Varbola is the largest ring-walled fort and trading centre in Estonia, active from the 10th to the 12th century and still the chief stronghold of Harjumaa in the 1210s.
Its limestone wall runs about 580 m round and stands 8 to 10 m high, with long gateways and towers at the gates, a 13 m well in the middle and some ninety buildings with furnaces and stone floors inside (en.wikipedia, Varbola Stronghold). On 1 January 1200 it is in the hands of the people of Harjumaa.
Who holds it
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- The elders of Harjumaa
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- No lord; the stronghold belongs to the free men of its district.
- Confidence
- low
See sources.
Lord in 1200
No lord: the elders and free men of Harjumaa (none named).
How things stand that morning
Held by the people of Harjumaa.
Charter
None. There is no town law in Estonia; Varbola is a ring-walled hillfort with a market inside, not a town.
Council
None. The elders of the district decide.
Communities
None foreign recorded.
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Militia
The free men of the district, who defend the stronghold.
Walls and castle
A ring wall of limestone, the strongest in northern Estonia.
Trade and crafts
A trading centre for the inland north; finds include bone dice.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1211 or 1212 (after this year)Mstislav Mstislavich of Novgorod besieges Varbola for some days and withdraws on payment.Depends on: Novgorod's campaigns Stopped by: not applicable
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology and Henry of Livonia.
Primary sources for The Estonians
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.
- The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.