Estonia is a fascinating Northern European country to travel to. Large forests, mystical bog landscapes and medieval castles are waiting to be explored. If you want to learn more before your trip, read these 111 interesting facts about Estonia.
History
1. The first humans settling in Estonia were Finno-Ugric tribes from the Ural Mountains around 9000 BC. Before that, Estonia was covered by a 1 km thick ice sheet.
2. Estonia was first mentioned as Aestii by the Roman author Tacitus in his book Germanica in the first century AD.
3. Estonians were among the last pagans in Europe to be Christianised. German and Danish crusaders conquered Estonia in the first half of the 13th century and subsequently started to build churches for the newly Christianised locals.
4. The local Estonians evidently weren‘t the biggest fans of Christianity. During the St. George’s Night Uprising between 1343-1345, the locals tried to rid themselves of their Christian overlords of Danish and German ancestry, and among others, killed 28 monks and knights at Padise Monastery.
5. Estonians still don‘t care much about religion. Around 65% of Estonian‘s are unaffiliated with any church, while only 14% of people claim that religion plays an important role in their life.
6. Estonia‘s oldest city Tartu was first mentioned in 1030. It gained city rights in the 13th century.
Keen to explore Estonia? Check out our Estonia Travel Guide!
7. Lake Peipus in the east of Estonia was the site of the Battle on the Ice between the Republic of Novgorod and the German Livonian Order in 1242. The fighting predominantly took place on the frozen lake, ending in a decisive victory for the Russian side which was led by Russian folk hero Alexander Nevsky.
8. Toolse Castle on the Baltic Coast in Northeast Estonia once marked the northernmost outpost of the Holy Roman Empire. Today only ruins remain of the former crusader castle.
9. Nearby the ruins of the medieval Helme Castle, the man-made Helme Caves are a relict of Estonia‘s pagan past. Digging into the soft sandstone, the local population created a network of tunnels and chambers to hide before approaching enemies.
10. For most of its history, Tallinn was known by its historical German name Reval, whereas Tartu was known as Dorpat. In 1893, the Russians renamed Tartu to Yuryev, but the name never caught on. The city was officially renamed Tartu in 1918 after Estonia‘s first independence.
11. Tallinn‘s Old Town is one of the most well-preserved medieval towns in Europe, with many buildings dating back centuries. Unlike other Estonian cities, Tallinn was lucky enough to escape complete destruction during the World War II.
12. Estonia was devastated by several major wars - the Livonian War in the 16th century, the Great Northern War in the 19th century, and World War I & II in the 20th century.
13. Estonia, or parts of it, used to be ruled by Danes, Germans, Swedes, Poles, and Russians. First conquered by Danish and German crusaders in the 13th century, the Swedish and Polish increased their influence over the following centuries before Estonia fell to Czarist Russia after the Great Northern War in 1821.
14. The opposing medieval Hermann Castle in Narva and Ivangorod Fortress in today's Russia are an impressive sight, dating back to the days when the German Livonian Order and the Russian Grand Duchy of Moscow faced off in this part of Europe.
15. Estonia‘s oldest university was founded in 1632 by the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf in Tartu.
16. Walking through the forests of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, visitors will often come upon abandoned Soviet military buildings such as bunkers and watchtowers. Many of these defense structures played a role in the fighting between the German and Soviet armies during World War II. They can be explored with headlights and caution.
17. In the 1950s, the Soviet Army built a large military facility known as the Hara Submarine Base east of Tallinn. The site was used to demagnetise submarines in an effort to protect them from underwater mines. The base was decommissioned after Estonia‘s independence, but the remaining concrete structures can still be visited today.
18. During Soviet times, the towns of Narva in Estonia and Ivangorod in Russia were one city. Today, the Narva river cuts the former city in half and the border customs tend to take quite some time. Similarly, the towns of Valka in Latvia and Valga in Estonia used to be one town. As both are part of the European Union and the Schengen Agreement, there are no customs here.
19. Around 2 million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians formed a 675 km long human chain called the Baltic Chain on 23. August 1989, peacefully demanding the independence of their countries from the Soviet Union as part of the Singing Revolution.
