The five idyllic lakes of Kuremäe (Puhatu järv, Puhatu Martiska järv, Pahanselja järv, Viinamardi järv and Korponi järv) are popular destinations for hikers and anglers.
Kuremäe is famous for the Russian Orthodox nunnery of Pühitsa
(German Püchtitz). The monastery was founded between 1892 and 1895.
According to an Orthodox legend, an apparition occurred in
Kuremäe in the 16th century. An icon is said to have been found
later under an old oak. According to today's thesis, it is said to
have been the remains of a chapel of the Woten. Afterwards the place
was called "holy" (pühitsetud) in Estonian.
There has been
evidence of an Orthodox chapel in Kuremäe since 1608 at the latest.
In 1888 a nun from the Ipatios monastery in Kostroma sent three
sisters to Virumaa to heal the sick. In 1891 they received
permission from the Russian authorities to build a nunnery in
Pühitsa. The patron of the building was the governor of the Estonian
governorate. The establishment of the first Orthodox monastery in
Estonia called the resistance of the Lutheran Baltic German
landowners on the plan, but they could not prevail.
In the
center of the monastery is an oak tree with a diameter of 4.3 m.
Believers regard it as a sacred tree. The buildings of the monastery
are arranged around the tree: the living quarters of the nuns, the
winter church (dining house), a hospital, the main church, the bell
tower, the holy gates, a school and the guest house. The main church
with its five domes was built between 1908 and 1910. It contains
three altars as well as a splendidly carved iconostasis and valuable
wall paintings. The church holds 1200 people.
During the
Second World War, the German Wehrmacht occupied the monastery and
set up a prisoner-of-war camp for Soviet prisoners.
Today the
monastery is again under the patriarchate of Moscow and all of
Russia. About 100 nuns and novices live in the monastery. The
sisters maintain a traditional way of life. But they also offer
overnight stays and guided tours for those interested.