Viljandi Estonia-Well worth a Visit

The highlight was attending the four day round the clock Annual Folk Festival. Attending folk dance lessons was also a real pleasure, exploring the Castle ruins, the old church, walking along the Viljandi River, and meeting so many wonderful Estonians added to the joy of this unexpected week-end.

Quick Tips:

The annual Viljandi Folk Festival in 2001 will be held July 26-29th. This extremely popular event attracts thousands so advanced reservations are a must. I had great difficulty finding a room-even the campgrounds were full.

Best Way To Get Around:

You don't need a car once you arrive in Viljandi...the town is small enough to walk around and see the sites. I arrived by bus from Tallinn, Estonia...a 2 1/2 hour trip. There are four daily bus trips to Viljandi from Tallinn.

After spending two nights in the Soviet-era Hotel Viljandi, I finally found a room in the Oma Koda Hotel in the center of Viljandi. This place was expensive...cost me $50 a night, which is high for Estonia...but well worth the extra expense. This hotel is perhaps the best in Viljandi, with modern facilities including telephone and TV. The room was comfortable with updated conveniences along with private bath. Downstairs there is a spacious lounge for relaxing, reading,etc.

I had real difficulty finding a room because of the Folk Festival. The best bargain in town is the Kalev Sports Base Hostel, located on the lake (Telephone 54-870) Ranna Street. It has 93 beds but this place was totally booked up, filled with students attending the Concert.

Through the Tourist Office, I finally found a room in the Soviet-era Hotel Viljandi (Telephone 53-852) at Tartu 11. It has 26 rooms with private toilet and shower for around $15 a night. Staying here was not a pleasant experience although it was worth spending time here to understand and experience a Soviet era building. The Russians built these ugly, concrete buildings so poorly constructed that they are now falling apart. They look like prisons outside and when you enter, walk down the hallways and enter your small room, you do feel like a prisoner.

This is a small cozy cafe decked out with lace table cloths which serves a small selection of home-cooked meals including soups for around 50 cents. I had a delicious Estonian sausage meal called suitsuvort. For breakfast one morning I had blood pancakes (vere pannkoogid)...the blood coming from beets. I also tried a glass of a syrupy Vana Tallinn drink...very sweet, almost sickly, strong and apparently an integral part of any Estonian table. I attempted to drink this straight but finally added it to my coffee...a vast improvement.

The Estonians love singing and dancing and this event is one of the major highlights of the year. Thousands of folk music lovers gather from all over the world to hear and participate in this fantastic folk festival which runs for four days round-the-clock. Folk groups from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norwway, Sweden, even Ireland and Scotland participate in this event. Big Estonian folk names such as Peeter Volkononski, Johauson Brothers, Kukerpillid and Justament, Mr. Lawrence and the folk-rockers Jaabilrer are just a few of the entertainers. Most of the concerts are held outside in beautiful surroundings such as the ruins of the Viljandi Castle which overlooks the Viljandi Lake.

Another wonderful addition to this event is the morning workshops open free to the public. Folk and dance groups will teach you their song and dance. I attended a morning workshop with an Estonian group and developed a lasting friendship with a women named Ingrid Meister. See the photo of her dressed in her native outfit.

There is a fee for each event or a day pass or pass for the entire festival. The best bargain is the full four day event which costs around $20.

The ruins of this Viljandi Order Castle overlook the Viljandi Lake from a hill in the Castle Park. The Knights of the Sword founded this castle when they conquered this area in the 13th century.

A little history will help. This region was conquered by Germanic crusading knights. Having overrun Slavic lands in modern-day eastern Germany and western Poland in the 12th century, the Germanic expansionists turned their attention to the eastern Baltic.

Following papal calls for a crusade against the heathen, Germanic missionaries arrived in the Viljandi region. The Knights of the Sword was established in 1202-an order of crusading knights whose white cloaks were designed with blood-red swords and crosses-with the mission of converting the masses.

Despite intense resistence, Estonia fell to the Knights in 1217 with the defeat of the Estonian leader, Lembitu.

These Knights built a castle in Viljandi...ruins are all that is left after many centuries. The corner tower is known as Villu Kelder, named for the leader of a 14th century Estonian who led a rebellion against the Sword but was captured and spent the rest of his life a prisoner in the castle.

This is THE place to visit once you arrive in town. The folks here are so helpful and friendly. Telephone 33-444, fax 33093, e-mail info@viljandi.tourism.ee. Two days ago I e-mailed this tourist center requesting the date for the 2001 summer Folk Festival since I plan to return this summer. Within one day I received a response...by the way, the date is July 26-29th. This tourist information center is located inside the Hetika Travel Agency at Kanba 12. These folks will help you with lodging, information on local history, special events, etc.

Another benefit of spending some time here is to purchase special items that reflect the history of the area...such as t-shirts, mugs, posters, and maps. They will also cash traveler checks and have a ATM machine for Visa and Mastercard.

During the Viljandi Folk Festival I met a women by the name of Ingrid Meister, from Tallinn, Estonia. She was part of a cultural-folk-dance group from Tallinn who was performing at the Folk Festival. During a dance in the town park, her group invited spectators to join the group in their dance...I joined and as a result made a new and wonderful friend.

After the performances, we spent hours talking in a cafe...I learned so much from this kind woman. She shared her experiences during the Soviet occupation. "They took away our freedom but not our dance and music and this kept us hopeful during those difficult years of oppression."

During the German Nazi occupation, her father was forced to join the German Army or be shot. A year later he was killed in a battle with the Russians. Her mother was determined to find his body and eventually discovered the mass burial site. Digging up the mass grave, she found her husband's decomposed body, recognizing him by the vest he was wearing when he died. He had promised her that he would always wear this vest that she had knitted for him. She hid his body under straw and slowly carried the body back home for a decent burial.

After the war, the Russians took over Estonia. Ingrid's mother remarried and together they lived quietly on a farm. One day the Russian police arrived at their farm and took her husband away...to Siberia. He was considered a threat to the Soviet government. (Thousands of Estonians were shipped to Siberia, never to be seen again).

Ingrid's mother is still alive...her spirit undefeated by her difficult life. My friend Ingrid runs a high school in Tallinn. We continue to be good friends and e-mail each other weekly. I plan to visit her this summer.