Estonia Christmas FDCs

Estonia FDCs
Name: Christmas
Date of Issue: 19 November 2009

Already centuries ago our forefathers marked the winter solstice as the most important event of the year. It was the time of cleaning and decorating the house (with a spruce tree, so-called Christmas crowns and krõllid), straw on the floor, beer, baked pork, Christmas bread and black pudding. The word jõul (Christmas) has been borrowed into Estonian from Scandinavia about a thousand years ago. At Christmas the Christian world marks the birth of Christ. Traditional Christmas services are carried out in all the churches. The Pope ushering in Christmas at a midnight mass in St Peter's Basilica, with the Vatican Television Centre mediating it to the whole world, has acquired a global meaning. Christmas is reflected in the work of many great artists and composers. One of the best-known Christmas songs is Franz Xaver Gruber's Silent Night composed in 1818, which has been performed in about 300 languages and dialects. Over time the Christmas tree (15th century), the Advent crown (19th century), sending Christmas cards to friends and relatives (19th century), Santa Claus (20th century) and later also gingerbreads and poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) have become part of Christmas traditions at different times. The first postage stamp dedicated to Christmas was issued in Canada in 1898, and Estonia got its first Christmas stamp in 1992. In today's rapidly changing world Christmas has become a mixture of forefathers' customs, the Christian tradition and commerce.

2009 Christmas FDCs:
Estonia, Israel, Lithuania.

2008 Christmas FDCs:
Canada: The Nativity, Canada: Winter Fun, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania.

2007 Christmas FDCs:
Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, Ukraine, Vatican.

Estonia Manor Hall FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Estonian Manor Halls - Saku Hall
Date of Issue: 05 November 2009

Saku Hall is the most outstanding architectural monument in the small town of Saku on the middle reaches of the Vääna River close to Tallinn, one of the most beautiful examples of Classical architecture in Estonia. The first reports of the manor go back to 1489 when the manor seat was situated a few kilometres to the south from the present location. It moved to where it stands today in the 17th century. It had a number of earlier owners but in 1765 Otto Magnus von Rehbinder bought the estate. His grandson Paul Eduard started to build up the mansion in a grand style. The manor hall has a portico with rich decor supporting on four beautiful columns and large “Venetian” windows. The architect has remained unidentified (the famous Carlo Rossi of St. Petersburg has been suggested as one of the possible authors). Stucco décor and stencilled paintings enhance the interior. In the 20th century the manor hall housed a domestic economy school and then a specialised secondary school. It has also served as the seat of the local government. Today Saku Hall functions as a holiday and seminar centre.

Estonia Windmill FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Estonian Mills - Angla Windmill
Date of Issue: 22 October 2009

The Angla windmills lie in Angla Village at the Upa-Leisi road, one of the main traffic and tourist routes of Estonia's western Saaremaa Island. The group of windmills is a Saaremaa must, being a symbol of the island and one of the best surviving groups of windmills in Estonia, standing at its original location on Angla Windmill Hill. The group consists of five windmills – four post windmills with rotatory bodies, the fifth being an octagonal wooden Dutch windmill with a rotatory boat-shaped roof and gallery. The Reinu windmill, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, is the oldest in the group. Lause windmill (1880) probably has older parts in its structure. The third windmill in the complex is that of Viita. The Vilidu windmill (1913) was thoroughly restored in 2008 and has the original function of grinding flour with a miller working as a guide there in the summer. The Tedre Dutch windmill (1927) is currently under restoration. The administrators of Angla Windmill Hill know their ancestors' heritage and how to take care of it and are now working at a paper about the history of Saaremaa's windmills.

