Vao Castle Tower is a tower in Estonia belonging to the donjon style of castles. It was presumably built in the second half of the 14 century. Castles of this type were not uncommon in Livonia at that time. They were were built in places that didn't require serious security. It is believed that the Vao castle tower was built to protect land and waterways and as an outpost in the event of peasant rebellions. After the Jurassic Night rebellion in 1343, the feudal lords paid great attention to the construction of such towers. Until our time only two such castles have survived - Vao and Kiyu.
The tower of Vao is quadrangular, built of local limestone. Judging by the thickness of the walls, the castle was not designed for serious military operations. The castle-bathhouse is located on the edge of the former manor park, next to a stream which is the source of the Põltsamaa River. If you count the basement rooms, the tower is is four storeys high. The basements are vaulted.
There used to be a storage room on the ground floor in the basement, where ammunition was stored. The first floor was the executive floor, the third floor contained living quarters, and the fourth floor was for defence purposes. In addition to the warehouses, there was a toilet, a bathing room, a chapel and a fireplace in the basement, which indicates that this tower was the permanent residence of a vassal.
Starting in 1744, the tower became the property of the Edler von Rennenkampf family. They were the owners of Vao Castle until 1939.
In 1986, the castle tower was restored by the Vao collective farm. From 1991 to 1997, the castle housed a museum on the private initiative of Jānis Tobrelūts. In 1998 a new exhibition was organised in the castle in cooperation with the Väike Maarja. In the tower museum you can learn about the history of the castle, the estate itself and the villages located near the castle. The Tower Museum offers information about the history of the castle and the villages around the estate. In the tower you can also look at photographs of the restoration process of the castle and the coats of arms of the Vao families. In addition to the above, the museum has a lot of information about the Rennenkampf family, the last Ostsee Germans living in Vao. Ostsee Germans who lived on the estate, to whom an exhibition on the ground floor is dedicated.
The interior of the castle is made in a medieval spirit; in the center of the room there is a table with chairs upholstered in boar skin. Metal lamps decorated with stained glass windows on the walls and ceiling provide the original cross-shaped illumination. On the upper floor you can look at paintings depicting people in medieval costumes.
There is a legend that says that there is an underground passage from Vao to Kiltsay that is about 3 kilometres long. The passage itself has never been discovered, but in the 20th century, a long excavation was found in a manor field, running north to south, which had been filled in with earth.
