There is a beautiful short hike just past the border of Latvia. The bog is protected by raised walkways. It was alive with color and new life. A wonderful welcome into the country of Estonia.
Estonia is small in size and population. 1.4 M people live in 45,000 sq km, slightly larger than Maryland. The country is heavily forested. Linguistically and culturally, they are similar to the Finns.
The Estonians have a love of music. The first Estonian Song Festival was held in 1869 in Tartu. The three day event, organized by Johann Voldemar, had 1,000 singers and an audience of 15,000.
A song introduced during the first festival, composed by Johann Voldemar, became a symbol of the Estonian awakening and eventually became the national anthem. The song is called Minu arm (“My Love”).
During the Soviet occupation, the song was banned. Since their liberation in 1990, every festival has featured the anthem. In 2024 over 10,000 singers and dancers participated, with more than 100,000 people in attendance. The festival is held every five years.
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is a short ferry ride from Helsinki. Nearly 500,00 people live in greater Tallinn. The city is a model of efficiency with an excellent transit system, safe streets, beautiful parks and spotless, vagrant free streets.
Estonians weren’t owners of their own land until a very brief period after WWI. They were the peasant class. The area was initially controlled by Baltic Germans, then the Danes, the Swedes and in 1710, Russia.
Czar Nicholas II and his family spent time in Tallinn at the palace of Catherine, Peter the Great’s consort. The palace, Kadriorg, was built 1718-1725, but used rarely until the early 1900’s. Today, it is an Art Museum.
But the more interesting art museum is a short walk away. KUMU, a combination of the Estonian word Kunst (art) and Muuseum ( not a typo, in Estonian there are many double vowels and consonants) is one of the most magnificent art museums I’ve visited.
This museum isn’t just a tremendous curated collection of art, it’s a stunning piece of architecture. The museum is set into the limestone slope of the hill. Despite its size, it harmonizes with the surrounding landscape. Our visit only got better, as our young docent provided a historical and artistic narrative. It was a truly wonderful experience.
I was so very pleased to have three days in Tallinn. The cruise ships stop, the passengers disembark and they’re herded through the Old Town in a few hours. It takes a few days, if not a few months to soak up the atmosphere of Estonia.
It was a gift to have an opportunity to leisurely stroll cobbled streets, explore the parks of Kadriorg, see and hear about Estonian art and laze over a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a wet, dreary day.
When you visit Tallinn, you must come for more than a port stop.
Next up, my “heart city”, Helsinki and then on to Lapland.
Denise, I liked your write up on the anthem and the singing Estonians, as well as the comments on the museums.