20. Estonia gained its first independence from the Soviet Union on 24. February 1918. After being reconquered by the Soviets during World War II, Estonia achieved its re-independence on 20. August 1991. Today, Estonians celebrate their independence twice a year.
21. After Estonia‘s independence from the Soviet Union, all but one Lenin statue were removed from the public sphere. The last public Lenin statue can be found in the courtyard of Hermann Castle in Narva, metaphorically pointing east.
22. An Estonian national tragedy occurred in 1994 when a passenger ferry called 'Estonia' sank on its way from Tallinn to Stockholm. 852 people lost their lives.
23. Estonia joined the EU in 2004. Before they introduced the Euro in 2011, the local currency was called Kroon (kr).
24. Estonia‘s northeast used to be the industrial powerhouse of the country during its Soviet occupation. Many factories and mines sprang up leading to high employment and increasing air pollution. Today, most of the factories are closed leading to high unemployment among the predominantly Russian population.
Language
25. The Estonian language is of Finno-Ugric origin, closely related to Finnish and remotely to Hungarian while being completely unrelated to any Slavic, German or Roman language. Despite a large number of loanwords taken from the German language in the last 700 years, there is no chance a German will understand any Estonian. As a matter of fact, even Finns and Estonians cannot really converse anymore which is why they often switch to English.
26. Estonian is very hard to learn. The language has 14 different grammatical cases, uses Umlauts and other special characters (Õ, Ž, Š, Ä, Ö, Ü), and is challengingly melodic in its pronunciation.
27. The majority of Estonians is multilingual. Most young Estonians grow up learning English next to their mother tongue, while the older generation often speaks Estonian, English, and Russian, and sometimes even Finnish or German.
Identity
28. The color of the Estonian flag is blue, black, and white - symbolising the sky and the country‘s many lakes (blue), the burdensome past of the Estonian nation (black), and the white nights during summer (white).
29. Marriage is not that big of a thing for Estonians. Not only have marriages declined in absolute numbers, but Estonians also marry later in life. Many Estonians raise their children as partners, without intending to get married at all. However, Estonia also has one of the highest rates of single-parents around the globe.
30. Estonian‘s are not known as great conversationalists. At first, they can seem a bit reserved or even grumpy as they are not fond of over-sharing information. However, with some time, Estonians open up and develop into engaged conversationalists. The best chances to see this happen are in a sauna or at a campfire.
31. Estonian‘s don‘t exaggerate. Compared to other cultures, Estonian‘s are very matter-of-fact and down-to-earth. They are known to describe things as they are instead of using superlatives for everything. Personal anecdote: On a work trip, I visited a restaurant with an Estonian couple and their newborn baby. A colleague remarked how cute the child is, to which the mother replied: ‚Ah, you‘ll get over it‘.
32. The Baltic island of Kihnu is also known as The Isle of Woman. In the past, men were traditionally at sea as fishermen, while the women stayed at home. In the absence of men, the women took over more and more ‚male tasks‘ and developed into an independent female-led society.
33. In the 2018 Pisa Study, Estonian students ranked first in reading, mathematics, and writing among all European countries.
34. Virtually every single Estonian can read and write, as the country’s literacy rate is 99,89 %.
35. Estonians are avid readers - they own an average of 218 books per household, ranking first globally.
Demography
36. For every 90 males, there are 100 females in Estonia. This gap, which used to be as wide as 74/100 in 1950, has been closing continuously in the last decades.
37. With an average height of 175cm, Estonians are among the tallest people on earth, coming in third after the Dutch and Latvians.
38. Estonia is among the least densely populated countries in Europe, with a population of 1.3 million and only 29 people per km².
39. Only four Estonian cities have more than 50.000 inhabitants - Tallinn, Tartu, Narva, and Pärnu.
40. Around 25% of Estonians are ethnically Russian.
41. Estonia is home to a minority of Russian Old Believers that fled their homeland after increasing persecution from the Russian Orthodox Church and the Czars. To this day, Russian Old Believers have retained much of their traditional beliefs, culture, and clothing. Most of them live on the western shore of Lake Peipus.
