The Estonian Community

 

Tartu, in Estonia, is home to one of Europe’s oldest and most venerated universities, founded in 1632. Some of the educational and architectural wisdom of the old-world city is captured at Tartu College, an 18-storey educational centre and student’s residence located on Toronto’s Bloor Street. Designed by Estonian architect Elmar Tampold, the college was established to promote the study of Estonian heritage and other cultures. Its founding contributors included former graduates of the ancient university, now members of Toronto’s 12,000-member Estonian community.

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This community is the largest concentrated group of Estonians living outside the homeland. Estonia, one of the Baltic countries, was an independent nation until it was annexed by the USSR in 1940. Some 80,000 Estonians escaped to take refuge in Sweden and Germany in 1944. Approximately 15,000 Estonians arrived in Canada from these countries in the late 1940s and ‘50s. Estonia regained its independence during the last stages of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On August 20, 1991, Estonia declared its independence, thus continuing its statehood (which began on February 24, 1918). On September 6, 1991, Estonian independence was recognized by the Soviet Union. Recognition by other countries followed swiftly, with Canada among the early ones to do so.

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Initially, most Estonians in Canada worked as contract labourers. As their knowledge of English improved, Estonians found jobs in the skilled trades and some started their own businesses.

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In 1960, the growing Toronto community purchased the old Chester School building on Broadview Avenue. Today, this building is a cultural centre known as Estonian House.

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With more than 100 cultural, social, professional and political organizations, Toronto’s Estonians have firmly established their roots in the city. There are nine church congregations, 22 fraternities and sororities, as well as kindergarten and language schools. The Estonians have built a Lutheran and a Baptist church and, with the Latvians, they jointly own St. Andrew’s Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church on Jarvis Street.

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Estonian academics, business people, and artists are among Toronto’s prominent professionals. Through the efforts and talents of Estonian architects, the first co-op apartment complex in Canada was built in the 1950s on Queen Street East, and today, several corners of the city contain condominium complexes built by Estonians. In sports, Estonians were the first to introduce Canadians to the graceful movements of rhythmic gymnastics, and to the excitement of orienteering (the sport of wilderness running).

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In the wooded areas outside Toronto, three youth camps promote the Estonian language, folk dancing, and sporting traditions. Jõekääru, located near Uxbridge, features one of the first stadiums in Canada to use metric measurement. In the Muskoka wilderness, Kotkajärve is the site for open-air weddings, and in August, holds a “University in the Forest.” Seedrioru, located near the town of Elora, maintains an open-air theatre and a field dedicated to those who died for freedom in Estonia. Annual Estonian festivals at Seedrioru attract from 3,000 to 5,000 people.

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One of the city’s most colourful events occurs when Toronto’s Estonian community hosts the Estonian World Festival. Folk dancers, massed choirs, gymnasts, and theatrical performers set the stage in 1972 when more than 10,000 Estonians from around the globe gathered for the festival held in Toronto.

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Places to Go

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Estonian Arts Centre located at Eesti Maja (Estonian House), (Tel. 416-461-7963, www.estohouse.com, 958 Broadview Ave), contains a collection of Estonian paintings and graphic arts, and a library of Estonian music which can be visited by appointment, (Tel. 416-259-9779). Eesti Maja also houses a lending library of Estonian literature, archives chronicling the nation’s history, and two gift and bookstores that hold a wealth of Estonian culture in the city.

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Open for lunch and dinner, Esto Café, (Tel. 416-465-3229, 958 Broadview Ave), serves typical Estonian fish, pork and sauerkraut dishes, which reflect the influence of Swedish and German cuisine.

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Religious Centres, Schools and Other Institutions

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Toronto’s Estonians belong to Lutheran and Baptist churches. All of Toronto’s Estonian churches have community halls. Churches include:

•   ESTONIAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH, (Tel. 416-488-1754, 21 Swanwick Ave).

•   ST. ANDREW’S ESTONIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, (Tel. 416-923-5172, 383 Jarvis St).

•   ST. PETER’S ESTONIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, (Tel. 416-483-5847, 817 Mount Pleasant Rd).