Estonian Literary Museum
Encyclopedia
The Estonian Literary Museum (ELM; ), is a national research institute of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Estonia. Its mission is to improve the cultural heritage of Estonia, to collect, preserve, research and publish the results.
Apart from the specific business of the divisions, they also organize exhibitions and campaigns, technical meetings, conferences and various seminars.
. A working group for 1921 was added bibliography, from 1927 to 1929 followed by two further divisions.
During the Second World War, the institute was split into two state museums covering ethnography and literature. In 1946 the museums were re-merged. From 1957 the Literary Museum holds an annual December two-day conference on literature and folklore, the so-called Kreutzwald days to remember Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald
, one of the most important Estonian writers. Some years after the restoration of independence in 1995, the museum received its former name back and extended the publication of its annual almanac to articles, primary source texts and research.
Structure
The ELM acts as a central archive, in particular, of Estonian literature and folklore. It is divided into 5 divisions:- The library (with archive and bibliography). Founded in 1909 with 10,000 Estonian language volumes, it currently has a stock of 809,000 works of books and periodicals in other languages, as well as pamphlets and maps.
- Estonian folklore archive (EFA), founded in 1927. It explores the customs, folk dances, songs and text, etc. The collection particularly covers Finno-UgricFinno-Ugric languagesFinno-Ugric , Finno-Ugrian or Fenno-Ugric is a traditional group of languages in the Uralic language family that comprises the Finno-Permic and Ugric language families....
folklore, but also Baltic GermanBaltic GermanThe Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...
, RussianRussiansThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Jewish and other ethnic groups. - Estonian Cultural and Historical Archive (ECHA), established in 1929. It combines the previous collections of the Estonian Literary Society and the National Academy Museum. The largest collection contains manuscripts and monographs, followed by those for photos, art and film & Audio
- The Department of Folk Music, in 2000 ELM affiliated with the former Academy Institute with some 3,000 works. They are also periodicals such as the Ars Musicae popularis and Vana Kannel.
- The Department of Folklore, founded in 1947. Edits academic journals and 6 publications, and maintains the Monumenta Estoniae AntiquaeMonumenta Estoniae AntiquaeThe Monumenta Estoniae Antiquae is a corpus of Estonian folksongs which contains around 800,000 pages of manuscript, including 100,000 songs in the standard trochaic dimeter form. This corpus is one of the largest and most significant of its kind in the world....
.
Apart from the specific business of the divisions, they also organize exhibitions and campaigns, technical meetings, conferences and various seminars.
History
The history of the Estonian Literary Museum began in 1909 the founding of the Estonian National Museum and Archive Library in TartuTartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
. A working group for 1921 was added bibliography, from 1927 to 1929 followed by two further divisions.
During the Second World War, the institute was split into two state museums covering ethnography and literature. In 1946 the museums were re-merged. From 1957 the Literary Museum holds an annual December two-day conference on literature and folklore, the so-called Kreutzwald days to remember Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald was an Estonian writer, who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country.-Life:Friedrich's parents were serfs at the Jõepere estate, Virumaa. His father worked as a granary keeper and his mother was a chambermaid...
, one of the most important Estonian writers. Some years after the restoration of independence in 1995, the museum received its former name back and extended the publication of its annual almanac to articles, primary source texts and research.