Viljandi

From: Estonia
Category: collection
Date: August 2021

Viljandi is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu. 

 

Tallinn

From: Estonia
Category: collection
Date: August 2021
 

Tallinn

Received from: Estonia
Category: Klub Polki na Obczyźnie
Date: July 2017

The name Tallinn(a) is Estonian. It is usually thought to be derived from Taani-linn(a), (meaning 'Danish-town) (Latin: Castrum Danorum), after the Danes built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold at Lindanisse. However, it could also have come from tali-linna ('winter-castle or town'), or talu-linna ('house/farmstead-castle or town'). The element -linna, like Germanic -burg and Slavic -grad / -gorod, originally meant 'fortress', but is used as a suffix in the formation of town names.

Greetings from... Estonia

Received from: Estonia
Category: swap
Date: April 2016

Tallinn

Received from: Estonia
Category: from a friend
Date: September 2013

Tallinn is internationally renowned as a tourist destination, receiving more than 1.5 million visitors annually. The number of visitors has been growing steadily over the past decade.
Tallinn Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as other major attractions, such as the Seaplane Harbour of Estonian Maritime Museum, Tallinn Zoo and the Estonian Open Air Museum contribute to the overall success of the city as a travel destination. While most of the visitors come from Europe, Tallinn has become increasingly more popular in recent years for tourists from Russia and Asia-Pacific region, for which a rapid growth is reported.

Tallinn

Received from: Finland
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: November 2012
Distance: 1310 km
Time of travelling: 4 days

Viru Gate - this pair of picturesque, ivy-covered towers at the beginning of Viru Street – one of the main pedestrian arteries into Old Town – is often the very first glimpse visitors get of historic Tallinn. Anyone passing between them couldn't be blamed for thinking they've left the 21st century behind and landed smack in the middle of the 18th.

The towers are actually only the foregates of what was a much more complex gate system built in the 14th century. It included a large, square tower that stood father back along the street, close to where the city wall can be seen. Most of the gate was pulled down in the 1880s to make room for traffic, but these two towers remained and have since become a symbol of the town.

Estonia

Received from: Estonia
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: May 2012
Distance: 868 km
Time of travelling: 5 days

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation (338.6 km). Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi), and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. The Estonians are a Finnic people, and the official language, Estonian, is closely related to Finnish.

Estonia

Received from: Estonia
Category: Choose a Country RR
Date: October 2011
Time of travelling: 3 days

National flower - Blue cornflower.
The campaign to choose a national flower was organized by The Estonian Wildlife Protection Society. The televised contest was carried out in 1967-68. The ornamental blue cornflower was the favourite. In choosing it, several considerations were taken into account: general popularity, decorative appearance, easy applicability as an artistic motif, and domestic origin.
The cornflower has grown on Estonian soil for more than 10,000 years, from the time when the first humans came to Northern Europe. The plant grows commonly in rye fields, creating a strong connection in the minds of Estonians between the flower and their daily bread. The blossoms of the cornflower have a particularly striking graphic appearance which has led to its use by artists for decorative purposes. The cornflower is also part of the young girls' festive garland. It is possible that the cornflower was chosen as the national flower in 1968 for another important reason. People knew that the blue of the then forbidden Estonian flag was defined as "cornflower blue". This made the cornflower a symbol of resistance in its own way. The Soviet authorities, in a move that is nowadays quite difficult to believe, responded by banning representations of the cornflower. Thus, at the 100th anniversary of the Estonian Song Festival (1969), all the cornflowers used as decorations were painted over with red and presented as "carnations".

The barn swallow, the national bird, is a characteristic guest of Estonian homes. Its call can be heard from practically every eave or barn rafter in the country. If the bird finds a suitable opening, under the ridge of a roof or a broken window, it will build its cup-shaped nest; it will even build it inside a house. The choice of the barn swallow as a national bird was mainly the result of a campaign conducted by ornithologists at the beginning of the sixties.

Estonian national stone is the country's valuable grey limestone. Estonia lies on a thick layer of limestone which is visible on the steep banks of northern and western Estonia. Most castles, churches, farm buildings, and countless stone fences are made of limestone. Research on limestone and its well-preserved fossils has for centuries brought Estonian scientists international renown. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why numerous scientists supported the declaration of limestone as the national stone of Estonia.

Tallinn

Received from: Estonia
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: September 2011
Distance: 954 km
Time of travelling: 7 days

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) with a population of 414,353. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city is a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku, Finland.