Rapla - Maarja-Magdaleena Kirik

The oldest records of Rapla date back to 1241. By the end of the 13th century, the village centre was firmly established and the Maria Magdalena Church was built. In 1478, both Rapla came under the rule of the Cistercian monastery of Padise (Padise klooster, about 50km northwest).

In the second half of the 19th century, the town grew and the old stone church was demolished. The new one was erected in neoRomanesque style. It got consecrated in 1901.

Adam Johann von Krusenstern, who led the Russian circumnavigation expedition (1803 - 1806, was born in Rapla and was probably baptised in the previous church. His son Paul Theodor von Krusenstern was known as a polar explorer.