The small village of Kuremäe is celebrated for its Russian Orthodox Pühtitsa Convent, one of the most notable sights in Estonia. The convent was founded in 1891 and today some 170 nuns live there. There are six churches in the complex which is dominated by the striking Dormition Cathedral, built in 1910. The convent is surrounded by a thick granite wall and has a majestic entrance gate with seven large bells. The bright facade and pristine appearance of the place gives it a cheerful air. The convent also has a hotel for guests and pilgrims.
Originally the site of ancient pagan worship, the village of Kuremäe, 20km southeast of Jõhvi, is home to the stunning Russian Orthodox Pühtitsa Convent. Built between 1885 and 1895, the magnificent nunnery has five towers topped with green onion domes and is a place of annual pilgrimage for Russian Orthodox believers, operating a fully self-sufficient entity. Murals by the convent gate depict the Virgin Mary, who, it is said, appeared to a 16th-century shepherd by an oak tree. An icon was later found in the area and it is still in the main church of the convent. There is also a revered holy spring that never freezes.
Tourists who appreciate the Golden Ring around Moscow should travel the 25km south from Jõhvi to visit the largest Russian Orthodox church outside Tallinn. Pühtitsa Convent at Kuremäe was completed in 1910 and seats 1,200 people; services are often full with most members of the congregation travelling long distances to attend. Six smaller churches, a museum and a formal garden were added later to the complex which is surrounded by a brick wall. Remarkably, the community of around 150 nuns and the buildings themselves were unharmed through all the changes in regime of the last hundred years. The museum chronicles this remarkably peaceful story. The surrounding land, which the nuns cultivate, produces enough to support the community and to cater for visitors, and the sale of tasteful souvenirs is beginning to ensure maintenance of the buildings. Note the cemetery just outside the compound. Wrought-iron crosses are frequently seen in northern Estonia but it is rare to find such a large number of fine examples in one single cemetery.
