Discover Kurena: Culture, Rivers and Nature

Kurena is an interesting destination for travellers who want to combine cultural history, river landscapes and nature experiences in one trip. Highlights range from historic sites and traditional legends to rivers, bogs, cycling routes and dugout canoe trips. Depending on whether you want to focus on culture, active days or landscape experiences, you can choose a suitable holiday apartment or holiday house with a daily rhythm that matches your plans.

Cultural history and special places

The Tori Horse Breeding Farm began operating in 1856. Its attic presents old objects, old stories and history to visitors. This offers an accessible introduction to the region’s past without limiting the visit to a single historical date.

Tori Church was completed in 1854. Tori St George’s Lutheran Church was consecrated in 2001 as a memorial to all victims of the Second World War and is used as a concert venue. Those interested in sacred architecture, remembrance culture and music will therefore find different cultural points of connection for planning their trip.

Kurena also has a memorial stone dedicated to Olga Öövel. The Räägu sacrificial stone is recorded in connection with Kurena küla: in the settlement of Räägu, there is said to be a stone at the edge of the forest where sacrifices were made. Such traditions in particular give a trip a narrative dimension alongside the better-known sights.

Rivers, a cave and paths through nature

Tori Hell was formed by spring water eroding the Devonian sandstone bank of the Pärnu River. Numerous folk tales and legends are associated with the cave. For your daily itinerary, this connection between nature and culture can be combined with other activities on the water: Haabjakoda offers dugout canoe trips on the Tori River and presents the dugout canoe culture of Soomaa, the construction of enlarged dugout canoes, and stories about the Pärnu River.

Soomaa National Park encompasses bogs, swamp forests and rivers in natural riverbeds. The Meiekose nature trail runs along the banks of the Raudna and Tõramaa rivers and leads to the meadows at the mouth of the Tõramaa River, which form part of the cultural landscape of Soomaa National Park. If you prefer to travel by bicycle, you can plan a 25-kilometre cycling route towards Tori. It runs near a minor road and ends in Tori Parish.

In the wider regional area, Elbu oja is open for public use. The stream flows into the Sauga jõgi in Tori Parish, near Kurena küla. This creates various thematic possibilities for a trip: quiet landscapes, river stories, nature observation and active routes can be combined according to your interests.

Choose accommodation and access options to suit your travel idea

Vita Holiday House offers the opportunity to go fishing and is also suitable for weekend events with larger groups. It was built on the initiative of Vita von Maydell, a descendant of a well-known Baltic German family. These details connect a specific accommodation option with the history of the place. If you are looking for accommodation for a larger group or a stay that includes fishing, you can take this aspect into account when making your choice without losing sight of the other cultural and nature-related themes.

For orientation when travelling to the area, the Kurena–Nurme road section is a clear reference point: it forms part of the international Via Baltica road network and is 4.5 kilometres long. The route helps you place the area within your personal travel plans. Accommodation in Kurena is particularly suitable for your trip if you do not want to consider cultural discoveries, river landscapes and nature experiences separately, but prefer to keep different daily plans open.

Other destinations worth researching include Suigu and Are.

For the overarching travel overview: Are.