Kuremäe is famous for the Russian-Orthodox nunnery of Pühtitsa (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 tree. According to today's thesis, it should have been the remains of a chapel of the Woten. After that, the place was called "sanctified" (pühitsetud) in Estonian.
At least since 1608 an orthodox chapel is detectable in Kuremäe. 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 Pühtitsa. The patron of the building became the governor of the Estonian governorate. The founding of the first orthodox monastery in Estonia provoked resistance from the Lutheran Baltic-German landowners, who, however, were unable to assert themselves.
In the center of the monastery is an oak tree with a diameter of 4.3 m. It is considered a sacred tree by the faithful. 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, a magnificently 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 POW camp for Soviet prisoners.
Today the monastery is again under the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia. About 100 nuns and novices live in the monastery. The sisters maintain a traditional way of life. They also offer overnight stays and guided tours for those who are interested (Wikipedia).
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