Consider its stately academic presence, the romantic cafés and restaurants, the colourful charm of Supilinn (“Soup Town”), and the colossal Estonian National Museum.
Already, in those four places alone, we can witness world-class winter sports, a bustling celebration of folk music, different languages, and polyphonic singing.
But don’t forget that this year is about a collection of 20 southern Estonian municipalities, not just one city. To name just a few European Capital of Culture organizers, there’s Otepää Parish, the town of Viljandi, Setomaa Parish, and the town of Võru. Already, in those four places alone, we can witness world-class winter sports, a bustling celebration of folk music, different languages, and polyphonic singing.
Suffice to say, southern Estonia is a region that allows you to immerse yourself in age-old traditions and physical activities that activate our senses more deeply than we get to in our technology-loaded society. If you’ve not had the chance to venture outside of Tallinn before, it may well feel unfamiliar. But if you want to restore the power of your senses when on vacation, seek out these destinations.
Ride the Jõmmu:
An attempt to summarize southern Estonia isn’t simple. But sauntering with your friends down a river between two lakes on a bulky wooden barge with someone playing the Estonian songbook on accordion gets close to describing the overall sensation.
It’s rustic. There’s an unfathomable depth of history and cultural know-how all around. There’s time to gaze at the puffy clouds blowing by. You’ll get to see the waters that connect Võrtsjärv and Peipsi Järv, the fourth largest lake in Europe.
As the Emajõgi Barge Society describes “The Emajõgi-Peipsi barge was a unique cargo sailbarge that was used on these waters for over 600 years – from the Hanseatic era to the mid-20th century. The new barge era began in 2006, when the Emajõgi Barge Society launched the [Jõmmu].” A new two-masted barge is being built especially for the European Capital of Culture year, which is yours to ride if you can get a big enough group of people interested, splitting the 280 Euro price between yourselves.
Keep an eye on the lodi.ee website for details or send an email to info@lodi.ee.
Listen to Seto leelo:
Setomaa is a region of Estonia with its own language, its own way of celebrating holidays, its own religious customs, and more. For instance, Seto people mark holidays using the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar. Further strengthening the foundations of their culture, in 1994, Setos declared the creation of the Kingdom of Setomaa. The Setos persevere in spite of their homeland being cut in half by the Russian border. There are certain connections here to Tartu 2024’s theme “Arts of Survival.”
One way you can see Setos uphold their traditions is through their performances of polyphonic singing — Seto leelo — where you'll hear multiple independent melodies. Visit Setomaa explains that “the polyphonic tradition of the Seto, is over a thousand years old. It's characterized by a certain set of rules, but improvisation is appreciated as well.” Each performance requires a lead singer (a more experienced one being named a “sõnolist”), backed by a choir (“torrõ”), and a soloist (“killõ”).
Seto leelo is performed on holidays and at various social gatherings, so watch out for events on the Visit Setomaa website, especially Seto Kingdom Day on August 3rd or Seto Leelopäev, which also happens in the summer.
IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships:
Otepää is known as Estonia’s winter capital due to the proliferation of winter sports. For example, each February it hosts the Tartu Ski Marathon, a cross-country competition that stretches 63 kilometres all the way to the town of Elva.
This August, though, you can see cross-country skiing swapped for roller skiing in the IBU Summer Biathlon at Tehvandi Spordikeskus. Watch biathletes race around the track in a stadium environment and see their marksmanship in action at the shooting ranges.
Then again, if you're around for some final snowfall this winter or whatever snow falls at the end of 2024, you can take your pick between kicksledding, ice skating, hitting the cross-country trails, or even ski jumping if you have those skills. You can obtain information and make reservations by emailing tehvandi@tehvandi.ee .
Hit the road to visit these spots and come back home with a whole suitcase full of experiences and stories!
