Lauluväljak and J.Poska
So, where were we?
On the the sightseeing-bus
The bus took us to the outskirts of Tallinn as well, where we stopped to take a look at Lauluväljak; the Tallinn song festival grounds. Every fifth year the grand Estionian music festival is held here. The very first song festival was held in Tartu in 1869 and about 30 thousand people fit on the stage only. The biggest public was around 250 thousand viewers and singers. Everyone joins the festival, regardless of gender or age. There are both amateur singers and proffessionals and many wear colourful, traditional clothes.
Many famous bands and singer has performed on this stage, such as Metallica, Madonna, Michel Jackson, Lady Gaga and many more.
"Eszter, why are you writing so much about a stage? It's nothing new, every big city has one!" you may ask. At least I would.
This festival had and still has an important part in the estonian culture. During the Soviet Union occupation, all kinds of estionan natiolanism was forbidden. As the guide said; "a blue, black and white flag in your home was a one-way ticket to Siberia.". The Soviet tried to stop and forbid as much as possible of the estonian culture, even songs were strictly forbidden. But the estonians could get around the strict rules by saying that they'd sing Soviet positive songs. This way they could gather and sing in a legal way. Of course they had to sing some of the promised songs, but most of the songs were from the heart.
The stage was built 1959 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Estonian SSR (Soviet Socialistic Republic), but in 1988 300 thousand estonians gathered here to sing the forbidden songs and hymns, as a result of many mass demonstrations in form of spontaneous singing. This would be later known as the Singing Revolution that would evidentally lead to the overthrow of the Soviet rule.
So the singing festival has always been of importance for the estonian people, but got an even deeper meaning after the singing revolution.
Note: this is the information I could gather from the guide on the bus, pamplets and the internet. Please correct me if I've gotten it wrong!
J.Poska
The bus took a turn to a street called J.Poska. This street is filled with beautiful old wooden houses, but also some new and highly modern homes. It is an archithectural parade now, but not long ago many of the old houses were left to fall apart. During the Soviet union occupation all these buildings were owned by the state. They didn't bother to make sure that they stay as pretty, so they were slowly fading away. Luckily, there is an interest in saving these houses now that Estionia is free again, and most of them have been restored to their formal glories. I really hope that all of them will be saved before it's too late, it would be a shame to let them rot away!
My apologies for the less good photos. We didn't stop to see the houses, so I had to take the photos from the inside of the bus while we were passing them.
The tour continued to the old town where we ditched them.
On the the sightseeing-bus
The bus took us to the outskirts of Tallinn as well, where we stopped to take a look at Lauluväljak; the Tallinn song festival grounds. Every fifth year the grand Estionian music festival is held here. The very first song festival was held in Tartu in 1869 and about 30 thousand people fit on the stage only. The biggest public was around 250 thousand viewers and singers. Everyone joins the festival, regardless of gender or age. There are both amateur singers and proffessionals and many wear colourful, traditional clothes.
Many famous bands and singer has performed on this stage, such as Metallica, Madonna, Michel Jackson, Lady Gaga and many more.
"Eszter, why are you writing so much about a stage? It's nothing new, every big city has one!" you may ask. At least I would.
This festival had and still has an important part in the estonian culture. During the Soviet Union occupation, all kinds of estionan natiolanism was forbidden. As the guide said; "a blue, black and white flag in your home was a one-way ticket to Siberia.". The Soviet tried to stop and forbid as much as possible of the estonian culture, even songs were strictly forbidden. But the estonians could get around the strict rules by saying that they'd sing Soviet positive songs. This way they could gather and sing in a legal way. Of course they had to sing some of the promised songs, but most of the songs were from the heart.
The stage was built 1959 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Estonian SSR (Soviet Socialistic Republic), but in 1988 300 thousand estonians gathered here to sing the forbidden songs and hymns, as a result of many mass demonstrations in form of spontaneous singing. This would be later known as the Singing Revolution that would evidentally lead to the overthrow of the Soviet rule.
So the singing festival has always been of importance for the estonian people, but got an even deeper meaning after the singing revolution.
Note: this is the information I could gather from the guide on the bus, pamplets and the internet. Please correct me if I've gotten it wrong!
J.Poska
The bus took a turn to a street called J.Poska. This street is filled with beautiful old wooden houses, but also some new and highly modern homes. It is an archithectural parade now, but not long ago many of the old houses were left to fall apart. During the Soviet union occupation all these buildings were owned by the state. They didn't bother to make sure that they stay as pretty, so they were slowly fading away. Luckily, there is an interest in saving these houses now that Estionia is free again, and most of them have been restored to their formal glories. I really hope that all of them will be saved before it's too late, it would be a shame to let them rot away!
My apologies for the less good photos. We didn't stop to see the houses, so I had to take the photos from the inside of the bus while we were passing them.
A house with a more modern design. Or a sugarcubes, as I like to call them.
The tour continued to the old town where we ditched them.
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