42. Other than the Russian Old Believers, the Setos of southeastern Estonia are a Finno-Ugric Christian Orthodox tribe whose dialect is distinct enough from Estonian to be considered its own language. There are around 15.000 Setos remaining. Most of them live in Setomaa in southeast Estonia. They equally have retained their culture and are well-known for their traditional garments and polyphonic singing.
Digital Powerhouse
43. In Estonia, internet access is a basic right.
44. (Free) WiFi is widespread around the urban centers of Estonia, but fast mobile internet connectivity is available almost everywhere around the country, even in remote forests.
45. Estonia has among the most startups per capita in Europe. The majority of them are based in the capital of Tallinn and the university town Tartu.
46. Estonians invented Skype, sort of. To be completely fair, Skype was founded by a Dane and a Swede but several Estonian engineers played a pivotal role in the programming of the video conferencing app. Undoubtedly, you will hear and read about this piece of information several times when visiting Estonia, as 'it’s basically an unwritten law in Estonia that we have to remind the world at every opportunity that Skype is Estonian.'
47. The Estonian Mafia is a thing. Being a bit of a misnomer, the Estonian Mafia is a loose connection of founders, investors, and business people who are shaping the country‘s startup ecosystem. The term emerged alongside the ‚Skype Effect‘ after several former Skype employees founded their own companies, or invested in promising startups.
48. Estonian ride-sharing startup Bolt is a serious contender for American Uber and Southeast Asian Grab. Taking one of their cars is one of the most convenient ways to get around Tallinn.
49. Estonia‘s startups are growing so quickly, that they are in desperate need of qualified IT professionals, resulting in Career Hunts by government agency 'Work in Estonia'.
50. The country’s nickname is e-Estonia. It refers to Estonia‘s advanced digitisation and innovative digital solutions.
51. Estonia was the first country to introduce e-Residency, a means for foreigners to become virtual residents of Estonia. E-Residents can found and run a business in the European Union without being based in Europe.
52. Estonians can vote from the sauna. Or a hot tub. Or the forest. For Estonians, almost all public services are available online. Their digital ID-Card allows them to do everything online, with the exception of getting married, getting divorced, or buying and selling a property.
Culture
53. Estonians love saunas. A tradition shared with their Finnish neighbours to the north and Latvian neighbours to the south, Estonian‘s love to sweat in little wooden rooms. Sharing a sauna session and whisking each other with birch branches is a central part of Estonian culture. Some people even build saunas into their city apartments.
54. The European Sauna Marathon happens in Estonia‘s town of Otepää each February. 1000 competitors from all around the world visit 20 different saunas for three minutes each and cool down in ice holes.
55. In Tartu, visitors can experience the most immersive Estonian sauna experience: Staying on a sauna boat overnight and jumping in the Emajõgi river to cool down.
56. Estonians have one of the largest collections of folk songs globally - 133.000 songs!
57. The Estonian Song Festival is held every 5 years since 1869. The joint choir in 2019 comprised of more than 30.000 people, with close to 200.000 people attending.
58. Estonia’s national Epos, Kalvipoleg, meaning Kalev’s son, has more than 19.000 verses and describes the doings of the giant Kalev who is said to have formed much of the Estonian landscape by throwing boulders, changing the course of rivers, and founding cities. The poem was published by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald in 1857.
Cuisine
59. The Estonian cuisine is a mix of Finnish, German, Russian, Swedish, Latvian, and local influences. Many dishes such as Kama, Pirozhki, or Vastlakukkel have their equivalents in other countries.
60. Dark Rye bread is an absolute staple food and a cultural identifier for Estonians. Most restaurants offer their own homemade bread alongside their meals. This connection goes so far that Estonian marriage proposals can feature the mention of bread. "Paneme leivad uhte kappi” literally means “Let's put our bread in the same cabinet”.
61. Estonian‘s went as far as to invent bread soup - leivasupp. It is a type of sweet soup that is made from black bread and apples, served with cream.
