100 stories from the hiking route

1982 – an oak is planted in Hüpassaare for the 100th birthday of Mart Saar

Information

Topic

Literature and culture

Coordinates

Long-Lat WGS 84

Latitude: 58.5304611

Longitude: 25.27208056

L-EST 97

x: 6488519.2
y: 574096.8

Location

Ikla-Aegviidu Hiking route

Mart Saar’s family farm Hüpassaare was established around the 1760s by his great-great grandfather who came to the area to be a forest ranger. Mart Saar was born at the Hüpassaare Farm in 28 September 1882.
Many trees have been planted in Hüpassaare. This tradition was initiated by Mart Saar himself and executed by his family members and later by hikers and visitors. Living in Tartu or Tallinn, the composer usually spent his summers at the farm. It is said that upon returning, he immediately asked the homefolk if any trees had been planted while he was gone.
The oak growing in front of the main door was planted by the daughter of the family Hilda Toomsalu in 1930. The story goes that it was haying time and because the farm’s hayfields were located far from home, they went there by carriage, bringing food and tools with them to last them a couple of weeks. Upon returning to Hüpassaare, they had two young oaks stored in the back of their carriage, next to the dishes and empty bags.
This time, the composer decided to plant one tree by himself. Dedicated as he was, he carefully read a book to learn about the theoretical principles of planting a tree, which took quite some time. However, the tree could not wait so long and dried up after it was planted.
Hilda decided to plant the other oak herself. There were many summer chores to be done so she had no time for theorising. She planted the tree, hoping for the best, and it ended up growing.
An oak was planted in 1982 for the 100th birthday of Mart Saar.

Sources:
Jürisson, J. 1999. Hüpassaare