Rapla Church

Rapla folklore tells that the first church was begun on a gravel hill at Kuusiku and then at Raikküla, but the walls would not rise. A wise man advised loading stones on a cart behind three black oxen and building where they stopped; they crossed the river and halted by a sacred tree. The builders promised the earth spirit that the church would sink into the ground if seven brothers dressed alike ever entered together. Later the Devil hurled a stone at it that landed near Valtu, knocking the tower crooked, so a separate bell tower was built. Another tale derives the name from the oxen's bells: krapa-krapa.