Estonia Owl FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Bird of the Year – Eurasian Tawny Owl
Date of Issue: 08 October 2009

The Estonian Ornithological Society has chosen the tawny owl (Strix aluco) as the bird of the year 2009. The tawny owl, a bird in the order Strigiformes, is an age-old resident of Estonia, although it was relatively rare until the middle of the 19th century. The tawny owl prefers habitats close to humans – cemeteries, parks, broadleaved groves around farms or manor seats etc. The tawny is a nocturnal bird of prey who nests in large hollows and cracks in trees, but sometimes also in suitable holes in buildings. It willingly settles in nest boxes with a large entrance holes. There are from 1,000 to 2,00 nesting pairs of the tawny owl in Estonia at present. The tawny is about the size of a crow; it has large dark eyes and a brownish or grey plumage. The tawny starts nesting early in the year. Some couples lay their eggs already in February, although generally this activity occurs at the beginning or middle of March. The clutch, usually of three to four eggs, is incubated by the female alone in four weeks and it takes about as long for the young to fledge. The tawny’s wide diet includes almost any prey it can catch, mainly small rodents – particularly in rural areas – but birds, frogs, bats and earthworms will do as well. The tawny owl is a species in the third category of protected birds.

Estonia Lighthouse FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Hara Lighthouse
Date of Issue: 24 September 2009

The small Hara Island near the western shore of Hara or Papilaht Bay (earlier Paponvik) is mainly covered with spruce forest. In 1909 an iron framework lighthouse 15.2 meters high was erected at the highest point (12 metres above sea level) of the island. At the time it had a major sprat salting facility with 350 workers where sprats were salted into tin cans under the name of Revelskiye kilki (Tallinn Sprats) since 1870. The Tallinn Sprats made in Hara were shipped to St Petersburg via Loksa Port. Initially the sea mark of Hara Island was visible to 10 nautical miles. In 1954 major rebuilding of the lighthouse was carried out as the navigation mark was to be connected with a new military port. The height of the tower was increased to 23.7 meters with the red light visible to seven nautical miles. But gradually importance of the port declined and in the late 1980s the installations were dismantled from the Hara Lighthouse and it became a day mark. Its present height is 24 metres and it consists of a cylinder with a conical red roof over a metal framework. The tip of the sea mark is clearly visible over the forest. The Hara Lighthouse will be one hundred this year.

Estonia Athletics Autographed FDCs

Estonia FDCs
Name: A Century of Track and Field Athletics in Estonia
Date of Issue: 22 September 2009

We count the centenary of Estonian athletics from the first athletics competitions in Tallinn and Tartu in 1909. The first Olympic Games of the antiquity can be regarded as the starting signal of modern athletics. The last century, which seems like an hour side by side with the the 3,000-year history of the games of the antiquity, offers unforgettable moments and emotions to all friends of sports and probably to every Estonian. The brightest of them are connected with the Olympic gold medals of high jumper Jüri Tarmak in 1972 in Munich, of triple jumper Jaak Uudmäe in 1980 in Moscow, of decathlonist Erki Nool in 2000 in Syndey of discus thrower of Gerd Kanter in 2008 in Beijing.
Comment: My Estonian friend made a great job for me again. She made 3 autographed FDCs for me. This is the best in 3, it has 5 autographs, 4 from Olympic Games Gold Medalists: Gerd Kanter (topleft), Erki Nool (middle), Jaak Uudmäe (lower left with his record 17.35 m) and Jüri Tarmak (lower right with his record 2.25m), the other one is from Aleksander Tammert Jr (topright), a Bronze Medalist in 2004 Olympic Games Discus Throw event.
Comment: The additional stamps and autographs are perfect, Kanter's stamp & autograph, Nool's stamp & autograph.
Comment: Nool's stamp & autograph again :)

Estonia Athletics FDCs

Estonia FDCs
Name: A Century of Track and Field Athletics in Estonia
Date of Issue: 22 September 2009

We count the centenary of Estonian athletics from the first athletics competitions in Tallinn and Tartu in 1909. The first Olympic Games of the antiquity can be regarded as the starting signal of modern athletics. The last century, which seems like an hour side by side with the the 3,000-year history of the games of the antiquity, offers unforgettable moments and emotions to all friends of sports and probably to every Estonian. The brightest of them are connected with the Olympic gold medals of high jumper Jüri Tarmak in 1972 in Munich, of triple jumper Jaak Uudmäe in 1980 in Moscow, of decathlonist Erki Nool in 2000 in Syndey of discus thrower of Gerd Kanter in 2008 in Beijing.

