The national identity of Estonians and the Estonian Society in St. Petersburg

An interesting read on the history of Estonians living in St. Petersburg.

http://lepo.it.da.ut.ee/~lehti/Oralhistory/1.4.Rootalu.htm

Jüri Pootsmann wins the Estonian version of American Idol

Congratulations to Jüri Pootsmann who won the 6th season of the Estonian talent show Superstaar.

Très Court International Film Festival 5 - 14 June 2015

A unique film event is soon to take place in Tallinn and across the globe. The 17th Très Court International Film Festival will screen a selection of short films simultaneously in 24 countries. Each short film has a maximum running time of three minutes and is shown in its original language with English subtitles. Tallinn is one of the cities participating in the festival with screenings scheduled to take place at the Tallinn Viimsi cinema. 

For more information, please click here: http://trescourt.com/tallinn

Tallinn Old Town Days Will Bring a Medieval Atmosphere to Estonian Capital | News | ERR

Starting on Saturday, the annual Old Town Days will fill the yards, squares, streets and parks of Tallinn Old Town with countless performances, processions, workshops and tours. This year's event follows a theme "Masters through centuries".

The opening show of the 34th Old Town Days by Polygon Theater and Theater-school, titled "Master's play", will start on the Town Hall Square at 20:00 on Saturday evening. But even before, people can enjoy the "Paw walk 2015", a dog parade, featuring tricks and demonstration performance at 13:00, and watch the opening of the renovated Viru Gates and a procession to the Town Hall Square at 19:15, among many other things.

The following days' events are divided up by themes. Sunday is dedicated to Tallinn's churches, Monday to children and Tuesday to health. Following days are dedicated to museums, art and theater, music and finally, on June 6, the "Medieval Day". A full schedule of events is available on the 34th Tallinn Old Town Days website.

Most of the events are free to all town citizens, as well as tourists. Regular concerts and other events will take place at the Town Hall Square, the Towers Square, the Freedom Square and the Al Bastione restaurant, as well as various other locations.

Tallinn Old Town Days have been organized since 1982. Throughout the week, the streets are filled with people who are wearing ancient clothes to create a medieval atmosphere.

Source:
Tallinn Old Town Days will bring a medieval atmosphere to Estonian capital | News | ERR

http://vanalinnapaevad.ee/programme/

Estonia's Oldest Cookbook

Estonia's oldest known cookbook dates back to the year 1781. The 750 page book is written in both Estonian and German and features a range of recipes from soups to meat dishes and desserts.  Four chocolate recipes are included in the book which is quite interesting considering chocolate making didn't really become popular in Estonia until the early 1800s.

This historic culinary book has been preserved and can be found in the National Library of Estonia or you can download a pdf copy here: http://www.digar.ee/arhiiv/et/raamatud/74072

Karask: Estonian Barley Bread Recipe

As someone who likes to try new things, particularly Estonian things, I thought I might try my hand at making Karask over the weekend. I have been aware of this recipe for quite some time but never got around to making it, perhaps  because it's not easy to find barley flour in the supermarket. After many attempts I eventually found a packet of barley in the health food shop but had to grind it into flour myself.

Karask is a cake-like barley bread that was traditionally eaten by more affluent Estonians on special occasions. This recipe is hundreds of years old and has been enjoyed for generations.

Ingredients
1 cup barley flour
1/2 cup whole grain wheat flour
125g curds (cottage cheese or ricotta)
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp melted butter
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method
Preheat the oven and grease a rectangle baking tin. In a bowl mix the curds, buttermilk, egg, salt and honey together.  Add in the melted butter. Combine the dry ingredients then add to the mixture. Stir thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Poor into the baking tin and bake for 35-40 minutes at 200 degrees. Serve with jam and cream.

Cinema Attendance Reaches All-Time Record in Estonia | News | ERR

According to Statistics Estonia, there were 2.6 million cinema visits in 2014, which is Estonia's all-time high since the restoration of independence. In the last nine years, cinema attendance has increased each year.

In 2014, there were 353 films screened in Estonian cinemas, 28 of which were Estonian productions, 157 from the US, 148 from Europe and 20 from other countries. The average price of a cinema ticket was 4.9 euros and the total box office of cinemas 12.8 million euros.

The most popular Estonian films in 2014 were “Nullpunkt” by Mihkel Ulk (43,000 visits), “Kirsitubakas” (Cherry Tobacco) by Andres and Katrin Maimik (20,000 visits) and “Risttuules” (In the Crosswind) by Martti Helde (18,000 visits). In 2014, Estonian films were watched in cinemas by a total of 123,000 people, or 5 percent of all cinema visitors.

Estonians' love for animations shows no sign of fading, as Disney and other US blockbuster animations continue to dominate the most viewed list. The most popular foreign films last year were “Frozen” (88,000 visits), “Rio 2” (74,000 visits) and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” (68,000 visits).

During one cinema visit, a visitor spends an average of 10.9 euros, nearly 8 euros of which are spent at the cinema and 2.9 euros on transport and other expenses outside the cinema. The total annual expenditure of cinema visitors amounts to 67.4 million euros. The expenditures of cinema visitors account for 27 percent of all the expenditures of the visitors of sports and cultural events.

There were eight full-length feature films and 12 full-length documentaries produced in Estonia in 2014. In addition to the full-length films meant for screening in cinemas, 44 short feature films, 85 short documentaries and 10 short animations were also produced.

Source: Cinema attendance reaches all-time record in Estonia | News | ERR