Villa Ammende Pärnu

Villa Ammende is a unique combination of art nouveau architecture, exquisite tastes, the future and the past, work and relaxation, sea breeze and oak trees, and of the vibrancy, serenity and silence of the summer capital. And naturally, of the people, the Ammende family.

We condensed our essence into six short sentences and that is the result. A true architectural gem of a house. A history that could be recounted for hours. A hotel where every room has a character of its own. Delicious food. A delightful place for special events. A wholesome group of lovely people who all fit under one name – the Ammende family.

THE HISTORY
Villa Ammende’s colourful history reaches back 115 years. The villa got its name from the Ammende family who built it following the latest fashion trends of the time, and inhabited it for nearly a quarter of the century until they had to sell it to the city of Pärnu because of debts.

The Balto-Germanic magnate merchant and the builder of our beautiful Villa Ammende who inherited Pärnu’s first department store from his grandfather in the beginning of the 20th century and together with that, the status of the wealthiest businessman of Pärnu. Mr Ammende was also influential on the political arena and played an active part in Estonian life both in the Parliament and in the City Council of Pärnu.

The wife of Hermann Leopold and the mother of the Ammende family’s six children. Her first child was daughter Ellen who was followed by 5 sons. The most loved and the only daughter of Hermann Leopold Ammende who later changed her last name to Dworzetzky-Bogdanowitch. The most famous of Hermann Leopold Ammende’s sons. A well-known politician who was passionate about standing for the rights of minorities.

1904
The history of Villa Ammende goes back to the age of economic growth of the turn of the century. The haute bourgeoisie who had up to that point lived in luxurious apartments started to change their preference more and more towards private houses with large plots of land.

Hermann Leopold Ammende, one of Pärnu’s wealthiest magnate merchants whose ancestors had arrived in Estonia from Germany in the 18th century, was looking for a suitable house for the wedding of his only and dearly beloved daughter Ellen who had fallen in love with a ship captain.

Not being able to find a suitable place, Hermann Leopold decided to build a villa himself; a villa that would be perfect for his daughter’s wedding and also serve as a summer house in days to come.

He ordered the project for the luxurious building from an architecture bureau Mieritz & Gerassimov in St. Petersburg. (An interesting fact: Mieritz, the architect who took on the project was not of Russian descent but actually a Finnish architect who had extended his activities to St. Petersburg.)

Back in the day, the Balto-Germanic crowd was known for their conservative taste. Their economic situation was not one to be praised, meaning that most of them could never implement drastically new designs in their homes.

Locally created modernism mixed with traditionalism was preferred, together with the restrained and heavy, so called severnoi modernism. The emerging national bourgeoisie preferred Finnish architects. The flashy Belgian and Austrain modernism found little use in Estonia.

Villa Ammende represents the latter. A building whose ambitious design would perfectly fit into any villa district in St. Petersburg or Riga feels quite surprising in the provincial town of Pärnu. The project for the art nouveau building was finished fast and got approved by the City Architect of Pärnu on May 5th, 1904. The building work started immediately.

1905
The building shot up with incredible speed – it was almost ready by August, the landscaping and the fence being the only things lacking. The final execution was a lot richer than the original plan, with all the fashion trends and innovative solutions of the day being represented in the project.

The facades of the building used new techniques and materials which in turn were highlighted with fashionable colours of the time: multicoloured ceramic plates, forged black iron and grooved blue-grey iron, olive green wood, light blue plaster and strip stone details.

Despite the lavish abundance, the end result was elegant. The legend says that the special tower of the building was built for Ellen to see when her husband was returning from his sea voyages.

Art nouveau paintings on walls and ceilings, robusts wood cuts on the threshold strips, majestic chandeliers, plaster decor and stately glazed ovens made by the Zelm and Böhm factory in Riga. The playful style and innovative building materials must have matched magnate merchant Ammende’s slightly nouveau riche taste. The house opened its doors for the reception and for extravagant parties.

1927
According to the potters, the stoves of the house were only in use for the first five-six years since the villa became a summer house after that. The family’s financial situation took a hit with the first world war and the Russian Revolution. It all went downwards from there until they finally had to declare bankruptcy and sell the villa.

The owners were just about to sign the sales and purchase agreement with a merchant from Tallinn when the City of Pärnu intervened. Since the land belonged to the city, the local authority used their pre-emptive right.

