Estonian genealogist Fred Puss reveals many famous people have Estonian roots

Fred Puss, head of the Estonian Biographical Centre in Tartu was recently interviewed on the TV program Ringvaade. His discussed his research in which he found that politicans Boris Johnson, Ursula von der Leyen, Alexander Stubb and Franklin Delano Roosevelt all have Estonian ancestors. Many of Europe's Royal families also have links to Estonia.  The bloodlines of Britain's King Charles III, along with those of King Frederik X of Denmark, Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Harald V of Norway can all be traced back to Estonia.

To read more about this story, please click here.

Estonia defeats Lithuania for the first time ever in men's basketball

Estonia made history in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers as they defeated Lithuania 65-59 to remain undefeated in Group H of the competition. Estonia had lost all eight previous match-ups against Lithuania, but the home game was spurred on by the local Tallinn crowd and victory was achieved.

The qualifiers will now take a break until November, when Estonia will next face Poland in an away game. Eurobasket 2025 is to take place August-September of next year.

There is no better colour combination than blue-black-white 'sinimustvalge'!

It was great to see national pride in abundance on Independence Day. Our beloved blue black and white Estonian flag and other Estonian symbols could be seen everywhere, not only in the streets of Estonia and within people's home, but all over social media too.  It was a joy to see all the different images people shared. Here are some of my favourites.

 

 

Republic of Estonia celebrates its 106th birthday!

Happy Independence Day my beloved Estonia! Palju õnne, armas Eesti!

Estonia - Inspiring and Beautiful Nature

Estonian Independence Day Quiz

Tomorrow is Estonian Independence Day and to mark the occasion I have created this quiz. I have always enjoyed quiz games and learning new facts - I hope you like it!

February 24 marks the106th Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia

On Saturday, Estonians around the world will celebrate the 106th birthday of the Republic of Estonia. In Estonia celebrations will be held across the country with a wide variety of events. In Tallinn Independence Day celebrations will begin with the official flag raising ceremony at Toompea in the Governor's Garden at 7:34am. A reading of the Estonian Declaration of Independence will also take place. At noon the military parade will start on Tallinn's Freedom Square. The military parade will be presided over by President Karis and commanded by General Martin Herem, Chief of the Estonian Defence Forces.

If you are going to be in Tallinn for Independence day and looking for some interesting things to do, here are some events to consider.

Vabamu Museum will open at 8am. In addition to their permanent exhibition "Freedom Without Borders," visitors can explore the temporary exhibition "Out from Behind the Stove! 150 Years of Estonian Women's Movement History."  

Bank of Estonia Museum has a special Independence Day program. 

Family Day starts at 11am at the Estonian History Museum in Maarjamäe Castle.

Independence Day concert at the House of the Blackheads will start ar 1pm. Tallinn Chamber Choir perform.

Women's choir "Kaja" and Estonian Men's Choir perform at Kaja Cultural Centre at 3pm. 

There will be an Independence Day rave at Kinomaja that will start at 11pm.

Beautiful sunrise in Tallinn

The residents of Tallinn woke up to a beautiful pastel coloured sky yesterday. These photographs were taken just before sunrise at 7:48am. Tallinn is definitely one of the most photogenic places in the world!

5miinust and Puuluup to represent Estonia at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest

A new Estonian grammar book "Eesti grammatika" has been published

Estonian linguists have published a new improved Estonian language grammer book. The book contains more than a thousand pages and is for people who already have some knowledge about the grammatical structure of the Estonian language. The book brings together the different levels of the language in five main chapters. Pronunciation, word change, word formation as well as written and spoken language sentence teaching are covered.  It also has a separate phonetics and phonology section (not present in other grammer books), which deals with the smallest units that distinguish meaning in the structure of the language.

ERR News recently interviewed the linguists who created the book. You can watch it here.

Young Estonian writing competition: A letter to the deportee

The Institute of Estonian Memory and Postimees newspaper invite young people aged 15-21 to participate in the writing competition "A Letter to the Deportee" dedicated to the March Deportation Memorial Day. Works will be accepted until March 11. The prize for the best is a history trip in the Baltics.

The letter should be formatted as a personal appeal and no longer than 6000 characters (including spaces). It must be written in Estonian. The deadline for submission of works is 11.03.2024. Letters are  to be sent to the e-mail address; konkurss@mnemosyne.ee.

Further information can be found here

The first Estonian crossword puzzle was published 99 years ago

On the 9th of February 1925, the first Estonian language crossword puzzle was printed in the Esmaspäev newspaper. A prize of 3,000 marks was on offer to the first person who could solve it. Not all crossword prizes were monetary however, they also included books, trips, and clothes pins. Crossword puzzles remain popular to this day.

The world's first crossword puzzle was published on 21 December 1913 in the fun pages of the New York World Newspaper. It was invented by British journalist Arthur Wynne who emigrated to the United States in the late 1890's.

Estonian Valentine's Day e-cards

It's Valentine's Day tomorrow and if you have forgotten to buy a card or want to give your loved one a little surprise when they open their inbox in the morning, perhaps send them an e-kaart. Pistik has lots of designs to choose from, you can find them here.

Today in History: Birth of Johan Laidoner

On this day, 140 years ago, Johan Laidoner, the first Estonian Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was born. He led Estonia to victory in the War of Independence 1918-1920. After the Soviet occupation in 1940, he was deported to Russia, where he died in prison. He will never be forgotten.

