Estonia

Estonia, a beautiful country with a pastoral landscape, is roughly the size of Denmark [47,549 sq. km.] It has over 800 islands and one of the largest lakes in Northern Europe, Lake Peipsi, shared by Russia, on the east.

See map of Estonia below

Bordered by the Gulf of Finland on the west, the Baltic Sea on the north, Latvia on the south, and the largely landlocked continent of Russia on the east Estonia was frequenty invaded or under siege due to its strategic location. Estonians have been sea faring people and fisherfolk living surrounded by oceans.

Archeological evidence points to 4000 years of settlement on the Baltic sea. Estonia's capital city Tallinn was one of the biggest trading centres in medieval Europe because of its year round open port on the Baltic Sea. Estonians were independent until the 13th century after which they endured Danish, Swedish, German and Russian occupations. Estonians regained their independence Feb. 24, 1918. During independence, Estonia granted autonomy, which has been recognized as the most liberal of its kind, to all cultural minorities within its borders.

Soon after the illegal Russian communist occupation began in 1939, tens of thousands of Estonians fled mainly to Sweden and Germany. From there thousands immigrated to other free world countries and formed communities across the world, the largest of which is in Toronto, Canada. During the Russian occupation, tens of thousands of Estonians were deported to Siberian labour camps.

As of 1991, Estonia once again is an independent republic with a population of 1.5 million. Roughly forty percent of Estonia’s population today has non-Estonian roots due to policies of forced relocation of ethnic populations carried out during the 50 years of communist occupation.

Estonians are characterized as peace loving, reserved, individualistic and frank, They are a proud and independent people, who have managed to retained their culture and language in spite of a history of hundreds of years of occupation and genocide by various nations. Estonian is a Finno-Ugric language, which also includes Finnish, Mari, Sami, (the language of the reindeer herders of Lapland) and the languages of other smaller northern tribes, many of whom have now been assimilated.

Estonia is largely an agricultural country and its people considered country folk (maa rahvas). Maa rahavas has also been translated as native people and serfs (during German occupation). Although most people now live in urban settings, their love of nature, the sea and the land remains an integral part of their character and most Estonians eagerly return to either “suvilas” (cottages) or farms as often as possible where one of the joys is sharing sauna's particularly in winter, running from super heated rooms and jumping into snowbanks or ice cold waters.

Estonians value family and community and their rich heritage of architecture, literature, poetry, theatre, music and dance. Estonian language and culture have been kept alive during years of occupation and oppression by this cultural heritage and their celebrated song and dancefestivals, (laulupidu) the first of which was held in 1889. These. ultimately developed into separate festivals: one for song/music and another for dance. Both song and dance festivals continued throughout the years of occupation to the present day. Estonians on other continents likewise celebrate with song festivals and Esto Festivals held in Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden and the United States. The kannel has and will always play a pivotal role in all Estonian festivals.

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, was settled over 3500 years ago. It is first mentioned in a 12th century manuscript. In the 13th century, the invading Danes, built a walled fortress called Toompea for nobility, around which the town grew. As mentioned above, Tallinn was one of the biggest North European cities in the 15th and 16th centuries and through its ports, trade between east and west flowed.

Throughout the centuries of wars and decades of neglect, the beautiful churches and old buildings have survived and been restored. Today, central Tallinn, the “old town” (vanalinn) is one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Europe and has become a prime tourist destination. A stone’s throw from Tallinn is a medieval village Rocca Al Mare where visitors can enjoy folklore, music and folk dancing at village parties (külasimman) all harmonized by the pensive or joyous tunes of the kannel.