Vanemuine Cultural Society ( et, Vanemuine) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n cultural organization. The society was established on 24 June 1865 by the initiative of

Johann Voldemar Jannsen Johann Voldemar Jannsen ( in Vändra, Kreis Pernau, Livonia, Russian Empire – , in Tartu) was an Estonian journalist and poet active in Livonia. He wrote the words of the patriotic song "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm", which later became the ...

. At the beginning, the society focused on

choir music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. In 1869, first

Estonian Song Festival The Estonian Song Festival (in Estonian: ''laulupidu'', ) is one of the largest choral events in the world, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It is held every five years in July on the Tallinn Song Festival G ...

took place and the festival was organized by the society. In 1870, first theatrical activities were taken place. These activities were the start of Estonian-language theatre. In 1940, the society was closed. In 1944, the society's buildings were destroyed due to military activity. On 28 October 1994, the society re-established. As of 2005, the society has 140 members.

References

External links

* {{Official website Estonian culture Organizations based in Estonia