A report on Estonia and Estonian language

Estonian grammar published in Reval in 1637 by Heinrich Stahl

An 1885 ABC-book in Võro written by Johann Hurt: "Wastne Võro keeli ABD raamat"

Iron Age artefacts of a hoard from Kumna

Independent counties of Ancient Estonia in the beginning of the 13th century

Medieval Estonia and Livonia after the crusade

Kuressaare Castle in Saaremaa dates back to the 1380s

"Academia Dorpatensis" (now University of Tartu) was founded in 1632 by King Gustavus as the second university in the kingdom of Sweden. After the king's death it became known as "Academia Gustaviana".

Carl Robert Jakobson played a key role in the Estonian national awakening.

Declaration of Independence in Pärnu on 23 February 1918. One of the first images of the Republic.

Estonian armoured train during the Estonian War of Independence

According to the 23 August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact "the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)" were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (German copy)

The Red Army troops crossing Soviet-Estonian border in October 1939 after Estonia had been forced to sign the Bases Treaty

The capital Tallinn after bombing by the Soviet Air Force during the war on the Eastern Front in March 1944

Estonian Swedes fleeing the Soviet occupation to Sweden (1944)

The blue-black-white flag of Estonia was raised again on the top of the Pikk Hermann tower on February 24, 1989.

The barn swallow (H. r. rustica) is the national bird of Estonia.

Haanja Nature reserve where violations of Natura 2000 area logging is taking place.

The seat of the Parliament of Estonia in Toompea Castle

Building of the Supreme Court of Estonia in Tartu

US President Barack Obama giving a speech at the Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn

Foreign ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries in Riga, 2016

Estonian soldiers during a NATO exercise in 2015

KAPO (Kaitsepolitsei) headquarters in Kassisaba, Kesklinn, Tallinn

An Estonian Patria Pasi XA-180 in Afghanistan

A proportional representation of Estonia exports, 2019

The central business district of Tallinn

Real GPD per capita development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Estonia's GDP growth from 2000 till 2012

The oil shale industry in Estonia is one of the most developed in the world. In 2012, oil shale supplied 70% of Estonia's total primary energy and accounted for 4% of Estonia's gross domestic product.

Graphical depiction of Estonia's product exports in 28 colour-coded categories

Population of Estonia 1960–2019. The changes are largely attributed to Soviet immigration and emigration.

A Russian Old Believer village with a church on Piirissaar island

Ruhnu stave church, built in 1644, is the oldest surviving wooden building in Estonia

Distribution of Finnic languages in Northern Europe

The University of Tartu is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe and the highest-ranked university in Estonia. According to the Top Universities website, the University of Tartu ranks 285th in the QS Global World Ranking.

Building of the Estonian Students' Society in Tartu. It is considered to be the first example of Estonian national architecture. The Treaty of Tartu between Finland and Soviet Russia was signed in the building in 1920.

ESTCube-1 is the first Estonian satellite.

The Estonian Song Festival is UNESCO's Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Arvo Pärt was the world's most performed living composer from 2010 to 2018.

Jaan Kross is the most translated Estonian writer.

A traditional farmhouse built in the Estonian vernacular style

Mulgipuder, a national dish of Estonia made with potatoes, groats, and meat. It is very traditional food in the southern part of Estonia.

It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,000 outside Estonia.

- Estonian language

The Estonian language is the autochthonous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, as well as the world's second most spoken Finnic language.

- Estonia

12 related topics with Alpha

Baltic Sea

4 links

Danish Straits and southwestern Baltic Sea

Åland between Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia

Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen in Germany, was a sacred site of the Rani tribe before Christianization.

Main trading routes of the Hanseatic League (Hanse).

In 1649 the settlement of the Latvian-speaking Kursenieki spanned from Klaipėda to Gdańsk along the coast of the Baltic Sea.

The naval Battle of the Sound took place on 8 November 1658 during the Dano-Swedish War.

The burning Cap Arcona shortly after the attacks, 3 May 1945. Only 350 survived of the 4,500 prisoners who had been aboard

Baltic drainage basins (catchment area), with depth, elevation, major rivers and lakes

Curonian Spit in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia

Regions and basins of the Baltic Sea:
1 = Bothnian Bay
2 = Bothnian Sea
1 + 2 = Gulf of Bothnia, partly also 3 & 4
3 = Archipelago Sea
4 = Åland Sea
5 = Gulf of Finland
6 = Northern Baltic Proper
7 = Western Gotland Basin
8 = Eastern Gotland Basin
9 = Gulf of Riga
10 = Bay of Gdańsk/Gdansk Basin
11 = Bornholm Basin and Hanö Bight
12 = Arkona Basin 6–12 = Baltic Proper
13 = Kattegat, not an integral part of the Baltic Sea
14 = Belt Sea (Little Belt and Great Belt)
15 = Öresund (The Sound) 14 + 15 = Danish Straits, not an integral part of the Baltic Sea

Satellite image of the Baltic Sea in a mild winter

On particularly cold winters, the coastal parts of the Baltic Sea freeze into ice thick enough to walk or ski on.

Piles of drift ice on the shore of Puhtulaid, near Virtsu, Estonia, in late April

Skerries form an integral and typical part of many of the archipelagos of the Baltic Sea, such as these in the archipelago of Åland, Finland.

Population density in the Baltic Sea catchment area

Vasilyevsky Island in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Satellite photo of the Baltic Sea surrounding Gotland, Sweden, with algae bloom (phytoplankton) swirling in the water

Svetlogorsk resort town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.

In another Finnic language, Estonian, it is called the "West Sea" (Läänemeri), with the correct geography (the sea is west of Estonia). In South Estonian, it has the meaning of both "West Sea" and "Evening Sea" (Õdagumeri).

