The estate owned by the dynasty of Baron Osten-Zaken was rebuilt in 1856 and 1857, because the old estate was sacked during the Crimean War (1853-1856). At the beginning of the war, British warships bombarded Latvia's shoreline and ships with the purpose of scaring the Russian tsar. Some of the gunfire hit Kolka, which was part of the Russian Empire at that time. After the estate was destroyed, the so-called White House was built there with a series of ancillary buildings. A mantel chimney was installed on the second floor, and it was used to smoke wild game (the chimney is still there). The estate belonged to the aristocrats until 1919, when its last owner, Christian von Osten-Zaken, was shot in Tukums. An elementary school, known as the Kolka School, was installed in the White House in 1929. It remained open until 1961, when a new school was built. Crafts lessons were offered at the building until 1989, at which time it was known as the Old School or the Small School. In 1991, the Old School was taken over by the Faculty of Biology of the University of Latvia, and it has been used for summer internships for students ever since 1994.
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