Comment: Eesti Post issued 2 special cancellations for this set, one is in Tallinn, and the other is in Tartu. I received both.

Estonia Bear FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Estonian Fauna – Brown Bear
Date of Issue: 10 September 2009

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) has lived in Estonia since very old times, the late Ice Age. As a result people came into contact with it as soon as they settled in the area and the animal has acquired an important cultural role in the Estonian folk tradition. The range of the brown bear covers the whole Eurasian continent from forest-tundra to the Mediterranean and the Himalayas in the south and in North America from the northern point of the continent to Mexico. But because of intensive human activity it has been crowded out from much of its former range and lives only in patches. The brown bear is an omnivore who also feeds on vegetable matter, such as roots, berries and mushrooms, which is often its main diet. But it can easily kill a deer or other prey. Brown bears also feed on carrion and visit waste dumps. To adapt to a period of poor food supply the brown bear dens for periods of varied lengths depending on their range. During her hibernation the female bears one to three, rarely as many as five, cubs of 300-500 grams, which grow on mother's milk enough to be able to wander around in search of food with the mother. About 5 percent of the population is hunted every year in Estonia to keep the bear population in check in order to maintain the ecological balance and prevent potential damage to apiaries.

Estonia Church FDCs

Estonia FDCs
Name: 125th Anniversary of the Alexander Church of Narva
Date of Issue: 10 July 2009

The Alexander Church of Narva, architect Otto Pius Hippius's attempt to create an ideal Lutheran church, was built for the needs of the 5,000 Lutheran workers of the Kreenholm Manufactory. The building was completed in 1884 and was named in the honour of Tsar Alexander II who was killed in the explosion of a bomb set by a terrorist. The Joachimstal estate where the church stood was completely destroyed in World War One and only the church remained standing. The Bolsheviks, who then ruled Narva, chose it for their seat of government but unified its territory, including Joachimstal, Narva and Ivangorod, with Estonia. In World War Two the bell tower of the church was blasted and in 1962 under Soviet rule the building was turned into a warehouse. It was returned to the congregation in 1990 and the 60-metre bell tower was restored in 2008. A lift now moves in it. Technosvet of St. Petersburg designed coloured floodlights for the church. The bell, cast in 1900 in Gachina, is decorated with the three leopards guardant passant of the Province of Estonia and a coat of arms with the emperor's crown. The FDC cancel features a 2004 stained glass window by Dolores Hoffmann with the words Mary and Narva worked into its design. In 2000 President Lennart Meri added the epithet Great to the name of the church.

Estonia Monument Postal Stationery

Estonia Postal Stationery
Name: Opening of the War of Independence Victory Monument
Date of Issue: 22 June 2009

Erection of the monument has been an important theme throughout the period of independence. Repeated attempts have been tangled by political disputes, lots of argument and the change of political regime. After 90 years waiting it will be opened on the first minutes of 23rd June. Opening of the monument will begin on 22 June at 22.00.

The postal stationary - War of Independence Victory Monument was designed by Estonian artist Martin Saar, who´s work has gained attention also in the rest of the world.

Comment: Because the opening of the monument began on 22 June at 22.00. Postal stationary with first day cancellation was available during the opening ceremony at 22.00-24.00 on the terrace of the cafeteria Kultus (formerly Cafe Moscow). So it's very difficult to get this real posted postcard.

