Ukuaru, completed in 1973, was one of director Leida Laius’s most known films. The screenplay was written by Mats Traat, based on the novel by Veera Saar. Elle Kull (Minna) and Lembit Ulfsak (Aksel) give great performances as the main characters. The role of Minna’s father is played by Jüri Järvet. The film was shot in Aegviidu, on the shore of Mustjõe River, and in Pillapalu and Kehra.
The score is composed by Arvo Pärt. Ukuaru was the third collaboration between Leida Laius and Arvo pärt; preceded by From night ‘til morning (1962) and The milkman of Mäeküla (1965). It is probably most famous for the melodeon piece Ukuaru waltz, with which Aksel enchants Minna. It is a beloved musical piece that has also been played as the opening waltz on the ball of the Estonian Independence Day hosted by the President of Estonia.
In the words of Leida Laius: ‘A person’s own Ukuaru is one’s place in life, a place created by one’s own thoughts and hands. It means hard work, disappointments and discoveries, knowing your part and giving to fellow men in this world.’
Everyone needs to find their own Ukuaru to keep going.

The last lady of Jäneda manor, Maria Zakrevskaja-Benckendorff (later Zakrevskaja-Benckendorff-Budberg) was a mysterious lady whose life was full of adventures and close relationships with famous men, such as diplomat and journalist sir Robert Brucke Lockhart and writers Maksim Gorki and Herbert George Wells.
Maria, or Mura, made acquaintance with the famous English science fiction writer Herbert George Wells in 1920 when Wells visited Maksim Gorki in Russia, and Mura, with her good language skills, was assigned as a translator for Wells. Already then Wells fell in love with Mura and in 1934, his love brought Wells to Kalijärve lakeside in Jäneda to visit Mura, who at the time was at her children’s, Paul and Tanja’s, place.
Maria’s daughter Tanja recalls, ‘Wells was at the time an overflowingly energetic 66-year-old man. Before his arrival, Mura was nervous, worrying that life in Kallijärve may be too simple and lacking in comfort for Wells. Everybody, however, liked Wells and he got along perfectly with all the residents, helping them even with haying.”
As the famous writer wanted to avoid public attention, his visit remained unnoticed at first. Journalists discovered Wells when he had already been in Estonia for four days. The writer refused to give an interview. However, an insistent journalist from Päevaleht managed to convince Wells to pose for a photo. After a few weeks of holiday Wells left together with Maria and her children to London. Maria and Wells started living together, altough they never married.

The story of estate lady Barbara von Tiesenhausen whose brothers drowned her in an ice hole for a class-inappropriate relationship is a truly well-lived legend, that it has been preserved in collective memory as well as in folk heritage. The tragic story of Barbara von Tiesenhausen and Franz Bonnius is mentioned in the chronicles of Balthasar Russow and Johann Renner. Documental sources on the story of Barbara and Franz are slim and originate from after Barbara’s death.
Several literary and artistic renditions have resulted from these primary sources. Historically, the story took place in Rannu Manor, but in folk tales Barbara von Tiesenhausen is transformed into the damsel of Porkuni. The story of the tragically perhised damsel came to Porkuni probably with the Tiesenhausens, who’s manor was feudalized in 1628.
O.W. Masing writes about this story in the newspaper Marahwa Nädalla-leht in connection with Porkuni. He places the story in Porkuni, but does not mention the names of the participants, only saying that a knight had come together with his sister to Estonia from Germany. The story was perpetuated to Estonian folk heritage by F. R. Kreutzwald, who wrote it down in The Ancient Estonian Folk Tales. Marie Under and Aino Kallas started treating the story of Barbara around the same time in the 1920’s. ‘The Damsel of Porkuni’, Marie Under’s ballad from 1927, was based on the works of Kreutzwald.

