Monument to the Estonian Mother

The Monument of Nation is the oldest monument in Tartu. The bones buried under the floor and in the cemetery of St Mary’s Church were found when the main building of the University of Tartu was built on the former site of the church. In 1806 they were reburied in Toomeorg near Vallikraavi Street and the small square Monument to People, which was created according to the drawings of J W Krause and resembles the tomb monuments of Asia Minor (Lykia), was erected there in 1811. The human bones found in the course of archaeological work in the cellars of the main building of the University of Tartu were buried by the monument’s side that faces street on 20 September 1985. A case with information was also buried in the grave.

The monument to the physician who studied and became a professor in Tartu was completed in 1952. The authors of the monument are J Raudsepp, A Mölder, P Tarvas, A Volberg.Nikolai Pirogov was the founder of experimental surgery, topographic anatomy and field surgery. His work made the surgeries performed in Tartu famous all over Russia and also abroad.

The Cornflower (or Broken Cornflower) memorial to the victims of Stalinism was established in 1990 and its author is P. Saar.On top of the granite boulders is a broken cornflower (Estonian national flower). Black stripes run through the grey stone parquet of the square. They depict the railway tracks that symbolise deportation to Siberia. The waterworks of the monument make it possible for water to drip off the petals of the cornflower, like tears.The monument, which was initially erected on the corner of Riia and Pepleri streets in Tartu by the association of freedom fighters Memento, was reopened in its new spot at Pepleri 27. The monument is located next to the grey building. During the Soviet era, a KGB remand prison was located there, where the deportation of many Estonians to Siberia began.

The monument to soldiers who fell in the War of Independence stands on a hill in front of Otepää Maarja Church and it is remarkable because it was hidden underground for 30 years. The monument was reopened in 1989 after renovation. The top part of the monument bears the words HONOUR THE FALLEN and a list of 22 names. The granite piece with the full list has been lost. The metal decorations were created at the initiative of sculptor Jüri Ojaver.Interesting facts: The initial monument was designed by Voldemar Melnik and made by stonemason Peeter Veeber. The monument was opened for the first time on 10 June 1928.

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 memorial is located in Võru central square and is dedicated to the residents of Võru who died in the Estonia ferry disaster during the stormy night of September 28, 1994. The memorial was built in 1996 (sculptor M. Karmin).

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 new monument to Villem Reiman (1861-1917) was opened in 2004 and its author is Mati Varik.Villem Reiman was a pastor and a cultural persona who fought for the independence of the Estonian people as a figurehead of the Estonian national movement.