Estonia Song Festival FDCs

Estonia FDCs
Name: 25th Estonian Song Festival
Date of Issue: 18 June 2009

The tradition of All-Estonian song festivals was born in 1869, when the first such festival took place in Tartu from 18 to 20 June. This year's festival is the 25th, and 140 years will pass since the first festival this year. The Estonians often like to be described as a singing people – it is an expression of the national identity of the people, which has united them in their struggle for independence both in the early years of the 20th century and during the Soviet occupation. The common consciousness of the Estonian people includes two convictions connected with the song festivals. The first of them says that thanks to singing a nameless farming people achieved the status of a European nation in 1918, and the second one, connected with a later period, that the Estonians restored their freedom in the Singing Revolution of 1988-91. By today the Baltic Song and Dance festivals, including those of Estonia, have won wide acclaim and belong to the list of UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Estonia National Flag FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: 125th Anniversary of Estonian National Flag
Date of Issue: 05 June 2009

The idea of the blue, black and white colour combination was conceived in the spirit of the Estonian national awakening on 29 September 1881 in Tartu, at the founding meeting of the student fraternity Vironia (later the Estonian Students' Society). The first tricolour was made in 1884 and was blessed on 4 June 1884 at the Otepää parsonage. Later, the flag was associated with Estonian patriotism and was adopted as the national flag after the Republic of Estonia declared its independence on 24 February 1918. Although use of the national colours was prohibited in Soviet Estonia, Estonians carried them in their hearts, while the Estonian flag lived on in public outside the borders of the Soviet Union. The historical flag was brought out of hiding during the Singing Revolution and the blue, black and while tricolour was flown from the top of the Pikk Hermann tower once again on 24 February 1989 after a period of 45 years. Less than ten per cent of the world's national flags are older than 100 years. Even more unusual, however, is the fact that people have been able to preserve the original flag to this day, despite the occupations that ravaged the country. Estonian people have formed a strong emotional bond with the colours of blue, black and white, and the country's flag has become one of the most important and loved national symbols. The Estonian tricolour has been depicted on 17 postage stamps previously issued by Estonian Post Ltd.

Comment: What a perfect FDC, the additional stamps are also perfect! One additional stamp is as same as the FDC illustration, and the other one is the National Emblem of Estonia. Do you think so?

Estonia Painting Postal Stationery

Estonia Postal Stationery
Name: The Year of Bernt Notke in Tallinn
Date of Issue: 04 June 2009

Bernt Notke (born c. 1435 in Lassan in Pomerania; died winter 1508/1509 in Lübeck) was the most important German painter and sculptor in Northern Europe in his times.

Most famous is his sculpture Sankt Göran och Draken for the Storkyrkan in Stockholms Gamla stan. An exact copy of this sculpture is at St. Cathrines Church in Lübeck. He is the creator of the world's largest Triumphant Cross, in Lübeck Cathedral. His Danse Macabre in St. Mary in Lübeck was destroyed in the course of an allied bomb raid.

Parts of his Danse Macabre for Reval are saved in St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn. This painting depicts the transience of life, the skeletal figures of Death taking along the mighty as well as the feeble ones. Only the initial fragment of the original 30 metres (98.4 ft) wide painting (accomplished at the end of the 15th century) can be seen in the St Nicholas' Church

Comment: What a long "stamp" on this postcard, isn't it? This painting is saved in St. Nicholas' Church (Niguliste Museum), the nearest from museum is Viru Post Office. What a pity, the Viru Post Office's postmark only shows "Tallinn", and the small "g" represents the Viru Post Office.

Estonia Paper Mill FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: 275th Anniversary of Räpina Paper Mill
Date of Issue: 14 May 2009

The history of the Räpina Paper Mill, one of the oldest industrial enterprises in Estonia, goes back to the year 1728 when Count Karl Gustav von Löwenwolde, a courtier of Tsar Peter I of Russia, acquired lands in Räpina on the banks of Estonia’s longest river, and a dam with a brick works nearby was built on the river under building master Johan Georgi Kaiser’s supervision. The bricks were used to build a sawmill, a flourmill and a paper mill, all of which used water as a source of power. It was a rare case in Europe where one dam brought into motion three different mills. The paper mill based on renewable technology was launched in 1734. The factory building, which has seen several stages of rebuilding, is a rare example of industrial architecture and is today protected as a cultural monument. The first paper machine that made various kinds of writing and printing paper was brought to Räpina from Germany. Thanks to up-to-date technology it was possible to produce also finer types of paper, such as filter paper for pharmacies, blotting, cigarette and tissue paper. In the period of the Estonian national movement in the 1860s to 1880s Räpina paper contributed to the spread of the printed word in Estonian: over a longer period of time the leading Estonian newspapers, such as Postimees, Sakala and Olevik, and after the proclamation of independence in 1918 even some of the banknotes of the young republic were printed on it. After the restoration of Estonian independence thorough renewal of technology was undertaken and it is today possible to produce high quality paper meeting all modern requirements.

