Viljandi Archives - Estonian World

The Viljandi Christmas tree is made of 77 streetlights.

PHOTOS: Estonian town of Viljandi builds a Christmas tree out of old streetlights

Estonian World / December 21, 2018

The Estonian town of Viljandi has erected a unique Christmas tree, built from 77 streetlights that used to light the streets of the town for 40 years. The streetlights were collected at the end of 2018 and arranged into an eight-metre (26-foot) Christmas tree. The idea came from the town’s water company, Viljandi Veevärk (Viljandi […]

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Global knitting enthusiasts gather in the Estonian town of Viljandi

Estonian World / June 20, 2018

The Nordic Knitting Symposium in Viljandi will bring together more than a hundred participants from the Nordic countries, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. The native crafts department of the University of Tartu’s Viljandi Culture Academy will host this year’s Nordic Knitting Symposium from 25 June to 1

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PICTURES: New and old meet in Viljandi

Silver Tambur / August 3, 2017

The 25th Viljandi Folk Festival more than deserved its theme name, “New and old”. It’s almost inconceivable to think that the Viljandi Folk Festival was started in 1993 – the year when the music scene in Estonia became gradually dominated by poorly written and primitive synth-based local pop, sometimes mockingly called “elf disco”. Yet, the

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Estonian startup uses drones to deliver drinks to a beach within five minutes

Sten Hankewitz / July 29, 2017

Cleveron, an Estonian logistics startup, has launched a service in a small town in southern Estonia, delivering cold drinks to a public beach in Viljandi using drones – and promising to deliver them within five minutes from ordering. The company said in a statement that “never before has drone delivery been that fast”. The company’s

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Viljandi hosts one of the largest folk music festivals in Europe – pictures

Silver Tambur / July 25, 2014

The Viljandi Folk Music Festival is an annual music festival in Estonia with a central focus on European folk music. It is traditionally held during the last weekend of July, when the otherwise quiet town of Viljandi is completely transformed as the small town centre is suddenly flooded with people. On average, over 200 performers play about 100 concerts and

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Target: Estonia – Britain’s nuclear plan for Tallinn, Tartu and Viljandi

Chris Glew / October 7, 2013

While Estonia was an unwilling member of the Soviet Union, from a military perspective it was a legitimate target in the event of a Soviet nuclear first-strike attack on the UK or its NATO allies. I will never forget the first time I saw a Vulcan bomber take-off. Standing next to the runway at RAF

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Artist in focus: in conversation with singer-songwriter Hedvig Hanson (video)

Stuart Garlick / May 28, 2013

Hedvig Hanson (38) is an Estonian jazz singer. All her songs prominently feature expressions of emotion and closeness to nature. Hedvig got her first musical impressions from her mother, who listened soul and R&B music at home (Earth, Wind And Fire, Randy Crawford, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder etc.). According to her mother, Hedvig began to sing

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