Kristjan Jaak Peterson (14 March 1801 – 4 August 1822) was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the founder of Estonian national literature.He studied in the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy of the University of Tartu from 1819 to 1820. He called himself a singer of the country people, appreciated the national features of literature, and thought that the creation of original Estonian literature was possible.There is a bronze monument to him on Toomemägi, which was completed in 1983 by J. Soans and A. Murdmaa, and a high school named after him in Tartu.On the writer's birthday, 14 March, we celebrate Mother Tongue Day.Fun fact: Peterson walked from Tartu to Riga more than 200 years ago due to lack of money.
The long-serving professor of the University of Tartu was one of the brightest scientists in 20th century Tartu. Lotman studied the history of Russian literature and culture and general regularities of culture. He laid the foundation of cultural semiotics and was the founder of the Tartu-Moscow school of semiotics. The monument to the world-famous culturologist and semiotician, which consists of pipes, water and light, was opened on 6 October 2007. The idea for the sculpture made of 15 m of steel pipe is based on the self-portrait of Juri Lotman. Authors of the monument: Mati Karmin, architect Andres Lunge.
The monument to Friedrich Robert Faehlmann – a bronze bust on a pillar of local grey granite – was opened in front of the Old Anatomical Theatre at Toomemägi, Tartu, on 18 May 1930. Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (1798 - 1850) was one of the founders of Estonian national literature, a physician and a democrat. He studied in Rakvere District School, Tartu Upper Secondary School and the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Tartu. Faehlmann worked as a physician in Tartu from 1824. He worked in the Old Anatomical Theatre. He was a lector of the Estonian language in the university and sometimes also gave lectures in pharmacology and prescriptions.
The university erected this monument to its long-serving professor K Morgernstern.Johann Karl Simon Morgenstern (1770-1852) was a German scholar who was a professor of eloquence and classic philology, aesthetics, literary and art history in the University of Tartu from 1802 to 1836. He was one of the founders and the first director of the University of Tartu Library (1802-1839). He founded the Museum of Art of the University of Tartu in 1803.
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 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 1926, on the initiative of pastor Valter Viks, a memorial to the 200 citizens of Rõuge who were killed in the War of Independence, designed by artist Voldermar Mellik, was erected near the Rõuge Church. The Estonian text engraved in the stone on the front of the memorial reads "1918-1920. Honour the Fallen! Your thankful Rõuge parish". In 1945, the Bolsheviks blew up the memorial, and the bronze soldier and its foundation stones were buried in the ground near the monument. A local artist Aksel Ollmann dug the bronze statue out under the cover of night and hid it on his farm. In 1988, the statue was dug up from its hiding place. The memorial was re-inaugurated on 30 October 1988. The statue was restored by Ars Monumentaal.
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.