INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ESTONIA

By geographic location we belong in the Baltic region By language we belong in Scandinavia By allies we belong in Europe By the prevailing religion we belong in Germany By history we belong in Sweden, Denmark, Livonia and Russia By climate we belong in the North

ESTONIA IS THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF SCANDINAVIA Our country boasts the 3000-year-old crater of an iron meteorite The Kunda and Pärnu settlements are older than most cradles of the European civilisation

THE KAALI METEORITE CRATER

We have one of the most authentic Medieval Old Towns Our language contains about a thousand words that date back to the last ice age Our capital has one of the most seamless wireless Internet networks in the world About 90% of our population pay their taxes via Internet

TALLINN'S OLD TOWN

ESTONIAN TRADITIONAL CULTURE The joint choir of the General Song Festival has the biggest number of singers in the world Juniper berries are believed to help cure 99 diseases, overcome witchcraft and the devil, as there is a cross on top of each berry The power of the blast of the Kaali meteorite was comparable to that of a nuclear bomb

The General Song Festival Juniper berries

ESTONIAN MODERN CULTURE Tallinn - European Capital of Culture 2011 Estonia ranks 3rd in the world press freedom index The first daily newspaper was published in Tallinn as early as in 1675 (in England – 1702)

Tallinn – the oldest capital city in Northern Europe Pianos of the Estonia Piano Factory in Tallinn are among the most valued ones in the world known for their pure sound There were many literate people in Estonia already in the 1850s – approximately 80% of the population

THE ESTONIA PIANOS

ESTONIAN FOOD CULTURE For Estonians the word “bread“ stands for a dark rye bread. The food commonly referred to as bread in the rest of the world has a separate word in Estonian – sai (white bread) Estonians still enjoy drilling birches and maples to drink their sap – a custom considered as unheard-of luxury in the old Europe

Rye bread White bread

Birch juice Maple juice

ESTONIA IS A SMALL COUNTRY WITH A RICH INNER LIFE!

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!