Estonia EUROPA FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: EUROPA 2009 - Astronomy
Date of Issue: 05 May 2009

The history of astronomy embraces the cultural history of humanity, going back to antiquity and having started from prehistoric cults. If originally astronomy represented knowledge about the starry sky and its cycles and in early astronomy the movement of visible heavenly bodies was observed and forecast, then in the modern sense astronomy is a science that studies above all the physical nature of cosmic objects and the Universe as a whole. Significant achievements of Estonian astronomers include the discovery of the cell structure of the universe based on the location of galaxies and their systems in space. The theory was presented by Jaan Einasto and his colleagues at an international symposium on astronomy in Tallinn in 1977. A different structure of the universe than had been presumed until that time was established, whereas the diameter of a cell is nearly 200 million light years. The dimensions of a cell are immense and even light don’t have enough time to exchange information between different edges of the cell network during the lifetime of the Universe. The regular structure of the cell could be compared with a honeycomb, where the cells are also placed in a regular pattern.

EUROPA Series FDCs:
2009 Astronomy:
Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia.

2008 Letter:
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Vatican.

Estonia Parliament FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: The 90th Anniversary of Republic of Estonia Parliament, Riigikogu
Date of Issue: 23 April 2009

The Republic of Estonia was born on 24 February 1918 and the next year the people elected the forerunner of the country's parliament, the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly had its first session on April 23, the day on which the anniversary of the parliament is marked today. It laid a legal foundation to Estonian statehood. On May 1919 a declaration of Estonia's national independence was passed and on 15 June 1920 it endorsed the first Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. From 23 April 1919 to 20 December 1920 the Constituent Assembly held 170 sessions during five periods and passed more than 800 legal acts. The Constituent Assembly had unlimited authority; it appointed governments, received their resignations, endorsed the state budget and decided issues of war and peace. According to the Constitution of 1920 Estonia was a democratic parliamentary republic. Supreme power was vested in the people and it could exercise its will through parliamentary elections, referendums and the right of popular initiative. On 20 December 1920 the Constituent Assembly was dissolved and it passed on its credentials to the parliament, called Riigikogu (State Assembly).

Estonia National Museum FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Centenary of the Estonian National Museum
Date of Issue: 14 April 2009

The history of the Estonian National Museum is the story of the self-awareness and self-assertion of the people, which has many characters but only one central figure – the people. It is a museum built, supported, protected, and its collections carried together by the people. Wider interest in the informed collection, preservation and study of the spiritual and material culture on the initiative of the native intelligentsia led to the establishment of the Estonian National Museum on 14 April 1909. During its hundred-year existence the museum has relentlessly been doing its daily work, keeping and protecting the cultural history trusted to it – even through several wars and periods of occupation. The rich material, photography and art collections and an archive of cultural history materials – a total of more than one million units, is open to the public. The mission of the museum today is to link generations, people and interest groups living in Estonia and to contribute to the preservation of Estonian identity and ethnic peculiarity.

Estonia Meri FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Republic of Estonia heads of state 1918-2018 - Lennart Meri
Date of Issue: 26 March 2009

* 29 March 1929 Tallinn
† 14 March 2006 Tallinn

President of the Republic
6 Oct. 1992–8 Oct 2001

1990–92 foreign minister, 1992 ambassador to Finland, 2002–03 representative of the Government of the Republic in the Convention on the Future of Europe. Writer, translator, film director, member of the Estonian Writers’ Union, of the Estonian Film-makers’ Union, of the Estonian PEN Club, honorary member of the Finnish Writers’ Union, Academician of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, honorary doctor of Helsinki University (1986), Saami University (1999, Finland), Turku University (2000, Finland), Saint Olaf University (2000, USA), Surrey University (2004, Great Britain), patron of numerous undertakings and organisations, bearer of many countries’ orders, European of the Year 1998. Winner of the Coudenhove-Kalergi European Prize (1996), of the Liberal International Prize (1999), of the Max Schmidheiny Freedom Prize (2001) and recipient of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award (2004).

