Estonia – Fairy Tale Land

If you ever use Skype, you have Estonians to thank for it.

Estonia, a Baltic country in Northern Europe, has an interesting and colorful history. Estonia has been ruled by Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia over centuries. With multiple revolts and uprisings against the rulers over the years, Estonian history reads like another Game of Thrones.

Interestingly, when Estonia finally regained independence in 1991, it was completely bloodless. (Regained, as they were actually independent since 1918, but was forcefully annexed by the Russians during WWII in 1940.)

In the history of mankind, no other nation has become independent by singing. And that’s exactly what these people did. The singing revolution was brought about by thousands of ordinary citizens singing patriotic songs lasting over four years before independence was declared on 20th August, 1991.

Which begs the question: was the singing really that bad?

Currently, Estonia is one of the most economically successful of the eastern European countries. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia. Tallinn’s medieval old town was built by German crusaders in the Late Middle Ages. It rates as one of Europe’s best preserved medieval old towns. Estonia is divided into 15 counties, but as the country is small , most parts can be reached within 2-3 hours from Tallinn. There are beautiful beach villages, seaside resorts, national parks and 2,222 islands in the Baltic sea.