Estonia

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The official currency in Estonia is euro.

Language

Estonian is the official language of Estonia. It is spoken by about 1.1 million people in the country itself and then thousands of others outside it too. Estonian is a Finno-Ugric language and is closely related to Finnish and distantly to Hungarian. It has been influenced by German, Russian, Swedish and Latvian, though it is not related to them.

Flag

A symbolism-interpretation made popular by the poetry of Martin Lipp says the blue is for the vaulted blue sky above the native land, the black for attachment to the soil of the homeland as well as the fate of Estonians — for centuries black with worries, and white for purity, hard work, and commitment.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Estonia depicts a golden shield, which includes three slim blue lions with red tongues in the middle and golden oak branches along both sides of the shield. The lesser coat of arms lacks these oak branches. The three lions derive from the arms of Danish king Valdemar II who had conquered northern Estonia in 1219. The lions became part of the greater coat of arms of Tallinn, the centre of Danish government in Estonia, and the knightages of Harria and Viru.

Tallin - the capital of Estonia

Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Located in the northern part of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of 437,619 in 2020.

Traditional Food

Verivorst is a traditional Estonian blood sausage and the country's national dish. It is a typical winter meal, usually served during the Christmas festivities, when piles of verivorst sausages are roasted together with potatoes and pork.

Verivorst

Semla

Smoked fish

Rye bread

Pirukad

Interesting places

Viljandi

Soomaa National park

Rakvere Castle

Narva Castle

The history of the music

The recorded history of music in Estonia dates back as far as the 12th century. The older folk songs, referred to as runic songs, are in the poetic metre regivärss the tradition shared by all Baltic Finns. These were gradually replaced by rhythmic folk songs in the 18th century.

Elina Born

Elina Born is an Estonian singer. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 along with Stig Rästa with the song "Goodbye to Yesterday".

Elina Nechayeva

Elina Nechayeva is an Estonian soprano. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "La forza".

Jüri Pootsmann

Jüri Pootsmann is an Estonian singer. He won the sixth season of Eesti otsib superstaari, and represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Play".

Tanel Padar

Tanel Padar is an Estonian singer and songwriter. He is best known internationally for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Padar became famous by winning the Kaks takti ette.

Traditional Estonian clothing

Estonia's historical national clothes resemble those of many European regions in their basic form: linen shirts, woollen skirts for women, trousers for men, knit socks, embroidered accessories and beads. The ornate national clothes were only donned on special occasions like weddings and festivals, while everyday attire was functional and unadorned, suited to agricultural life.

Holidays

Independence Day

On February 24, 1918, Estonia gained its independence and became a country with its own flag, language, and government. Naturally, this day is extremely important to Estonia and every year government officials attend a ceremony at Estonian War for Independence Monument to remind Estonians about the importance of loving their home country!

Spring Day

It is not hard to guess that Spring Day is celebrated on May 1 when spring officially starts. There is a tradition for people to dress up as witches the night before and make huge bonfires which serve as a gathering place for dancing, singing, and drinking. Many other countries in the world celebrate Day of the Worker on May 1, but it has nothing to do with Spring Day.

Victory Day

On June 23, Estonians celebrate Victory Day. It is the day when Estonians won the Estonian War for Independence against Nazis. Naturally, Estonians are proud of this particular achievement and that is why a huge celebration takes place. Also, the day after Victory Day is Midsummer Day, so locals get two days off which intensifies the festive mood and sense of freedom.

Social customs

When meeting someone make sure you are stood up, offer direct eye contact and give a nice firm handshake. The most common greeting is "tere" ("hello"). Titles are very important. "Härra" is for Mr, "Prova" is Mrs and "Preili" is Miss. All should be followed with the surname. Only use first names once you have been invited to do so. If you’re invited to dinner, arrive on time. You should call if running late. Check to see if shoes are being worn in the house. Do not expect a tour of the house - homes are private. Dress conservatively. During the meal avoid resting your elbows of the table. Compliment the hostess on the meal. Try to finish everything on your plate.

Interesting Facts

Wife-carrying is a sport

Only heavyweights need to apply for this one. While this peculiar Estonian pastime may not have made it to the Olympics, we give it a gold medal for pure entertainment value. What’s more, the rules are fairly simple.

As the name suggests, husbands pick up their wives and race several hundred metres with their better (and clearly wiser) halves upside down on their backs, with her legs over his neck and shoulders. The track must have two dry obstacles and a one-metre deep water obstacle. And, here’s the kicker – the ‘wife’ carried must indeed be your own, or a neighbour’s, and at least 17 years old. Before you ask, yes this is a world championship.

Two UNESCO World Heritage sites

Another of our interesting facts about Estonia, which may have been as far off your radar as the little-known country itself, is that Tallinn’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. No visit to Estonia is complete without some quality time spent admiring Tallinn’s Hanseatic heritage, which dates back to the 13th century. Its history clings to every inch of the city’s medieval façades.

Estonia’s second UNESCO site is shared with a few of its neighbours. As the first technical and scientific object in the world to earn World Heritage status, the Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations to help accurately measure a meridian.

The locals aren’t religious

While only 16% of Estonians say religion is an essential aspect of their lives, the country is home to an astounding array of well-preserved religious sites. Most noteworthy of these is St Madeline’s Church in Ruhnu, the country’s oldest wooden building. We find this particular building fascinating because it was fashioned entirely out of the wood from shipwrecked boats.

Also worth adding to your Tallinn sightseeing is St Olaf’s Church. Besides being the world’s tallest building at the time of its construction up until the early 17^th century, it has the rather unfortunate reputation of being a favourite lighting conductor. Lightning has struck the church no fewer than 10 times, causing extensive fires in 1625, 1820 and 1931.

Prepared by Anelia, Vasilena and Maria, 7g class.

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