine von Baggehufwudt (née
Ungern-Sternberg, 1839–1917) is also located on the Gottesacker. The
wheel cross on her grave was made according to her own designs.
The best-known son of the village is the Evangelical Lutheran sexton and school teacher Friedrich Brandt (1830–1890). He compiled numerous popular Estonian hymn books. Overall, Brandt is considered the author of over ninety publications. He is the father of the Estonian bookseller and publicist Alexander Eduard Brandt (1856–1909).