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.
‘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.
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.
This memorial, which is dedicated to the freedom fighters of southern Estonia, represents the figure of an unknown soldier, his sword sheathed, with a flag held aloft in one hand and the other outstretched. The first memorial was unveiled here on 11 October 1925, dedicated to Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov, but it was destroyed by Soviet forces on the night of 21 September 1940. The new memorial was inaugurated on 16 August 2013 in the original location on Kuperjanov Street. The design and mould of the memorial were made in 1925 by Amandus Adamson, who was also involved in the production of the bronze figure in Italy. This figure was restored to its original size by sculptor Jaak Soans. Restoration of the memorial was led by Major Meelis Kivi.
'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.
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.
On the vista overlooking Obinitsa Lake stands the stone Singing Mother Monument. It's a memorial to all the "singing mothers" (Estonian: lauluemad) of Setomaa. The statue was erected in 1986. Around its base are many stones for local singers. The area around the monument offers a good view of Obinitsa Lake and the older part of the village. This is also a good place for a group picture. To the left of the Singing Mother Monument is Obinitsa's old school-church (1904).
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.