NIPERNAADI, the eternal wanderer and dreamer, greets visitors and boldly raises his hat in the Säde park. Look at the sole of his raised travelling boot and you'll see adventurous roads awaiting for you. If you manage to polish even the smallest part of it you will always have good luck accompanying your travels. Look into his eyes and you'll start dreaming, too. If you happen to meet his eyes for a bit longer your longing will be filled with something beautiful and unusual. Wave him as you leave and adventures will follow.NIPERNAADI, a vigorous bronze sculpture inspired by the protagonist of the novel "Toomas Nipernaadi" by August Gailit is anxious to meet you.
Otepää irradiates good energy! The monument that celebrates the existence of positive energy fields was opened in Mäe Street on 1 October 1992.The entire field is surrounded by benches and the location of these as well as the column itself was selected by psychics. The energy column is the symbol which reminds us that in this rapidly changing world, humans are a part of nature and everything is based on the rules of nature that rely on balance and co-dependency.
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.
‘Countrywomen’ is a group of sculptures by sculptor Mare Mikofi, completed in 1974, which has been on display at the Town Hall Square in front of the Tartu Art Museum since 2013.It depicts two women, the older one sitting and being content and exhausted, and the other, the younger, standing beside her, empathetically holding her arm around the older woman’s shoulder. The difference between the generations is strongly reflected in their clothing – the younger is wearing trousers, a light vest and platform shoes, and the older one is wearing a dress and an apron, leaving her feet bare.The installation of ‘Countrywomen’ celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Tartu Art Museum in the Leaning House.
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.
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.
The sculpture of Russian Empress Catherine II (sculptor Jaak Soans) was installed on the renovated Catherine Alley in 2014.The city of Võru was established as the centre of the newly created county under the new Provincial Governance Law of 1784. Catherine II personally gave a number of orders for the founding of a new city and affirmed the coat of arms of the city. The avenue from the first house of Võru town, the main building of the manor belonging to von Mengdens (Võru upper secondary school) to Lake Tamula, is shown on very early maps of Võru city. Catherine Alley connects the city's central square with Kreutzwald Park and Tamula Lake's promenade.
The memorial column erected in 1928 to commemorate those who fell in the War of Independence stands in the park next to Tõrva Upper Secondary School. The author of the monument is Aleksander Eller. The monument was taken down by local communist authorities during the Second World War in 1940 and it was reopened on Victory Day, 23 June 1990.Interesting facts: Schoolboys gave the monument the friendly name Juku.