Estonia

Overview

The Republic of Estonia is located at the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. The country is known for its castles, churches and forts on the hilltop for it was the former Soviet Union.

The country recorded a population of 1.329 million and covers an area of 45,227 km2.

Its capital and the most populous city is Tallinn. The city has maintained its old town, large town hall, museums and a high TV Tower.

Aerial view of the old city centre of Tallinn.

History

Estonia was formed in 1918. Two years down the line, it signed a peace treaty with Russia in 1920. Soviets invaded the country and assimilated it in 1940.

Then, Germans soldiers invaded the following year and remove the soviets. However, the Soviet Union took over control again in 1944.

Estonia gained independence following the collapse of the Communist rule in 1991.

It joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU) in 2004

Food & culture

The country’s culture is greatly influenced by German culture. Though, it also has elements of its heritage demonstrated by the Estonian language and also the Nordic culture.

The country mainly grows barley and oats.

The dishes main in the country include rye bread, aspic, smoked fish, semia and kali.

Wildlife

Most common wildlife animals include lynx, wild boars and brown bears.

Festivals & events

The major festivals include Juu Jaab Festival, Haapsalu Tchaikovsky Festival, Into The Valley Festival, Weekend Festival Baltic and XXX Viljandi Music Festival.

Things to see

Tallinn old town has still preserved its primitive architecture which is ranked amongst the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Kadriorg Art Museum is one of the largest and most memorial exhibition centres in the country.

The Kadriorg Palace was built by Peter the Great for Catherine I of Russia designed by Gaetano Chiavari and Mikhail Zemtsov.

Other sites to see are the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and Toompea

Interesting facts

The official language is Estonian; Finnic language is also common.

The most common religion in the country is the Eastern Orthodoxy.

The education system has four levels; the pre-school, basic, secondary and higher education.

City guides

Cities & towns I’ve visited

Tallinn

Run a marathon in Estonia

Tallinn Marathon

Tallinn · usually September

Loops the medieval Old Town and the seafront.

Dates move from year to year, so check the race website before you book.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Estonia

1 of 2 visited. See every site I've been to.

Tallinn Old Town 1997
Struve Geodetic Arc 2005

My photos from Estonia

From 2 trips, newest first, so you can see which places each set of photos came from.

February 2018 Finland & Estonia

Tallinn

Whole trip gallery

February 2018 Tallinn