Wormsahten Manor is situated in one of the most scenic parts of Courland, between the hills of Embute and the valley of the River Venta, approximately 1 km from Nīkrāce on the left bank of the River Šķērvele - reputedly the fastest-flowing river in Courland and, as of 2009, recorded as the cleanest in Latvia. The river is dammed immediately in front of the house, forming a small lake visible from the principal rooms. A wooden bridge once led from the upper floor directly across to the parkland on the opposite bank.
History
The estate has been documented since the 15th century, when it was held by the Baltic German family von Rosen. Following their support for Johann Reinhold von Patkul - defender of Livonian and Courland noble rights - the estate was confiscated under the Swedish reduction and passed to the von Schlippenbach family, to whom the 1809 rebuilding is attributed. Ulrich von Schlippenbach's 1809 travel account Malerische Wanderungen durch Kurland describes a house displaying what he called "two-storey, new yet old Gothic residential forms", and gives an extensive account of the park. The estate subsequently passed through the hands of the von Fircks and von Roenne families before passing definitively to the von Hahn family in 1856, who held it until expropriation in 1922.
The original structure dates to around 1568. The house burned during the unrest of 1905 and was carefully rebuilt under the direction of the Riga architect Wilhelm Ludwig Nicolai Bokslaff.
The building
The manor is a two-storey, seven-bay structure crowned by a substantial mansard roof. A stair tower is attached to the south gable. On the river elevation, the two central windows flanking what was formerly a bridge opening are notably larger than the rest, providing relief to an otherwise austere façade. The first mansard floor is lit by three large dormers and is fully habitable.
Restoration work carried out in recent years includes: roof and roof structure, timber framing, new wooden windows and oak doors, staircases, and preparation for underfloor heating on the first floor. The mansard floor is prepared for fit-out.
The estate
Total area: 20.37 ha, comprising 12.37 ha of parkland and woodland, 6 ha of arable land and 2 ha forming the manor complex. The former landscape park was historically among the largest and oldest in the Baltic region, documented in several 18th and 19th-century garden catalogues.
Ancillary buildings: gardener's house (200 m²), vegetable store (100 m²), stable, barn, garage for three vehicles, firewood store, sauna on the riverbank, two fishponds, an 80 m well and several foundations of former agricultural buildings.