62. Estonia firmly belongs to the beer, vodka, rye bread, and pork ‚belt‘ of Europe.
63. Estonian groceries marked with a swallow are of 100% Estonian origin.
64. Despite (or because of) the affordability of alcoholic beverages, Estonia has a strict, zero-tolerance ‚Don‘t drink and drive‘ policy.
Keen to explore Estonia? Check out our Estonia Travel Guide!
Geography
65. Estonia is bordering Russia in the east, Latvia in the south, and the Baltic Sea in the north and west.
66. Estonia shares a water border with Russia which runs through Europe’s fifth-largest lake, Lake Peipus.
67. With its size of 45,227 km², Estonia is similar in size to Denmark, the US states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, or the state of Lower Saxony in Germany.
68. Estonia is a child of the last Ice Age. Not only bogs, but the entire Estonian landscape was shaped by glaciers that stretched south from Scandinavia. At the shore of the Baltic coast, many large boulders that are Ice Age remnants can be found to this day.
69. Estonia is a very flat country. Its highest point, Suur Munamägi, or Big Egg Mountain, reaches barely 318 meters above sea level. Only one tenth of the country lies above 90 meters.
70. Despite its flatness, Estonia has several ski hills, among which the longest slope is 450 meters in length. It can be found at Vaike Munamäe.
71. Estonia’s deepest lake is Rõuge Suurjärv with a maximum depth of 38 meters.
72. There are more than 1500 lakes in Estonia. The largest inland lake is Virtsjärv, which is dwarfed by the border lake, Lake Peipus, which is shared with Russia in the east.
73. Estonia boasts more than 200 spring-fed rivers, but only ten of them reach a length of more than 100 km. The longest river in Estonia is the 162 km Võhandu.
74. In total, Estonia counts more than 2000 islands and islets as part of its territory, resulting in a 3.800 km long coastline. The biggest and most well-known islands are Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, and Muhu.
75. Estonia is connected to Sweden‘s Öland island and Russia‘s Lake Ladoga via the Baltic Klint. This limestone escarpment reaches its highest point at 55.6 meters at Ontika in northeast Estonia.
76. Tallinn lies only 87 km from Finland’s capital Helsinki. Ferries run back and forth between both cities, taking around 2-3 hours from port to port.
Nature
77. More than 50% of Estonia is covered in forests.
78. However, only 2-3% of old-growth forests remain. Most of today’s forests have been planted for commercial use and are actively managed by the Estonian State Forest Management Centre (RMK).
79. In Võru County, visitors can listen to the forest. At RMK Pähni Nature Centre, three large wooden forest megaphones have been installed to allow visitors to immerse themselves in the sounds of the forest.
80. Around 6% of Estonia is covered in bogs, a lake-turned-wetland type of landscape that evolved after the end of the last Ice Age.
81. The age of a bog can be determined by the depth of its peat layer. Growing around 1mm a year, a bog with a peat layer of 5 meters is roughly 5000 years old. Estonia‘s oldest bogs date back between 8.000-10.000 years.
82. In the past, most Estonian‘s were afraid of visiting bogs, considering them threatening places that were likely to inflict harm on anybody who dared to venture too close. A contributing factor to that belief was the seeming appearance of bog witches who danced across the bog lakes during the early morning hours. Today we know that bog witches are nothing else than wafts of mist. Nonetheless, many older Estonians still refrain from going near a bog.
83. Estonians invented bog-shoeing. Because of their squishy surface, walking in bogs is extremely difficult, and sometimes downright treacherous. To combat this uncertainty, Estonian’s developed a method to not sink into the soft ground. Putting on snowshoes allows visitors to walk over the bog surface while keeping their feet reasonably dry.
84. Estonia’s longest hiking trail is the 820 km long Peraküla-Aegviidu-Ähijärve hiking route that leads from the northwest to the southeast of the country.
85. Estonia‘s most unusual hiking trail can be found on the island of Saaremaa. Leading through the shallow Baltic Sea for several kilometers, the Vilsandi hiking trail hops from one little islet to the next. At its deepest point, the water reaches the navel of a grown man.
