Vihula Manor is one of the oldest in the Laahemaa Nature Reserve. The first mention of the manor dates back to the 15th century, but of the 27 surviving buildings, most of them date back to the 19th century. The first written record of the Violl Manor, as it was known, dates back to 1501. At that time, the owner of the manor was the Danish Baron Hans von Lode family, is one of the most oldest noble family in Estonia.
It is believed that the history of the founding of the estate begins 300 years before the first written record in 1501. A document from the 16th century has survived in the archives, signed by the bishop of Tallinn, which confirms that the ancestor of the von Lode family, the Danish knight Odvard, accompanied the Danish king on a campaign against the Estonian pagans in 1197. In return for his service, he was given lands in in the north of Estonia. It is most likely that the knight Odvard von Lode received lands in the vicinity of Vihula and at the end of Vihula neighbourhood and established an estate there in the late 12th century.
In 1531, the Vihula estate passed to the Viekebrod family. In 1605, Evert Wekebrod passed Viehula to his daughter Britta, who married Melchior von Helfreich. The Helfreich family, originally from Germany, owned the estate for over two centuries. The estate was severely damaged during the Great Northern War (1700-1721), when in 1703 most of the buildings were razed and burnt.
The oldest surviving building on the Vihula estate is the so-called Far Manor, which dates back to the second half of the 18th century. At that time, this building was the only one built of stone, all other buildings were wooden.
The list compiled by the surveyor S. Dobermann in 1800 lists buildings belonging to the manor: the main building, a sauna, a barn, a blacksmith's shop and 3 wooden ovaries, as well as 2 pavilions, a stable, a stable for oxen, a distillery and a stone water mill.
In 1809, the estate was sold at auction, due to the difficult economic situation of the owners of the estate. The new owner of the Vihula estate was Alexander von Schubert. The manor acquired its modern appearance during the time of the von Schuberts. Most of the buildings date from 1820-1840, and the main building was completed in the 1880s.
During the 1917 revolution, the Red Guards sacked the estate. During the period World War I and World War II the estate was owned by the state, the estate housed a German counter-intelligence school. After the end of the war, Vihula Manor became part of a collective farm. Between 1951 and 1982 the manor housed a nursing home. After a big fire in 1982 the buildings were transferred to the Viru collective farm.
Since 1 July 1991, the owner of the estate has been a joint stock company Vihula Mois. Today the total area of all buildings is 8,000 square metres. There is a park around the central buildings, the area of the surrounding land is about 47.97 hectares. At the entrance to the Vihula manor there are stone stone columns with the von Schubert family coat of arms at the entrance to the Vihula estate.
From 2008 to the present day, the estate has undergone extensive restoration in order to maximise the preservation of the historical heritage and the protection of nature, while ensuring the functionality of the estate.
Currently, the estate has a hotel complex, a restaurant, and there are also possibility of renting the premises for weddings, banquets, conferences, seminars.