"Republic of Estonia heads of state 1918-2018" Series FDCs:
Otto Strandman
Ants Piip
Lennart Meri

Estonia Piip FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: Republic of Estonia heads of state 1918-2018 - Ants Piip
Date of Issue: 26 February 2009

Ants Piip VR III/1 (February 28, 1884, Tuhalaane, now in Karksi Parish, Viljandi County, Estonia – October 1, 1942, ) was an Estonian

Piip studied at the Teachers' Seminar in Kuldīga (formerly Goldingen), now in Latvia. In 1903–1905, he was a parish clerk and schoolteacher at Alūksne (Alulinn, Marienburg, today in Latvia), also a teacher in the Emperor Nikolai Greek Orthodox Parish School in Kuressaare in 1905–1906, in the Kuressaare Marine School in 1906–1912, and in the Janson Merchant School in St. Petersburg in 1913–1915. He took his High School exams at the Kuressaare State High School, studied at the law department of the St. Petersburg University in 1908–1913, took additional courses in the Berlin University in 1912, received a scientific scholarship from the St. Petersburg University in 1913–1916.

Piip was a member of the Estonian Province Assembly (Eesti Maapäev), and later a member of the Constituent Assembly (Asutav Kogu), and after that, of the Riigikogu. In 1917–1919, Piip was a member of the Estonian Foreign Mission in St. Petersburg and in London, he participated in the Paris Peace Conference. In 1919 he was Deputy to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1919–1920 Member of the Estonian delegation in the Tartu peace negotiations between Estonia and the Russian SFSR. In 1919–1940 he was Professor of International Law in Tartu University. In 1920, he was the diplomatic representative the Republic of Estonia in Great Britain. 1920–1921, while Elder of State, Piip was also the Minister of War. He held position of Minister of Foreign Affairs five times, also he was in 1923–1925 the Envoy of Estonia to the United States of America. During 1938–1940, Piip was also member of the Riigivolikogu (second chamber of the Riigikogu under its temporary structure).

Piip was arrested by the NKVD in June, 1941 and he died in a Soviet prison camp the next year.

"Republic of Estonia heads of state 1918-2018" Series FDCs:
Otto Strandman
Ants Piip
Lennart Meri

Estonia General FDC

Estonia FDC
Name: 125th Anniversary of Birth of Gen. Johan Laidoner
Date of Issue: 12 February 2009

General Johan Laidoner (12 Feb. 1884 – 13 March 1953) Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian armed forces during the War of Independence Johan Laidoner was born in the Viiratsi commune, Viljandi County. He completed the course of a cadet school in Vilnius and of the Nicholas Military Academy in St. Petersburg. He served as staff officer in World War I and in the autumn of 1917 was asked to take the post of commander of the 1st Estonian division. In 1918 Laidoner was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces and was promoted to lieutenant general for his services in the War of Independence. He retired from military service after the war ended in 1920 and was Member of Parliament in 1920–29. In 1924 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces for six months to head suppression of the coup attempt of December 1, 1924. As member of the Estonian delegation he took part in assemblies of the League of Nations, and in the autumn of 1925 headed a special committee of the League of Nations in the Mosul area of Iraq. In 1932–33 he was deputy chairman of the land forces committee and head of the technical subcommittee at the Geneva disarmament conference. In 1934–40 he once again served as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and was promoted to general in 1939. After the Soviet occupation of Estonia he was deported to Penza in July 1940, was arrested in June 1941 and died in the Vladimir Prison in Russia.

Comment: As usual, Eesti Post used 2 special cancellations for this set. The other one was sent from Viljandi County, General Johan Laidoner's hometown. Thanks my friend!