86. Camping is free of charge all across Estonia. The RMK has set-up a campsite infrastructure with more than 100 wilderness campgrounds that are free to use for everybody. Most campsites come with bench shelters, pit toilets, and fireplaces. Of course, all campsites can be found via an app.
Animals
87. Estonia is home to around 900 bears, 200 wolves, 200 lynx, and 12.000 moose.
88. The most common large mammal in Estonia is the roe deer numbering more than 100.000 animals.
89. Matsalu National Park is an important stopover point for migrating birds flying north in spring and south in autumn. At times, more than two million birds can be seen on the flat meadows of the park, crowning Matsalu as one of the best birdwatching spots in Europe.
90. Estonia‘s forests are home to many tasty mushrooms. But beware: the highly poisonous white and green death cap, which resembles edible mushrooms, also grows on Estonia‘s forest floors.
91. The national animal of Estonia is the grey wolf, the national flower the blue cornflower and the national bird the barn swallow.
Seasons
92. In summer, the sun barely sets in Estonia. This phenomenon is called the White Nights and is due to Estonia‘s northern latitude close to the Arctic Circle. In winter, the reverse applies.
93. Next to its political capital Tallinn, Estonia has four seasonal capitals. Türi is known as the spring capital, Pärnu the summer capital, Narva the autumn capital and Otepää the winter capital.
94. Aside from spring, summer, autumn, and winter, Soomaa National Park in the southwest of the country has a fifth season. Every year after snowmelt or heavy rainfalls, the landscape is completely flooded. Canoes become the only means of transportation during that time. This phenomenon explains why the traditional practice of crafting dug-out canoes has survived to this day in Soomaa.
95. The coldest temperature ever measured in Estonia was -43.5 C in 1940.
96. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Estonia was 35.2 C in 1994.
97. In cold winters, the shallow Baltic Sea freezes sufficiently to create a 25 km ice road from the mainland to the island of Hiiumaa. This allows cars to travel to the island without the use of a ferry.
Travelling
98. Visitors to Estonia can officially drive on Russian soil for 1 km through the so-called Saatse Boot in southeast Estonia. No pedestrians, bicycles or even stopping the car is allowed though!
99. Travellers on a roadtrip through rural Estonia will come upon many abandoned farmhouses and industrial buildings, which are a symbol of the failed collectivisation efforts under communist rule. Explore them with caution!
100. The towns of Kuressaare and Haapsalu are well-known for their healing mud spas. Countless wellness fans, including the Czarist family, have already enjoyed the healing properties of the mud here.
101. Upon shutting off the pumps, the mine pit at Rummu Quarry filled so quickly with water that several of the former buildings are now underwater.
102. Estonia has a surprising number of meteorite craters, the largest of which is the Kaali Impact Crater on Saaremaa. It was likely caused by a meteorite around 3.500 years ago when the area was already inhabited.
103. Estonia is windmill country. Although the Dutch are much more well-known for their windmills, Estonia has a long tradition of using natural power too. Several trestle windmills can be found on the islands of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa.
104. All across southeast Estonia, visitors will come upon large yellow frames, which are inspired by the National Geographic frame. More than 30 such frames have been put up to indicate special sights and landmarks.
Good to Know
105. One of the most unusual football fields in the world can be found in the town of Orrisaare on the island of Saaremaa, where an oak tree stands in the middle of the field.
106. Estonians invented their own sport called Kiiking. Standing on a wooden swing, the athlete swings back and forth, resulting in a spectacular 360° rotation.
107. Estonians are frequent contenders for the title of world champion in wife-carrying.
108. Some say that Tallinn‘s St Olaf‘s Church was once the tallest building in the world. However, as it lacked a lightning arrester, it was repeatedly struck by lightning which caused damage in the form of fires.
109. Public transport is free of charge for the citizens of Tallinn.
110. Since 2011, everyone venturing out after dark in Estonia is legally required to wear reflectors on their clothing in order to be easily visible at night.
111. The first decorated Christmas tree was likely put up in Tallinn in 1441 by the Brotherhood of Blackheads.
Keen to explore Estonia? Check out our Estonia Travel Guide!
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