Linda - Lindamäe Park, Tallinn, Estonia
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Chasing Blue Sky
N 59° 26.064 E 024° 44.208
35V E 371631 N 6590607
According to Tallinn folklore, Linda was the wife of the giant Kalev, the man who founded the city of Tallinn, Estonia.
Waymark Code: WMFBPZ
Location: Estonia
Date Posted: 09/25/2012
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
Views: 13

"At the top of Toompea Street on the south side of the Old Town, in the Lindamäe park, sits a monument depicting a mythical figure – Linda. According to Tallinn folklore, Linda was the wife of the giant Kalev, the man who founded the city. The story goes that Kalev was buried on Toompää, and as Linda was mourning, her tears formed Lake Ülemiste in Tallinn. The statue depicts a very solemn figure of Linda with her head bowed, mourning the death of her husband. Tallinn was founded as an Estonian settlement with the name Lindanise.

This monument has become very important to the people of Tallinn. Despite the fact that the statue predates World War II, the Estonian citizens adopted it as an unofficial memorial to loved ones that had been exiled to Siberia during Soviet occupation. Since there was no official gravesite or memorial to those who were deported, locals would come and lay flowers by Linda, sometimes at great personal risk - it was a gesture that could land you in prison.

An information sign at the northwest corner of the park relates the following:

Lindamäe park (Linda's Hill Park) is situated on the embankment of the former Swedish bastion. The surface of the bastion was arranged as a park in 1862. The bronze copy of A. Weizenberg's sculpture Linda was placed to the park and the park got its name after that. The surroundings of Linda monument have become the place where the commemoration events of victims of mass repressions of the Soviet power are organised.

A stone marker has been placed near the Linda monument, with an inscription that reads:

IKKA MÕTLEN NEILE
KES SIIT VIIDEI...
TAEVA POOLE KARJUB
NENDE ÄNG

I found two interpretations of this marker, both quite similar:

"To remember the ones who were taken away. Their oppression is screaming towards the sky"

"I always think of those, who were taken from here... Their distress cries toward heaven."
Time Period: Middle Ages

Approximate Date of Epic Period: 1150 A.D.

Epic Type: Historical

Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art

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Recent Visits/Logs:
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InGodsHands visited Linda - Lindamäe Park, Tallinn, Estonia 09/03/2023 InGodsHands visited it
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ahjaoh visited Linda - Lindamäe Park, Tallinn, Estonia 08/13/2015 ahjaoh visited it
Jouni Jurmu visited Linda - Lindamäe Park, Tallinn, Estonia 09/29/2013 Jouni Jurmu visited it
Chasing Blue Sky visited Linda - Lindamäe Park, Tallinn, Estonia 08/14/2012 Chasing Blue Sky visited it

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