The reason is also stated in the decision of the City Council of Pärnu as follows: “For the improvement of the resort”. The city purchased the villa for 8 million marks in 1927. The original plan was to use the house as a Kurhaus and as a beach hotel.

Incidentally, the city remained in debt for the house. Part of the purchase sum remained unpaid to the Ammendes still in 1940. The latter had already moved to Germany in 1938, after having signed a statement agreeing not to have any claims against the Government of Estonia.

1929
The city presented Olev Siinmaa, the city architect of Pärnu with a task to rid the villa of art nouveau style which had been under high dislike during the Republic of Estonia as an example of bad taste. The plans for the reconstruction were finished by 1929. Due to the lack of funds, the introduction of classicism did not get far.

Only the walls between the green hall and the salong for ladies and gentlemen were pulled down and replaced by pillars. The frolicsome embellishments of art nouveau were removed from doors, cornices and fireplaces.

The majority of the fancy ovens on the ground floor were also demolished. Art nouveau as a style suffered from such a strong dislike that the broken glazed tiles were favoured over brass embellishments that were removed from the grey fireplace. The Villa Ammende of today looks like she did when her doors were opened in the beginning of the 20th century.

1935
Villa Ammende was rented out to a family who ran a casino on the ground floor and lived on the first. The house became the place for the Estonian social elite to gather, with the first president of the first Republic of Estonia, Konstantin Päts being among the frequent visitors. In 1940 the house went into the hands of the Russian military authorities. During the German occupation, the villa held a casino for the officers.

1944
During the Soviet times the villa belonged to the governmental authorities in charge of resorts. People went there to watch movies, attend dance nights, use the library and also the treatment rooms, since one of the rooms on the villa’s ground floor was taken over by sanatorium “Friendship”.

At the end of the 1970s, there was a plan to replace the sanatorium with a Wedding Palace. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the large influx of vacationers stopped at the end of the 1980s, the house was left empty.

1991
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the villa was left to deteriorate. Every now and then, Pärnu Opera gave concerts here on the moonlit nights where people enjoyed Schönberg and the general decadence. The heritage protectors were waiting with bated breath whether someone would get to it before it became completely derelict. Luckily, someone did.

1995
Two Estonian businessmen, Rein Kilk and Hans H. Luik made a decision to renovate the beautiful villa and to open it up to everyone. Since the wartime reconstruction works were mostly limited to removing everything reminiscent of art nouveau from the interior, the outer facades had luckily remained intact.

With the added research from different time periods and photos obtained from Germany, the renovators had plenty of input to restore the villa to its return of the century ambience.

The concept behind the restoration project was the following: to create an atmosphere of a rich merchant’s family house. The renovation works started in 1997. At first it was not clear what function the house would have. Estonian art nouveau museum was one of the ideas.

1999
The freshly renovated exclusive hotel and restaurant with period interiors and furnishings were ceremoniously opened in the beautiful park garden within the Pärnu beach district in September.

The renovators were called crazy in the best sense of the word since they left no stone unturned when restoring the villa as elaborately as possible: the interior was restored to the exact state it had been when the villa had been built 110 years ago.

The floors were restored by partially using old materials and details, with strict attention being paid to the old examples when making the parts that were missing. Old window frames and doors were restored, and old stoves and fireplaces restacked. The paintings were restored with chalk paints. The heritage protectors approved of the work done. That does not happen often.

2020
By 2020, Villa Ammende has been welcoming guests for over 20 years. The villa had also undergone smaller refurbishment projects in the past but now it became clear that the time was ready for a full renovation.

We wished our guests to have access to all modern amenities without the villa losing its true face and character. We searched for a balance between the present and the past. And we do feel like we found it. But you have to come and visit us to see it yourself!

PEARL OF ART NOUVEAU ARCHITECTURE
Villa Ammende is the best example of the early art nouveau in Estonia and also one of the three art nouveau hotels in the world. This type of rarity needs love and protection, so the facade of our building together with villa’s interior elements, the fence and even the trees of the park are all listed under national heritage protection.

The first two floors of the villa have been restored to their former glory as authentically as possible after the devastation brought on by the Soviet times. All the following elements can be seen in the way they were originally built: the colourful walls, painted cornices, glazed fireplaces, gorgeously profiled doorways. The original spatial layout has also been restored.

The villa is not a museum, however. While refurbishing, we kept an eye out for that perfect balance between historical and modern amenities. We feel we did a successful job but you have to come and test it yourself!