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

In the early years of the Republic, Aleksander Mohrfeldt, who has been called the father of the Estonian flag, and his son-in-law, Karl Viitol, an opera soloist at the Estonian National Opera, got the idea to establish a summer home in the valley of Valgejõgi River. Construction began in 1925 and they moved in during the year 1928. The house was fitted with the first phone of the local area and the first local power station was also built. Mohrfeldt’s daughter, Helmi, had a tradition that called for her piano students to spend the last summer before their final exams practising and vacationing at Pikakose. In addition to that, a large number of Estonian music and cultural figures passed through Pikakose. A room was designated for Liina Reiman and her husband Raimund Kull on the first floor of the building as early as during the planning process. Ants Lauter and Erna Villmer also vacationed at Pikakose.
“The forests at Valgejõgi gave one the option to play a woodsman completely undisturbed. I rented an old hut from Juula, an old woman in the forest. A part of Jakob Hurt’s library had remained intact in the Viitols’ house, where I came across Hurt’s “Vana Kannel” (“Old Zither”). Browsing it, I found a couple of suitable texts, one of them being “Hakkame, mehed, minema” (“Let us, men, get going”) and “Oli mul rikas ristiisa” (“I had a Wealthy Godfather”), which I took to the forest with me and quickly wrote a song “Hakkame, mehed, minema” for a men’s choir and […] “Oli mul rikas ristiisa” for a women’s choir,” reminisces Gustav Ernesaks.

Pikakose has not perished thanks to the work and care put in by the current hosts the Sundja family.

Source:
Elstrok, H. 1995. Kõrvemaast põhjarannani : Kuusalu kihelkonna kirjanduslik-kodulooline antoloogia.

Several films are being made in honour of the centenary of the Republic of Estonia, but the greatest one that involves the most responsibility is the screen adaptation of the first part of “Tõde ja õigus” directed by Tanel Toom.
Anton Hansen Tammsaare was born in 1878 at the Põhja-Tammsaare farm in Vetepera Village. A museum was opened in Tammsaare’s childhood home in 1978.
However, the “true Vargamäe” was not suitable for filming, as it now has many modern buildings and gravel roads and the forest is too close. The search for Andres and Krõõt’s home at Vargamäe lasted almost six months until they found it in Vastse-Roosa Village near the Latvian border. However, even this location has to be digitally altered later on to create the perfectly suitable landscape. Seven new buildings that look like old ones were built for the film adaptation of “Tõde ja õigus”. The facades of the houses were built out of old logs collected from the Estonian people in order to make the farm buildings look befitting to the 19th century. The fact that the storyline of the book takes place over 24 years also makes the filming harder. The dwelling of Vargamäe will be extended by four metres during filming and as the story develops, and the dirt floor will be replaced by a wooden one. The wooden requisites were made in Vana-Antsla in Võru County.

Source:
Vargamäe Andres’ farm is being built during filming in Mõniste. Võrumaa Teataja. 21 June 2016

The 34 station points of the Struve Geodetic Arc were entered in the UNESThe 34 station points of the Struve Geodetic Arc were entered in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005. It was the first technological structure on the World Heritage List. Three station points in Estonia are included in the list: the University of Tartu Old Observatory and the points at Võivere and Simuna.
Less is known about other station points of the Struve Geodetic Arc located in Estonia. For example, Essemägi is located by the RMK Peraküla-Ähijärve hiking route. Essemägi often occurs as “Mariomäggi” in Struve’s diaries. In his observation diary, Struve describes Essemägi’s first rate signal location as follows: “Mariomäggi is a two-domed ridge about three versts north of the Hargla pastorate. The station point is situated on the lower, southern dome. The northern one used to be covered with a forest, but now they are both bare.”
As in other first rate station points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, Essemägi was also home to 9-metre-high symmetrical pyramidal towers made out of strong wood. A sighting log, streaked with black paint in order to be more visible in the midst of the surrounding nature, was attached to the tip of every signal tower.
The Essemägi station point was also used during the creation of the main national geodetic networks in 1933 and 1991.

