The Learned Estonian Society ( et, Õpetatud Eesti Selts, shortened ÕES; german: Gelehrte Estnische Gesellschaft, shortened GEG) is Estonia's oldest scholarly organisation, and was formed at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

in 1838. Its charter was to study Estonia's history and pre-history, its language, literature and folklore.

Friedrich Robert Faehlmann Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (Fählmann) (31 December 1798 in Ao Manor, Kreis Jerwen – 22 April 1850 in Tartu) was an Estonian writer, medical doctor and philologist active in Livonia, Russian Empire. He was a co-founder of the Learned Estonian ...

Alexander Friedrich von Hueck Alexander Friedrich von Hueck (7 December 1802 – 28 July 1842) was a Baltic-German professor of anatomy at the University of Tartu, and a notable estophile. Life and work Von Hueck was born in Reval (Tallinn), in the Kreis Harrien of the Gove ...

and Dietrich Heinrich Jürgenson led the society that consisted of Estonian and

Estophile Estophilia (from Greek: φίλος, ''filos'' - "dear, loving") refers to the ideas and activities of people not of Estonian descent who are sympathetic to or interested in Estonian language, Estonian literature or Estonian culture, the history ...

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

intellectuals. The society provides language analysis services in addition to assistance in the development of the scientific study of history, archeology, ethnography, numismatics and art history. The society published yearbooks, bibliographies and ''Proceedings''. The initial version of

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country. He is the author of Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg''. Life Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's pare ...

's ''

Kalevipoeg ''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic. Origins In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition of legends e ...

'' was published in its ''Proceedings'' between 1857 and 1861. In 1950 the Soviet occupation authorities shut down the society and split its collection of 25,000 books, 160,000 pages of manuscripts and 60,000 ethnographical items between several other institutes. The society was restored in 1988 on the initiative of Professor Herbert Ligi of

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

. As of 2015, the society's board of directors was:

Mart Kuldkepp Mart Kuldkepp (born September 19, 1983) is an Estonian Scandinavianist, historian and translator. He is Associate Professor of Scandinavian History and Politics at University College London. Between 2011 and 2015, he worked in various positions in t ...

, Taavi Pae, Marju Luts-Sootak,

Tiit Rosenberg Tiit Rosenberg (born 26 December 1946, in Tsirguliina) is an Estonian historian and professor of Estonian History in University of Tartu. In 1996–2008 was he also chairman of Õpetatud Eesti Selts (The Learned Estonian Society). Rosenberg stu ...

, Kersti Taal, Tõnu-Andrus Tannberg,

Heiki Valk Heiki Valk (born 7 May 1959, in Tartu) is an Estonian archaeologist. He is a senior research fellow and head of archaeological laboratory at Tartu University specialising in Estonia in the Middle Ages. From 23 January 2008, he has been Chairman ...

, and Piret Õunapuu.

References

External links

Õpetatud Eesti Selts
(Estonian, English, German)
Sitzungsberichte der gelehrten estnischen Gesellschaft zu Dorpat, 1863-1940
(Yearbooks of the Learned Estonian Society, 1863-1940)
Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen Gesellschaft zu Dorpat, 1840-1943
(Proceedings of the Learned Estonian Society, 1840-1943) {{Authority control University of Tartu Estonian literature Estonian folklore Historiography of Estonia Organizations established in 1838 1830s establishments in Estonia Learned societies of Estonia 1838 establishments in the Russian Empire

See also

References

External links