THE SPACES
Our spaces are divided between three floors. The ground floor holds a fireplace hall, a boudoir, a study, dinner, restaurant and event halls, and a verandah. The first floor is home to former family rooms, the current suites. The second floor holds former servants’ quarters. These attic rooms have been luxuriously renovated for hotel guests.

Our ground floor spaces offer abundant options for event organising. If one needs to use all spaces available, Villa Ammende elegantly fits 200 guests for a standing reception or 140 guests for a banquet style dinner. Our gorgeous garden fits even more people, so a concert for 2000 guests is totally doable! A lack of space will not hinder a beautiful (or a hardcore, to each their own) party.

FIREPLACE HALL
Fireplace hall is the heart of our villa. Here you are welcomed and from here you are sent off on your travels. Although there are very few original elements left in the villa, the Fireplace hall manages to surprise you with two of them: there is a gorgeous fireplace with copper embellishments, and – for those lucky to notice them – hooks above the doors next to the fireplace, once used by Mr. Hermann Leopold Ammende to hang his hunting trophies.

Come and have a closer look! The pattern on the wall is not wallpaper but has been painted here with a thin brush, one stroke at a time. This pattern did not adorn these walls when the villa was built but was “imported” from a room on the 1st floor where it was no longer needed after the room changed functions.

RESTAURANT HALL
The restaurant hall of today used to be the space where Mr. and Mrs. Ammende hosted their common guests. The hall is tied together by a beautiful chandelier, one of the few original interior details that has survived. The ceiling paintings and the wall pattern are also close to the original. The restaurant hall is the sunniest space in our villa.

EVENT HALL
Our biggest and most versatile hall was also originally used for hosting grander events and high-spirited parties. The colour schemes of the spaces have been restored as close to original as possible. That was not easy since the only reference points were the black and white photos from the early days of the villa. Hence we had to turn to the laboratories who helped us to identify correct colours from the samples taken from the walls. Some of the shades were deliberately softened during renovations for the bold colours of art nouveau not to cause too much vertigo for the modern eye. So should you ever end up asking “Why does this blue wall need to be this blue?”, it probably means that it used to be even bluer at some point in time.

DINNER HALL
Originally, this space was a private office for Mr. Ammende’s business meetings. Here he met up with his friends and business partners, and the decisions made between these walls often successfully influenced Estonian economy and politics. Today this space is a dinner hall where bigger groups of people can enjoy long table lunches or dinners just like a family.

BOUDOIR 
About 100 years ago, this boudoir belonged to Mrs. Ammende who used it for welcoming her private guests. In the day, husbands and wives did not enter their respective partner’s private rooms without permission.

The colour scheme of this space has also been restored close to the original, and here you will find the only original furniture piece that once belonged to the Ammende family – a beautifully carved cupboard.

The boudoir pays homage to the history of the villa – since the house was built for a wedding, one can always find a wedding dress on display here, always designed by an Estonian designer.

STUDY
The most secluded and silent space on our ground floor, the best place for focusing and delving into things. Historically, this was the area for the service rooms, and also the location for the family’s silver cupboard with a size resembling that of a safe.

Today, every guest is welcome to use the silence of the study to get some work done (unless someone is in the middle of their business meeting already). It is also worth mentioning that the study comes with a secure ISDN line, so if you need extra security for a work meeting, we got it covered.

VERANDAH 
Our newest room to be opened to the guests, this verandah used to be a storage area for a long time. Now it is a cosy space with large windows and a perfect spot for reading a book in the hanging chair or for watching seasons change. It is also an ideal space for having cocktails with your friends. In peak winter time it might get a bit cooler in here as it is, after all, a verandah.

GARDEN & TERRACE
The old oak trees are the pride and joy of our garden. They have grown so tall that some of them even block the views from the tower. Although most of the trees were planted after the villa was finished, one of them is especially old, reaching 150 years in age. Both our garden fence and our oak tree park are under national heritage protection.

The garden can be functionally divided into three made-up sections. There is the manicured front garden. Then the terrace that functions as a visual and mental extension to the interior space. And the back garden that is fit for concerts and offers enough space to run around.

Here you can also find the children’s playground and our comfortable lounging chairs which always allure readers with their books. Just give us a wave and we will also provide you with an afternoon tipple.

TOWER 
According to our legend, the tower was built for Ellen, the daughter of the family who liked looking out to the sea to see whether her husband, a ship captain, was to be seen on the horizon. Truth be told, the tower was probably added for vanity. Even today we can boast of being the only building (and a hotel!) in Pärnu that has its own tower.

