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  • Art & design
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  • Sculptures

Sculpture of Oscar Wilde and Eduard Vilde

Vallikraavi tn 4, Tartu linn, Tartu maakond, 51003

A sculpture created in Tartu’s Old Town in 1999 depicts a fun speculation about the history of literature. Sitting on a bench are contemporaries and namesakes, or the two Wildes: Irish-born writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and Estonian writer Eduard Vilde (1865-1933).
Sculptor Tiiu Kirsipuu, who modeled the figures of the writers based on photographs, has noted that when creating the twin figures, she had in mind the year 1890, when the two Wildes could have really met each other and had a few witty words. The sculpture symbolizes friendship and intercultural dialogue.
The sculpture of the two writers is located in front of the former Mattiesen printing house, one of Tartu’s architectural monuments, which now houses the wine and art restaurant Vilde ja Vine. The statue is a beloved landmark among both locals and visitors. Sitting on the bench next to the writers allows you to take nice pictures as a souvenir of your visit to Tartu.
In 2004, a copy of the sculpture was also donated to the city of Galway in Ireland, where the paternal family of literary classic Oscar Wilde came from.

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  • Sculptures

Memorial to deportees at the Võru railway station

The emotional and powerful memorial (2016) was erected to honour the harsh fate of the people deported from Võru and Võru County from 1941 to 1952. The sculptor is Jaak Soans.The memorial depicts two rows of bronze animal wagons placed on a concrete block 1.6 metres high, with human figures visible between them. A ramp made of original railway sleepers and dolomite gravel, which is 4 metres wide and 16 metres long, takes to the memorial. The total length of the memorial complex is almost 24 meters.

  • Sculptures

‘The Kissing Students’ sculpture and fountain

'The Kissing Students' sculpture and fountain is one of the most recognised symbols of Tartu. The fountain has stood in the same place since 1948, when newlyweds and their guests would visit it for luck, and people would also take a dip in it. The sculpture was created by Mati Karmin and completed in 1998. Since 2006 the fountain has been surrounded by tiles bearing the names of Tartu's sister cities – Bærum, Deventer, Ferrara, Fredriksberg, Hafnarfjörður, Hämeenlinna, Kaunas, Lüneburg, Pihkva, Riia, Salisbury, Tampere, Turu, Uppsala, Veszprem and Zutphen. Each of these is situated in the direction that the cities lie from Tartu, with the distances marked.

  • Sculptures

Kaarnakivi Stone in Rõuge Park

The Kaarnakivi Stone by the sculptor Tiiu Kirsipuu is a memorial to the writer Juhan Jaik erected on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Fantasy author Juhan Jaik (1899-1948), born in Sänna in Võru County, wrote captivating and enchanting stories and poems for both adults and children. "Kaarnakivi", a collection of ghost and animal stories, is an Estonian children's literature classic that continues to excite readers today.The "kaarnakivi", as many Estonians already know, is a stone that gives its finder whatever he or she wants, if a person knows how to use it prudently.

  • Sculptures

The Tree Garden Warrior

Standing in the landcaped area opposite the former main entrance of the Räpina Paper Factory is the Tree Garden Warrior, a monument to the historical Tree Garden War designed by Riho Kuld in 1984. The locals refer to the warrior as the Iron Man.In 1784 a peasant uprising took place in Räpina following the levying of a bounty tax. In the tree garden of the local manor a battle erupted between the soldiers and the local farmhands, who were armed with poles - ending in the deaths of five local men.

  • Sculptures

Monument to the Visit of Dalai Lama

You can feel touched by the divine when walking on the beach or swimming in Lake Pühajärv.Namely, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935), the leader of the Tibetan people, visited Estonia and Otepää on 3 October, 1991. He blessed Lake Pühajärv on the same day. The historical visit is commemorated with a wooden sculpture near the beach in Pühajärv Park.

  • Sculptures

Monument to Alfred Neuland

Weightlifter Alfred Neuland (1895-1966) who was born in Valga is the first Estonian Olympic Champion. He returned with a gold medal from the Antwerp Olympic Games in 1920. He was also successful at the Paris Olympic Games where he won the silver medal.Interesting facts: * sculptor Mati Karmin is the author of the bronze bust; * Hermann Lerchenbaum, the first Estonian known to have taken part in Olympic Games as a member of the US Navy's rowing team at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, was also born in Valga.

  • Sculptures

Sculpture of Karl Menning

Karl Menning was the founder of professional theatre in Estonia and the first professional theatre and stage director in the country. He was the director of the Vanemuine Theatre from 1906 to 1914. His sculpture was created by Mare Mikoff and is unique for the fact that it can be turned on the spot.

  • Sculptures

‘Father and Son’ sculpture

The sculpture "Father and Son" is a symbol of the relationship between different generations, where children are increasingly growing apart from their parents. The bronze work by sculptor Ülo Õun (1944-1988) was unveiled on Children's Day, June 1, 2004, on Küüni Street. The work represents the sculptor himself and his son Kristjan when the son was one and a half years old.

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