Wonderful, 150 years old park with the following tree species: oaks, ash trees, larches, silver firs, pines, maples, elms, limes, birches, asps, willows, black alders, thujas, also cedar pine and balm silver fir...
The German chemist, Robert Erdman, who in the 1860s spent considerable time at the “Virkeni Manor” described his impressions in his memoirs, which were published in 1902 in the newspaper St. Petersburger Zeitung:
“A stroll with the owner through the forests and fields was an eye-opening story about how a manor is created with love and careful cultivation. Even though most of the nearby manors had larger territories, in terms of harvests they all lagged behind Virkeni. Even the smallest rocks were removed from the fields, the forest was prudently protected and cultivated, and the buildings were in pristine condition. All of the farmer’s homes had flower and fruit gardens and especially notable were the farmer’s good-looking horses and cattle. But Engelhardt’s real true love was the Castle Park. The park had the rarest species of trees and these mighty centuries old giants, the tended meadows, a small river in the centre which flowed through locks to form a large pond in front of the palace. It was a very colourful landscape which was never disturbed by bushes or shrub shielded maintenance buildings.”
