The Estonian Students' Society (; commonly used acronym: EÜS) is the largest and oldest all-male academical student society in

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

, and is similar to the

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

student organizations known as corporations (Corps) (not to be confused with US college fraternities). It was founded in 1870 at

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. It has over 900 members in Estonia and abroad. In 1881 the Society adopted blue, black and white as its colours. Its first flag was made in 1884 and this tricolour was later (1918) accepted as the National Flag of Estonia. The original flag is still in existence. In the wake of the

Estonian national awakening The Estonian Age of Awakening () is a period in history where Estonians came to acknowledge themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves. This period is considered to begin in the 1850s with greater rights being granted to com ...

, many young Estonian intellectuals had ties to the EÜS, and the organization had impact beyond its borders. It was instrumental in the founding of the

Estonian National Museum The Estonian National Museum () founded 1909 in Tartu is a museum devoted to folklorist Jakob Hurt's heritage, to Estonian ethnography and folk art. The first items for the museum were originally collected in the latter part of the 19th centur ...

in 1909, and the EÜS library was donated to the museum. The Museum was later split into two, and its Archive Library formed the basis of the

Estonian Literary Museum The Estonian Literary Museum (ELM; ), is a national research institute of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Estonia. Its mission is to improve the cultural heritage of Estonia, to collect, preserve, research and publish th ...

. The building of the Estonian Students' Society in Tartu has been considered to be one of the first examples of Estonian national architecture. The Treaty of Tartu between Finland and Soviet Russia was signed in the building in 1920. Former members of the EÜS founded the academic corporations

Fraternitas Estica Fraternitas Estica (C!F!E!) or Korporatsioon Fraternitas Estica is an all-male academic corporation at the University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia. It was founded in 1907 and was reestablished in 1988. History In August 1900, Aleksander Paldrok s ...

(1907), Sakala (1909) and the association Veljesto.

History

Founding

The Estonian Students' Society was founded on 7 April 1870 (26 March 1870 according to the old calendar) by five undergraduate students and three Estonian intellectuals: * Wilhelm Eisenschmidt *

Jakob Hurt Jakob Hurt ( – ) was an Estonian folklorist, nationalist, and theologian. He was a major figure in the Estonian national awakening and worked as a pastor in Otepää and Saint Petersburg. While he was president of the Society of Estonian Lit ...

Johann Voldemar Jannsen Johann Voldemar Jannsen ( – ) was an Estonian journalist. He was one of the earliest figures of the Estonian national awakening, which he promoted through his newspaper, the ''Eesti Postimees'', and two Estonian Song Festivals. He wrote the nat ...

* Andreas Kurrikoff * Heinrich Rosenthal * Gustav Treffner * Hugo Treffner * Martin Wühner They gathered to read the Estonian national epic

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, known as ...

in the first "Kalevipoeg evening" and decided to continue gatherings in the same form. This decision led to the founding of the Estonian Students' Society, which became the first ethnic Estonian student fraternity.

The 1880s

In 1882 the society tried to establish itself as the corporation Vironia, following the model of Baltic German student corporations, but this was rejected by the other corporations. The name Estonian Students' Society came into use in 1883, when the organisation was registered with the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

as an academic-cultural society; this was the society's first legal registration. In 1889, the society began to publish journals (Est: ''albumid''), consisting of scientific articles, essays and belletristic texts.

Fraternitas Viliensis (1890)

In 1890, the fraternity tried to establish itself as the corporation Fraternitas Viliensis, and this was accepted. Its establishment was however stopped by the Russian official Nikolai Lavrovski, head of the Riga Educational District. This was the last main attempt to establish the Estonian Students' Society as a corporation. Later attempts ended with membership splits and the founding of the corporations

(1907) and Sakala (1909), formed in frank imitation of the Baltic German corporations.

Early 20th century

A new building was completed in 1902, designed by

Georg Hellat Georg Hellat (3 March 1870, Puka, Governorate of Livonia – 28 August 1943, Tallinn, Generalbezirk Estland) was an Estonian architect. His best-known masterpiece is the building of the Estonian Students' Society in Tartu Tartu is the secon ...

, one of the first professional Estonian architects, who borrowed from

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and national romanticist styles. The dedication ceremony took place on 10–11 September 1902. The organisation and its traditions were modelled after Baltic German corporations, but the beginning of the 20th century was a time of change. Some traditions like compulsory

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

lessons were abandoned in September 1904. The Estonian Students' Society also made membership voluntary, following the Baltic German corporations' general code of conduct (''Allgemeiner Comment''). On 24 November 1918 the Estonian Students' Society decided to join ''in corpore'' the Estonian military forces to fight in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

. Thirteen members died and 63 students and alumni were awarded the Cross of Liberty. In 1925

Johan Kõpp Johan Kõpp (9 November 1874, Holdre, Kreis Fellin – 21 October 1970, Stockholm) was an Estonian bishop and head of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 1939–1944. Biography Kõpp went to high school at the Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Ta ...

's ''Eesti Üliõpilaste Seltsi ajalugu I.1870–1905'' (History of the Estonian Students' Society I.1870–1905) was published. The building was enlarged in 1930 following the design of architect Artur Kirsipuu.

Symbols

Flag

In 1881, the fraternity decided to adopt blue, black, and white as its colours. The first blue-black-white flag was made in the spring of 1884. Since this flag were banned in

, the flag was blessed on 4 June 1884 in

Otepää Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer ca ...

