Cornflower – Monument to the Victims of Stalinism

The monument to the legendary Estonian statesman and journalist Jaan Tõnisson was established in 1999. Its authors are Mati Karmin and Tiit Trummal. Jaan Tõnisson was a legendary statesman and journalist who was prime minister from 1919 to 1920, the head of state from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, the owner of the Postimees newspaper from 1896 to 1930 and the editor-in-chief of the Postimees from 1896 to 1935. Tõnisson was made an honorary citizen of Tartu in 1939.

The Monument to the Estonian Mother was inaugurated in Rõuge on 26 June 2010. The monument is meant to demonstrate appreciation for the Estonian woman as a mother, to express gratitute, and to value the survival of our people. Hans Sissas (1933 - 2012), who has recounted the stories of Estonian deportees and authored many memoirs, initiated the idea of a monument to the Estonian mother, and lead the efforts to have the monument completed.The monument is made from stone brought from Udmurtia, and is 3.6 high, weighing nearly 6 tonnes.The monument was designed by the artists/sculptors Ilme and Riho Kuld, and was made by the sculptors/stone masons Margus Kurvits and Kristjan Kittus.

The monument to the most renowned Estonian symphonist of all times Eduard Tubin stands on the slope by the Vanemuine Theatre (authors A Vahtrapuu, V Valk, sound installations created by Louis Dandrel). Come and see how the well-known Estonian conductor and composer conducts an imaginary orchestra and listen to sound installations of the works of Eduard Tubin.

Karl Ernst von Baer was a biologist, the founder of descriptive and comparative embryology and an academician of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He studied medicine in Tartu from 1810 to 1811 and obtained the degree of doctor of medicine here. He was a professor of zoology and anatomy in Königsberg from 1817. He studied anthropology, geography and ichthyology during his time in St Petersburg. He spent the last years of his life (1867-1876) in Tartu where he wrote his 3-volume collection of articles and speeches and participated in the activities of the Estonian Naturalists Society and was elected its president in 1869.The statue of Karl Ernst von Baer was completed in 1886, its author is M. Opeku.

Opened in 1969, the Struve Monument is dedicated to the former director of the Tartu Observatory, Fr. G. W. Struve (15 April 1793 – 23 November 1864), a Russian astronomer and geodesist of German origin. Under his leadership, the meridian arc was measured between 1816 and 1855 to determine the shape and size of the globe.The monument is an abstract work, inspired by the spirit of its era, reflecting the pursuit of the human race into space. The lower part of the sculpture is a sundial and the upper part is an hourglass. The authors of the monument are Olav Männi and Udo Ivask.The Struve street and the geodetic arc are also dedicated to him in Tartu.

The Monument to Dr. Fr. R. Kreutzwald is located in a park on the shore of Lake Tamula. The author of the monument is A. Adamson and it was cast in bronze in Italy. The monument was opened in 1926. It is not known when the park was founded, however the age of most of the species of trees, birches and lindens is estimated at more than one hundred years. The coniferous trees in the park include spruces and firs. Lake Tamula has an oval shape in an east-west direction with an average depth of 4.2 m. The lake is deepest to the northeast of its centre (7.5 m) and has a surface area of 231 ha. There is a swimming area, beach and a beautiful promenade on the shore on the city side. In Kreutzwald Park, there is an accessible trail.

In 1562, Walk (the old name of present-day Valga) along with the rest of Livonia was handed over to Poland as part of the ceasefire agreement of the Livonian War. The city rights of Valga were signed by Polish King Stefan Batory on June 11, 1584, based on his colonization policy. The king believed that land should be granted as hereditary property to new Catholic settlers (peasants, craftsmen, merchants) in Livonia and thereby strengthen Catholicism in Livonia.Therefore, there is a monument dedicated to Stefan Batory on Kesk Avenue in Valga, which was completed in 2002 as a joint effort of the city of Valga, and the Hungarian and Polish embassies.

Jakob Hurt (22.07.1839-13.01.1907) was an Estonian folklorist and linguist. He studied theology in the University of Tartu and gained his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Helsinki in 1886. He played the leading role in many major events of the Estonian national movements.The monument to Jakob Hurt (1839-1907) was completed in 1994. Its authors are J Soans and R Tomingas.