100 stories from the hiking route

1936 – the discovery of Jäneda hillfort

Information

Topic

Village life and society work

Coordinates

Long-Lat WGS 84

Latitude: 59.2387770

Longitude: 25.6838382

L-EST 97

x: 6567920.0
y: 596096.4

Location

Kauksi-Aegviidu Hiking route

In 1936, Oskar Parmas, the inspector and Estonian language teacher of Jäneda Agricultural School, reported a startling discovery – 400 meters from the Jäneda Manor centre, on the Aegviidu-Jäneda forested ridge, he had found a two-part fort with the characteristics of a protective structure. To the north of the main fort lied the outer fort, separated from the main part by a defensive ditch.
The first nationwide heritage protection inspector, archaeologist Eerik Laid, reported to newspaper Postimees that he had been to Jäneda and confirmed seeing one of the largest forts in Estonia. Archaeologist Tanel Moora has described the hillfort thoroughly.
Maintenance works started after the discovery of the hillfort. The first endeavours involved mounting a flagpole at the northern edge of the fort. The yard and slopes of the fort were cleared from brushes and some trees were felled. By the summer of 1937, the hillfort was so tidy that almost 3,000 of the first participants of the nation-wide country youth gathering could hold celebrations on the fort yard. World War II buried the fort once again under a thicket.
In 1994, the fort was again being tidied up and by the Midsummer Day of 1995, the hillfort received watchtowers on its edges and a small singing stage in its yard.