Lucky to Estonia – Quiz: Earth Around

Estonia borders Latvia in the south, Russia in the east and has a lake border against Finland in the north and Sweden in the west. Estonia, which has 1.3 million inhabitants, includes more than 2,000 islands in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.

Ilon Wikland was born in Tartu in Estonia, but came as a refugee to Sweden in the 1940s when she was 14 years old. She trained at Konstfack and Signe Barth’s painting school. In 1954 she was commissioned to illustrate Astrid Lindgren’s book « Mio, my Mio ». Many assignments followed; She then illustrated almost all Astrid Lindgren’s books-and also Edith Unnerstad’s books on Pip-Larssons.

Euro was introduced as a means of payment in Estonia in 2011. Before that, Kroon was used, which was first used in 1928 and was later reintroduced in independent Estonia. During the years as a Soviet republic, however, it was rubles that applied. Estonia joined the EU in 2004.

The victory in Vasaloppet was the biggest individual success for Raul Olle. In 2004 he came second in the race after the Norwegian Anders Aukland. Raul Olle participated in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, where a ninth place in the baton was the best result.

The blue-black-white flag was adopted in 1990, but was first used in the 1880s in connection with student protests against the Russian occupation power. The flag was then used in independent Estonia from the end of the First World War until the Soviet invasion in 1940.

On August 23, 1939, a non-attack pact was concluded between Germany and the Soviet Union. It was named Molotov-Ribbentrop pact after the countries’ foreign ministers. The pact meant that Poland and Eastern Europe would be divided between Hitler and Stalin. Estonia was formally incorporated into the Soviet Union on August 6, 1940. During the Second World War, Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany for three years. The country became independent in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The University town of Tartu in southeastern Estonia has about 100,000 inhabitants.

Sahlene, or Anna Sahlin as she is really called, came third in Eurovision. She also came to the final in the Estonian selection 20 years later. She has participated several times in the Swedish Melodifestivalen.

Riigikogu is Estonia’s highest legislative body. Parliament consists of 101 members elected through general elections every four years. There is a national small party block of five percent.

Erika Salumäe took gold on the bicycle sprint in Barcelona. Four years earlier, she took gold at the same distance in Seoul, but then for the Soviet Union.

Estonian Swedes have lived on many of the islands along the country’s coast. The largest Swedish island population was on Ormsö just outside Hapsal. Most Swedes at Dagö were deported to Ukraine in 1781, where they founded Gammalsvenskby. At Ulfsö, many Swedes lived in the Middle Ages.

According to the Bachtrack website, Arvo Pärt was the world’s most played live composer in classical music eight years in a row from 2010. 2023 was awarded Arvo Pärt with the Polar Prize. Arvo Pärt broke through in 1963 and lived for several decades in Vienna and Berlin. He returned to Estonia in 2010.