 

12th February 1884 - 13th March 1953

 

Estonian humour: The Estonian border should go all the way to the Great Wall of China

There is an old Estonian saying 'Eesti Piir Käib Vastu Hiina Müüri'. It literally translates as 'Estonia's border goes against the Chinese wall' or  in other words, the Estonian border should go all the way to the Great Wall of China. This was a patriotic song sung by Estonian soldiers during Soviet times. I can see how it was popular at the time.

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There is another video of this song but the English translation is not as good as the one above. The images are much better however. 

Tallinn's Dominican Convent: One of Estonia's Oldest Buildings

One of the most mystical places in Tallinn's Old Town is located in the basement of the former Dominican monastery. The monastery was established in 1246 and is one of oldest well-preserved buildings in Estonia. An art gallery is now housed inside the monastery. It is located near the Viru Gate at 33 Müürivahe Street. Exhibitions change regularly.

One of the first libraries in Tallinn was located inside the Dominican monastery. In addition to viewing the old library, visitors can also see the old sacristy, vestry, and dormitories used by the monks and leaders of the city.

There were originally three inner chambers inside the monastery but only the eastern chamber has been preserved. The dormitory, library, dining room and other rooms provide a fascinating opportunity to take a peek into the life of medieval monks. A mysterious "energy column" is located in the basement. According the legend it can be a source of physical and mental well-being. 

 

There are lots of medieval carved stones on display inside the monastery.

 

 

Some people claim it is difficult to find the entrance to the basement gallery 

but it is accessible via Müürivahe Street. 

The building features many different rooms where monks lived and studied. 

More information can be found here.

View of Tallinn in black and white

There is something alluring about black and white photography. Perhaps it's the mood or emotion the image generates, or the feeling of timelessness. The below photographs may have been taken a month ago or fifty years ago. It is not apparent.

Trickster Kaval-Ants voted most Estonian folk character

On Estonian Literature Day, the Tallinn Literature Centre and Vikerradio invited people to vote for the most Estonian folk character. Kaval-Ants won the competition, closely followed by Rehepapp. 

 

 

The Results:

 

 1. Kaval-Ants ("Crafty Hans," trickster, usually a farm hand).

2. Rehepapp (one of the oldest and most famous personages in Estonian folklore, endowed with both trickster and hero features, often tricking Vanapagan).

3. Kalevipoeg (a giant hero).

4. Vanapagan ("Old Devil," a cunning demon living on a farm or manor).

5. Kilplased (mythological village folk that came from the place called Uppakallo Village, located in the Peetri Parish of Järvamaa).

6. Kratt (a golem or demonic construct that stole and brought food, money and other worldly goods to its maker and owner in the form of a whirlwind or meteor-like tail of fire).

7. Reinuvader ("Reynard the Fox")

8. Vaeslaps ("Orphan")

9. Ahjualune ("Hobgoblin")

10. Siil (Hedgehog)

11. Põhja konn ("The Dragon of the North," or literally "Frog of the North," during the Crusades, Põhja konn is an ally of the Estonians, having helped them to fight against the Christian invaders in the past).

12. Libahunt (Estonian name for a werewolf)

13. Tark mees taskus ("A wise man in the pocket")

14. Pokud (characters resembling or masquerading as tufts of grass living a traditional way of life in the midst of nature).

15. Murueide tütred (female characters of perpetual youth, daughters of the moorland, related to "Meadow Maidens") .

16. Metsaema ("Forest mother")

17. Näkk (a shapeshifting water spirit, that often appears in a human shape, male or female, but sometimes also as an animal).

18. Sootuluke ("Will o' the Wisp")

19. Majauss (domestic grass-snake, protector spirit)

20. Kotermann (ship spirit)

February is the coldest month in Estonia

It is always very chilly in Estonia during the month of Febraury. The last time I was in Tallinn during February was for the Independence Day celebrations in 2018. I remember that Saturday, it was bitterly cold outside, the temperature ranged from -12 to -20 °C that day.

Jõgeva is the coldest place in Estonia. The lowest ever temperature in Estonia (-43.5*C) was recorded here in 1940. A monument to cold weather has been erected on the Piibe Road on the outskirts of Jõgeva.

This day in History: The anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty

104 years ago today the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed. This ended the Estonian War of Freedom and saw Soviet Russia officially recognise the independence of the Republic of Estonia. 

Estonia's peace treaty with Russia was the first international act that mentioned the right of peoples to decide their own destiny. Elagu Eesti!

 

The Tartu Peace Treaty was signed on the 2nd of February 1920.

 

 

May God watch over you,
my beloved country!
May he be your protector
and let me bless you abundantly,
with whatever you do,
my dear country! 

Estonian Song and Dance Festival 'Iseoma' 3 - 6 July 2025

The Estonian Song Festival is one of the largest choral events in the world. Held every five years in July at Tallinn's Song Festival Grounds, over 30,000 singers come together to take part in the event. The next song festival was originally scheduled to take place in 2024 but it was was postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has been an impatient wait for many but applications are now open for those who want to participate in this wonderful event.

The Estonian Song Festival is held simultaneously with the Estonian Dance Festival. The four day event is a time of great celebration, unity and national pride. Estonians from all over the world return to the homeland to attend the festivals and it's also a time for emotional family reunions.

More information about the Estonian Song Festival can be found on the Laulupidu website.