Treski Tsässon (Orthodox village chapel in Setomaa) was last renovated in 1988 by the local village community. According to lore, the building was 230 years old at the time and to celebrate this, the community attached a tin sign with the writing “Renovations 1988. 230 years old” onto the end gable of the tsässon. According to tradition, the building and repairs of the tsässon are paid for by donations and own resources.
The Seto tsässon tradition is closely tied to holidays and saints. The holidays are a special time during which the earthly realm is more connected to the afterlife than usually. The Treski Tsässon is dedicated to John the Baptist whose holiday is celebrated on 7 July when the tsässon, located at a distance from everyday life, adopts a special significance.

“St. John’s Tsässon is located in Treske Village in Järvesuu rural municipality. Milk was taken there before and on St. John’s day. Then, a priest came every St. John’s day and blessed the milk, after which it was given to the poor. They took milk there because then nothing bad could happen to it. The Tsässon is 100 years old as at this year.” (ERA II 248, 34 (12))

Tsässons are located on the border of the earthly and the afterlife. A person who crosses the threshold of the tsässon reaches a different realm, where the chance to come into contact with something special and surreal is bigger than elsewhere. In a way, you could compare the tsässon with a domestic shrine: one mediates a relationship with the holy at the level of a home, the other at the level of a village.

It is likely that nobody knows what makes the film “Viimne reliikvia” so important for Estonia – is it the story about the romantic adventure of a free man fighting for justice, the memorable quotes or the soundtrack of the film? The locations of the film definitely have a role to play as well.
The filming took place in several locations from early spring to late autumn in 1969. The landscape of Taevaskoja is known as the location of romantic scenes and you can find Agnes’ alder (“Gabriel, what will become of us?”) and Gabriel’s pine (“You can tell that they are old friends!”) there even today. Moving onwards by the hiking route, you will soon reach the Ületammi cliff, known among people also as the Risbieter cliff (“Are we on the right path?”).
“Viimne reliikvia”, which has become a cult classic in Estonia, has little in common with Eduard Bornhöhe’s historical tale “Prince Gabriel or the Last Days of Pirita Monastery” (1893). At the discussion of the fourth version of the script at the studio’s artistic council on 6 February 1968, Lennart Meri, the editor of the film, half-jokingly mentioned that out of Bornhöhe’s characters, “the only one that remains is Agnes’ perky-eared roan”.
The film set records even on the first day of screening (45 million viewers in the Soviet Union, 773,000 in Estonia). No other Estonian film has had such popularity among the audience. “Viimne reliikvia” was revived in 2002 when its restored version was once again shown on the big screens. “Viimne reliikvia” was chosen to be the best for its quotes and soundtrack on the centenary of Estonian cinema in 2012.

“Little Illimar, I describe you as I remember from the past and as I see you now. I have grown up with you, I have been with you every day of your life, I almost am you and I should know you. But also, I am a lot older now and I see and understand everything completely differently.”

Friedebert Mihkelson (later Tuglas), born on 2 March 1886, was the second son born into the family of the carpenter of Ahja Manor. Even though the family moved away from Ahja when Tuglas was years old, his childhood years remained precious to him. His novel “Väike Illimar” was published in 1937. The book perfectly captured the atmosphere of the manor with its interesting characters at the end of the last quarter of the 19th century. In “Väike Illimar”, Tuglas tried to convey the domestic life of his childhood as accurately and as realistically as possible, describing the buildings of Ahja Manor, the surrounding landscapes, people and their interpersonal relationships. However, it is still a work of fiction.
“After reading the book, my mother laughed and said, “Oh how you have fibbed!” But a few years later I heard how she used my “redaction” when telling acquaintances about something that had happened to her in the past. She had become used to them and started to believe in them,” reminisces Tuglas.
The memory of Friedebert Tuglas has not disappeared from Ahja. Upon agreement, you can visit the Tuglas’ Museum in Ahja rural municipality.