Nikolai Alexander von Glehn was born into the wealthy Glehn family, and was the brother of Peter von Glehn, a noted botanist. He studied economics, medicine, philosophy and architecture at the University of Tartu and in Germany. Glehn established a new settlement called Nõmme in the northern part of the lands of his Jälgimäe Manor. In 1873 he gave out the first plots near the railway station which was established a year before on the Tallinn–Paldiski railway. Glehn also built himself a new Mustamäe Manor (German: Hohenhaupt), nowadays known as the Glehn Castle into Nõmme. The main building ("castle") was finished in 1886 by himself being the architect. The castle is surrounded by a park with several buildings like palm house (1900–1910), observatory tower (1910) and sculptures "Kalevipoeg" (1908), "Crocodile" (1908), all of those created by Glehn himself.