mõisa

Mõis is the Estonian term for a manor estate, the rural center of landholding and administration in historical Estonia. The word is derived from the German Meierhof, reflecting the Baltic German nobility who owned estates in the region from the Middle Ages onward and administered large agricultural lands.

Typically a mõis comprised the manor house, outbuildings, a park or grove, and surrounding farmland worked by peasants or serfs. The estate functioned as an economic and administrative unit; villages around it often depended on it for protection, employment, and rent. Serfdom was characteristic until reforms in the 19th century, with emancipation in 1819 in the Baltic provinces; after Estonia's independence, the 1919 land reform redistributed land and many estates were partitioned or repurposed.

Architecturally, manor houses range from wooden Baroque to neoclassical stone mansions, often accompanied by landscaped parks. Many estates survived as heritage sites, though some were damaged in wars or neglected in the 20th century. Since the restoration of independence, a number have been preserved, restored, or repurposed as schools, museums, hotels, or cultural centers.

Today mõis is used to refer to historic estates and their buildings as cultural monuments. Notable examples in Estonia include Palmse mõis, Sagadi mõis, and Vihula mõis, which exemplify regional architecture and landscape planning and are open to visitors as museums or guesthouses.