Naturally, we also believe our tower to hold the highest concentration of romance in Pärnu, by far, as it is a spot where many marriage proposals get made. We still remember a dinner that started at 7 pm and ended at 7 am the next morning with a happy “Yes!” at the end. Tower dinners are a special challenge for our restaurant family, by the way. Every dish or drink needs to be victoriously carried up 106 steps.

ROOMS & SUITES 
Our hotel comes with 19 rooms. 5 stately and unique rooms on the Master´s Floor of the main building and 8 cosy attic-like rooms on the Sky Parlor floor of the main building. We also have 4 Spacious and Bright rooms and 2 Private and Cozy rooms spread across the two floors of a Garden Villa.

Rooms on the Master’s Floor or at the Garden Villa are perfect for families. The villa usually accommodates up to 36 grown-ups and 10 children but additional beds can be added to help out a few guests. Just come with all your friends!

MASTER’S SUITE WITH SAUNA – AMMENDE
Master´s Floor Sumptuous with Sauna – Ammende is the most dashing room in the entire villa, a perfect place to enjoy a coffee on a balcony on a summer morning or a firelit dinner on a winter evening.  The former bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Ammende is also rendered special by the fact that its walls are one of the rare surfaces that still hold some of the original art nouveau patterns.

Ammende is nearly 100 square meters in size and boasts of a separate bedroom and a spacious living room with an antique, properly functional fireplace, a bathroom with a bath, a walk-in shower and a sauna, and a large balcony. Sunny mornings and warm summer evenings make it a perfect place for enjoying a delicious meal. And we know of no better seats for enjoying a garden concert!

Ammende has also not forgotten work. The living room holds a large table that easily fits six people for a dinner or a meeting, and a separate desk for those moments when more serious focus is required.

MASTER’S SUITE WITH SAUNA – HERMANN 
Feeling more like a homely apartment than a hotel room, the Hermann room stands second in line when it comes to size. This room used to be Mr. Ammende’s study and it is still perfectly fit for focusing on work.

Master´s Floor Sumptuous with Sauna – Hermann comes with a separate entry, a living room with an antique fireplace and a folding sofa for the kids, a bedroom with a four-poster bed, and a spacious bathroom with a sauna.

The room also boasts of a gorgeous grandfather’s clock which has been stopped to keep our guests sleeping deep through the night. All the non-ticking clocks in our villa are always pointing to six o’clock.

Why? That is the best time for an evening cocktail. With tongue in cheek, we also say this room has a sea view. In winter, when the trees have lost their leaves, one can indeed see the sea behind them.

MASTER’S FLOOR SUITE
Lots of space and air. These are the keywords that truly describe all our Master´s Floor Spacious and Elegant rooms. However, all the rooms – that once used to belong to the children of the Ammende family – look and feel a bit different.

Let’s start with the Mahogany, a room that has gotten its name from the mahogany-coloured furniture. Some of that furniture is antique, some of it modern. The seating set, however, has been made by local masters and it was based on a sketch drawn on a handkerchief by the architect in charge of the renovation works 20 years ago.

Then we have the Blue or room number 3, and the Yellow or room number 5. We recommend the first one to those guests who prefer a more restrained atmosphere. The Yellow room charms you with a bright verandah, a luxury no other room can boast of.

SKY PARLOR ROOM
Former staff’ quarters have been turned into cozy hotel rooms for the lovers of the attic room romance. Sky Parlor Petite and Cozy rooms come with low sloping ceilings and small windows in various shapes. These 4 rooms are a bit smaller than our other rooms. No room resembles another. Some are richer in colour, some less so. But they are all equally cosy and sweet.

DINING 
The following food wisdom dates back to a cooking book from 1913 or to the time when Villa Ammende was young: “The mood plays an utmost role when one starts to eat. When a person is upset, angry, for some reason, sulky or in other words scared, one should consider postponing the meal until a better mood has been achieved.”

Balance is key in the Ammende kitchen. This balance is evident both in the food and among the family members. Our small kitchen is filled with talented chefs who are passionate about cooking and whose hearts beat faster when preparing dishes with fresh ingredients.

However, even more important to our chefs than creating excellent dishes is the kitchen team, with whom they work side by side every day. It is through experimenting with new flavors and dishes together that they arrive at the most perfect ones, which are then formulated into the menu.

