Vanemuine (''Eldermost'') is a god of music in the artificial Estonian mythology created by

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 ...

and

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 ...

. His name is probably derived from the Finnish Väinämöinen. Vanemuine is mentioned in the opening strophe of the epic Kalevipoeg by Kreutzwald. In 1865, the

Vanemuine Cultural Society Vanemuine Cultural Society ( et, Vanemuine) is an Estonian cultural organization. The society was established on 24 June 1865 by the initiative of Johann Voldemar Jannsen. At the beginning, the society focused on choir music. In 1869, first Es ...

was founded in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, which evolved into the first Estonian-language theatre, Vanemuine, which continues to be the main theatre of the city of Tartu.

References

Estonian gods {{Deity-stub