Tallinn

3 links

The Danish flag falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise (Tallinn), 15 June 1219. Painted by C. A. Lorentzen in 1809.

The lesser coat of arms of Tallinn depicts the Dannebrog cross.

Harju Street in Tallinn old town after the Soviet aerial bombing in March 1944

Port of Reval in 1853. Painting by Alexey Bogolyubov

The SEB Pank building in Tornimäe district

The Fahle House accommodates many corporate headquarters

The buildings of Tallinn University of Technology

Danse Macabre by Bernt Notke on display at St. Nicholas' Church

The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak)

World's largest kiluvõileib, some 20 m in length, created at Tallinn Town Hall Square on 15 May 2014

A Christmas market at the Town Hall square

Stenbock House on Toompea hill is the official seat of the Government of Estonia

A CAF tram in Tallinn (Pärnu maantee street) in 2018.

The port of Tallinn is one of the busiest cruise and passenger harbours in Northern Europe with over 10 million people passing through in 2016.

Railway platform at the Tallinn Baltic Station

Old Thomas is one of the symbols and guardians of Tallinn

Night view of Tallinn's city center in August 2012

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral built in 1894–1900

Viru Gate, entrance to the Old Town. Two remaining towers that were once part of a larger fourteenth-century gate system

The Raeapteek, built in 1422, is one of the oldest continuously running pharmacies in Europe

City wall with temporary garden exhibition

A Nordica aircraft landing at Tallinn Airport

Tallinn is the most populous, primate, and capital city of Estonia.

The name Tallinn(a) is Estonian.

Finnic languages

2 links

The Finnic (Fennic), or more precisely Balto-Finnic (Balto-Fennic; Baltic Finnic, Baltic Fennic) languages, constitute a branch of the Uralic language family spoken around the Baltic Sea by the Baltic Finnic peoples.

There are around 7 million speakers who live mainly in Finland and Estonia.

The major modern representatives of the family are Finnish and Estonian, the official languages of their respective nation states.

Saaremaa

2 links

The 1241 Treaty between Livonian Order, Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek and Oeselians at National Archives of Sweden

Shore of Saaremaa, by Estonian artist Konrad Mägi (1913–1914).

The nearly circular main Kaali meteorite crater

The cliffs near the village of Panga on the north coast of Saaremaa

Historic buildings near the center of Kuressaare

Women in traditional Saaremaa dress performing a folk dance

Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2673 km2.

The island is called Saaremaa in Estonian, and in Finnish Saarenmaa—literally "isle land" or "island land", i.e. the same as the Scandinavian name for the island.

Hiiumaa

2 links

2007 Estonia election. Social Democratic Party (Red), Estonian Reform Party (yellow), Estonian Center Party (green), Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (Blue), People's Union of Estonia (brown)

Cars boarding the ferry to mainland at Heltermaa

Suuremõisa Manor in Suuremõisa, Pühalepa Parish

Hiiumaa is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea.

Hiiumaa is the main island of Hiiu County, called Hiiumaa or Hiiu maakond in Estonian.

Tartu

2 links

University of Tartu main building in 1860.

The Stone Bridge and the Old Town in 1860

Cathedral ruins and University of Tartu museum

Teller chapel in Tartu, Estonia. Built in 1794

Tartu is the second-largest city in Estonia after the political and financial capital, Tallinn.

With Estonian independence after World War I, the city officially became known by the Estonian name Tartu.

The university in 1860, during its 'Golden Age'.

University of Tartu

2 links

Main building of the University of Tartu constructed between 1804 and 1809.

The Old Observatory of Tartu Observatory was completed in 1810. Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve worked here.

The Botanical Garden was founded by Gottfried Albrecht Germann in 1803.

The first Estonian satellite ESTCube-1 was developed mainly by the students from the University of Tartu.

The Baltic German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909.

Tartu University main building during Christmas (2006)

The University of Tartu (UT; Tartu Ülikool; Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia.

Since Estonia became independent in 1918, the University of Tartu has been an Estonian-language institution since 1919.

South Estonian

1 links

Tarto maa rahwa Näddali Leht published in 1807 in Tartu literary South Estonian.

According to the 2011 Estonia Census there were 101,857 speakers of South Estonian: 87,048 speakers of Võro (including 12,549 Seto speakers), 9,698 Mulgi speakers, 4,109 Tartu language speakers and 1,002 other South Estonian speakers.

South Estonian is spoken in south-eastern Estonia, encompassing the Tartu, Mulgi, Võro and Seto varieties.

There is no academic consensus on its status, as some linguists consider South Estonian a dialect group of Estonian whereas other linguists consider South Estonian an independent Finnic language.

Tools made by Kunda culture, the Estonian History Museum

History of Estonia

0 links

The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe.

Comb Ceramic pottery at the Estonian History Museum

Corded Ware culture pottery and stone axes, at the EHM

Stone cist graves from the Bronze Age in northern Estonia

Map of Varbola Stronghold by L. A. Mellin

Dannebrog falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise, 1219

Hermann Castle, Narva, was one of the Teutonic Order's castles in Estonia.

Livonia, as shown in the map of 1573 of Joann Portantius

Outline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Formation of the Swedish Empire, 1560–1660

Tartu University (Universität Dorpat) in 1860, during its 'Golden Age'

Vaps Movement meeting in Pärnu, Artur Sirk speaking

Soviet prison doors on display in the Museum of Occupations, Tallinn

Estonian Soviet politician Johannes Käbin led the Estonian Communist Party from 1950 to 1978

Toompea castle – the seat of the Riigikogu

Registration card for Estonian citizenship from 1989

Estonian Song Festival in Tallinn in 2019

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid with Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2019

Humans settled in the region of Estonia near the end of the last glacial era, beginning from around 8500 BC.