Villa Ammende supports local ingredients and purity of taste, and in the dishes, the raw ingredients themselves speak for themselves. We support Estonia local and fresh produce and the purity of different tastes that complement each other.

BREAKFAST
We have always been very proud of our breakfasts. Everyone can choose their favourite from the a la carte menu, accompanied by delicious coffee and a kind family. The bubbly obviously as well. You can come to breakfast even if you don’t stay overnight!

AFTERNOON TEA
Villa Ammende’s „Afternoon Tea“ is a timeless ritual of British charm and class known all the world over. It is a time chosen to savour the moment leaving all ones worldly troubles at our door.

MERCHANT’S FEAST
Ammende family invites you to a family dinner. This dinner takes us back 100 years in history to the long dinner table in the summer home of merchant Hermann Leopold Ammende. Yes, the very same summer home where the family of Villa Ammende restaurant and hotel hosts their guests today.

DRINK LIST
Ammende cocktail list is just like an old oak in the corner of the terrace. In its beauty and simplicity the tree represents the same values that Ammende family wine and cocktail list requires around the year.

KIDS MENU
The children’s menu is so healthy and lovely that it will make both the parents and hopefully the kids rejoice. We are quite certain of the latter since all the dishes are tested by our little guests.

SPECIAL MENU
Coffee breaks, group menus and a buffet – an ideal choices for seminars and business meetings, but also for small gatherings with friends or celebrations.

WEDDINGS
Our long experience in wedding organising has proven that the secret to a good party lies in regular and trusting partnership with the bride and groom – the more we know about your yearnings and dreams, the more smoothly everything goes. Hence the first step of organising a wedding with us is coming to visit us. This way we can talk everything through in detail and find you that exact perfect solution.

You can choose the date to match your heart’s desire whether you are looking for a sweet, peaceful and private guest-free ceremony or whether you are dreaming of a grand party that takes over the entire villa and the garden on top of it! And of course, golden wedding anniversaries and other celebrations can also be organised.

PARTIES
Whether the hero of the day has reached a venerable old age or is still young, we have a solution for everyone – an afternoon tea for a young person in a tender age or a festive brunch for a mature lady.

You can have an elegant jubilee celebration by booking a private hall or the entire complex. Hence, the tough question of “What should I do on my birthday” actually has a simple answer – Ammende. No wish is too big and no detail too little for us – we like garden and cocktail parties, BBQ and gala evenings equally. The same stands for Christmas parties.

WORK & SEMINARIES
Ammende is a paradise for everyone. For people on a vacation, and for those who prefer to work. Whoever wishes can work in undisturbed peace either in their room or in the study, can arrange a meeting with their business partners or to bring their family. Or organise a seminar for a bigger group of people. Our spaces and opportunities are yours!

It is possible to book a study for private meetings. We offer a quick lunch menu and refreshing coffee breaks for those who pre-order. Our fine dining dinner menu is our shining trump card. If you have an important partner visiting who you would like to impress, our restaurant knows how to surprise. (In a good way, of course.)

Whether it is a seminar, conference, business meeting, international business or diplomatic meet-up, our team will be responsible for the impeccable execution of your event, from renting the equipment needed to organising the entertainment. We do not suffer from the lack of experience. Or imagination!

We have 7 different halls and salons out of which 3 are ideal for seminars. During the warmer season one can also make use of our spacious garden and terrace. People staying the night have 19 rooms to choose from.

Villa Ammende restaurant is renowned for its exquisite kitchen and service. There is no wish we cannot fulfill. Our menu choices include coffee breaks, lunches, simple group menus, festive dinners, picnic and BBQ menus, brunch and private breakfasts. Our gala dinner is a perfect reward at the end of a seminar day. (By the way, you can still have the gala dinner with us even when your accommodation is somewhere else in Pärnu.)

FOR THE FAMILIES
Families are welcome in our house. However, let’s be honest, the best time shall be had by the little ones who are not yet ready to explore the grounds on their own, and by the older kids who do not miss their playroom as we don’t have one.

We do not have a playroom but we do have board games, an outdoors playground and lots of space to run around freely. We have special beds for the little ones, and if someone has had the bad luck of forgetting their teddy at home we will conjure one from our private supply.

We offer night lamps for those of us who are afraid to sleep in the dark, and naturally, our young and important guests will have their own soap and shampoo waiting for them in the bathroom.

Rooms: 22

Price: from 117 EUR per night

Source: www.ammende.ee