Viljandi järv


Accessed by a steep path leading down from Pikk street, the lake is a popular place for a swim on warm summer days. All the usual hallmarks of the Estonian beach are here (volleyball court, cafes, boat rental) and there’s a swimming platform just offshore. Come Midsummer's Eve, it's the site of the main celebrations.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Old Water Tower

0.29 MILES

One of Vijlandi's most distinctive landmarks, this odd 30m red-brick water tower topped with a hexagonal wooden structure offers fine views over the…

2. Kondas Centre

0.32 MILES

Housing vibrantly colourful works by local painter Paul Kondas (1900–85) and other self-taught artists working outside the mainstream, this is Estonia’s…

3. Viljandi Museum

0.33 MILES

Occupying two floors of a late-18th-century pharmacy on the old market square, this modest museum has displays tracing Viljandi’s history from the Stone…

4. Viljandi Teutonic Order Castle

0.35 MILES

Set within a lush park on the natural defensive prominence of Lossimäed, the scant-yet-evocative remains of Viljandi's powerful castle form a picturesque…

5. St John’s Lutheran Church

0.36 MILES

This dignified, compellingly picturesque 17th-century church, with its pale-grey walls and stone altar, has been restored since its Soviet incarnation as…

6. St Paul’s Lutheran Church

0.59 MILES

Built in 1866 to accommodate Viljandi's growing Lutheran congregation, this visually arresting, Tudor-Gothic-style church has a wooden pulpit and gallery,…