. The flag achieved national importance at the beginning of the 20th century: the provisional Government of the Republic of Estonia declared the blue-black-white tricolour the official Estonian National Flag on 21 November 1918. This decision, although not formally recorded in "

Riigi Teataja ''Riigi Teataja'' (State Gazette) is a public journal of the Republic of Estonia. The first issue was published on 27 November 1918. Since 1 June 2002, Riigi Teataja was published in electronic form, as Elektrooniline Riigi Teataja, in paralle ...

" (the State Gazette), was the first time the tricolour flag was associated with the Estonian nation. The original flag is still in possession of the Estonian Students' Society and is preserved in the

. The flag was publicly displayed at the Church of Otepää during the 120th anniversary of the flag's blessing in June 2004, and during the 90th Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia at St. Elizabeth's Church in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

in February 2008.

Coat of Arms

The present coat of arms was developed in 1890, when the fraternity tried to establish itself as Corporation Fraternitas Viliensis. It consists of three flags on each side, a knight's helmet, a shield and an oak corona. There is a white open book on the upper left field of the shield. The book's title is ''

Carpe diem () is a Latin aphorism, usually translated "seize the day", taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work '' Odes'' (23 BC). Translation is the second-person singular present active imperative of '' carpō'' "pick or pluck" used by Ho ...

'', meaning "Seize the day", the guiding principle of the fraternity. The

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

, however, is

Fortiter in re suaviter in modo Claudio Acquaviva, SJ (14 September 1543 – 31 January 1615) was an Italian Jesuit priest. Elected in 1581 as the fifth Superior General of the Society of Jesus, he has been referred to as the second founder of the Jesuit order. Early life and ...

, meaning "Gentle in manner, resolute in execution." It is written as the acronyms "F.I.R" on the left and "S.I.M." on right side of the corona.

Historical ties

The Estonian Students Society has partnership agreements with four foreign student organisations. In 1928, the Estonian Students Society concluded an agreement with the Finnish student nations Etelä-Pohjalainen Osakunta and Pohjois-Pohjalainen Osakunta of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

, the first agreement concluded between Estonian and Finnish student organisations. In 1937, an agreement with the student society of the

University of Riga University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public university, public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia ( ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, followed. In 1991, a further agreement was concluded with the Finnish-Swedish Vasa nation of the University of Helsinki. The Estonian Students Society and its Finnish partner organisations exchange visiting students.

Structure

The organisation consists of two legal bodies: * Estonian Students' Society, founded in 1870 and registered with the University of Tartu on 30 December 1988, and with the Tartu Municipal Government * Alumni Association of the Estonian Students' Society, founded in 1884 and registered pursuant to the Non-profit Associations Act of the Republic of Estonia on 8 March 1995 (Reg. no 80055073).

Chapters

Up to 1936, all members of the Estonian Students Society were without exception students of the University of Tartu. From 1936, students of

Tallinn University of Technology Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only Institute of technology, technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration a ...

were also accepted. This led to the founding of the ''

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

chapter'' for undergraduates. An alumni chapter in Tallinn was established in 1921. Beginning in 1945, various chapters of the Estonian Students Society were formed abroad by expatriate members in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The currently-active chapters are: *

Chapter *

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Chapter *

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Chapter *

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Chapter *

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Chapter *

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Chapter *

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Chapter Chapters of the Estonian Students Society overseas accept students from different universities and higher educational institutions.

Notable members

Honorary

Following is a list of honorary members:Auvilistlased
eys.ee * Matthias Johann Eisen,

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

* Karl August Hermann,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...

, folklorist, and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

* Oskar Kallas, diplomat, linguist and folklorist * Andres Koern, entrepreneur *

, archbishop * Henrik Koppel, medical scientist * Jaan Kross, writer * Mart Laar,

Prime Minister of Estonia The prime minister of Estonia () is the head of government of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the President of Estonia, president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed ...

* Aadu Lüüs, medical scientist * Johan Müller, Estonian Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs * Ferdinand Peterson, engineer and politician *

Villem Raam Villem Raam (30 May 1910 – 21 May 1996) was an Estonian art historian, art critic and conservator-restorer. His work in documenting and preserving the cultural heritage of Estonia, not least during the Soviet occupation of Estonia, contributed ...

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

* Gustav Ränk, ethnologist * Heinrich Rosenthal, writer * Vello Salo,

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

* Enn Sarv, Estonian freedom fighter * Gustav Suits, poet * Harald Tammur, clergyman *

Jaan Tõnisson Jaan Tõnisson ( – 1941?) was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder (head of state and government) from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from 19 ...

State Elder The State Elder (), sometimes also translated as Head of State, was the official title of the Estonian head of state from 1920 to 1937. He combined some of the functions held by a president and prime minister in most other democracies. According ...

, and Foreign Minister of Estonia * August Torma, Estonian politician and diplomat

References

*Hein, Ants. ''Maja kui sümbol: Eesti Üliõpilaste Seltsi hoone Tartus''. 2007. * Kõpp, Johan. ''Eesti Üliõpilaste Seltsi Ajalugu 1870–1905'', I. Tartu, 1925. * Grönberg, Artur. ''Eesti Üliõpilaste Seltsi ajalugu. II, Iseseisvuse eelvõitluses (1906–1917).'' Omariikluse saavutustes (1918–1940), Montreal, 1985. * Vivat Academia: ''üliõpilasseltsid ja -korporatsioonid Eestis''. Tallinn, 2007.

External links

*
Estonia's Blue-Black-White Tricolour Flag
{{Authority control University of Tartu 1870s establishments in Estonia Student organizations established in 1870

History

Founding

The 1880s

Fraternitas Viliensis (1890)

Early 20th century

Symbols

Flag

Coat of Arms

Historical ties

Structure

Chapters

Notable members

Honorary

See also

References

External links