Peter and Paul Church

St. Jacob's Church is a fortified church dating back to the 13th century. The church is one of the oldest buildings on Saaremaa Island.

The church in Valjala is the oldest preserved stone church in Estonia. It was built from 1227, at the time of the Livonia Crusades (13th century). In the third quarter of the 13th century, the small church of that time was transformed into a fortified church. The defensive church contains both Romanesque and Gothic elements. In 1922, thunderstruck the church and burnt the baroque helmet of the tower.

The church of Karja was built in the fourth quarter of the 13th or early 14th century by masters from Ojamaa (Gotland). Even before the construction of the stone church, already in 1254, there was a wooden church in Karja. Until 1896 the clergy was composed of Baltic Germans. The first Estonian clergyman was Karl Wöhrmann in 1896-1926.