tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post4002741655480153740..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Medieval terracotta in TartuDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-3830153246577437672019-06-04T15:43:34.526+01:002019-06-04T15:43:34.526+01:00Yes - the Niguliste (Nicholas) Church, one of the ...Yes - the Niguliste (Nicholas) Church, one of the few buildings in old Tallinn to have been destroyed in the bombings, was rebuilt, but became a Museum of Religious Art. The main church in Pärnu was not as fortunate as this or the Jaani Church - it is just a few low-level bits of wall now. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-11255899976094702592019-06-04T15:35:50.744+01:002019-06-04T15:35:50.744+01:00One aspect of interest when visiting cities and es...One aspect of interest when visiting cities and especially those whose history has been less than restful is to see the buildings which were put up at various times when the city was prosperous and the effects of periods when success was lacking. Kiev is a prime example as one can see how much wealth was there up to the 1917 revolution and then PFF !. Not that nothing is built in the less prosperous times, but the change for the ordinary or worse is visible. The Baltic States are a complex example. In the days of the Hanseatic League one can see that money and taste flowed. Also I think in the burst of confidence after the Versailles independence. One might add that the decades of Hitler and Stalin might in one sense been beneficial in that many of the medieval and later edifices were just left - otherwise in the 1950s and 60s they might have been redeveloped Admittedly in some cases there has been a complete rebuilding, as in Warsaw. All in all, a history in buildingsDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-22863125591794647472019-06-03T14:51:16.688+01:002019-06-03T14:51:16.688+01:00Oh, please do give our warmest regards to Anneli w...Oh, please do give our warmest regards to Anneli when you see her!Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674930917585246294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-67629589279462061262019-06-03T11:32:46.400+01:002019-06-03T11:32:46.400+01:00Thank you, Sue - we will be seeing Anneli in Talli...Thank you, Sue - we will be seeing Anneli in Tallinn in July before we travel southwards. And thank you, Sir David, but can we get back to art and architecture? I rather regret that final paragraph, though of course th trouble can't be ignored.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-31749052171241406452019-06-03T10:50:54.176+01:002019-06-03T10:50:54.176+01:00When Hitler divided central Europe with Stalin in ...When Hitler divided central Europe with Stalin in 1939 one of his requirements, when the Baltic states fell to Stalin, was that those of German blood should leave. In the case of the Estonian aristocracy, that meant leaving their estates behind, so they were offered equivalent estates in Poland where the Polish aristocracy had been dispossessed....The father of a friend of mine turned up in Berlin to claim his new estate, but the relevant office did not have an estate ready for him ( just imagine the efficient German bureaucratic office dealing with this matter - Es tut mir leid, Herr Graf, aber..... etc etc) He was however given a document saying that he was due such-and-such an acreage, castle (s) etc. Then Hitler invaded Russia. When the smoke cleared ( literally indeed) and West Germany was established in 1949, the widow of the claimant turned up at Bonn ( the Hauptdorff, as you will recall) and produced the documented claim. She won !..... and a sum of money descended on my friend. He says it is the only time when a promise issued in the name of Adolf Hitler was honoured after the war<br />David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-13250661445052638132019-06-03T02:18:15.219+01:002019-06-03T02:18:15.219+01:00I so enjoy your embrace of Estonia, not least beca...I so enjoy your embrace of Estonia, not least because it gives me an opportunity to re-visit our few, treasurable days in Tallinn, with Anneli, thanks to you and J, making it so much a home away from home. I am sad to learn, but not surprised, of the increased presence of the far right there. We do live in perilous times, and the way out is not at all clear.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674930917585246294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-44412844593359572832019-06-02T10:27:47.167+01:002019-06-02T10:27:47.167+01:00Alas, human nature is the same everywhere. Makes m...Alas, human nature is the same everywhere. Makes me realise for the first time in my life that the good governance we took for granted, however flawed, does its best to control the worst instincts in people. But the Baltics are always under siege, cyberwise and in terms of folk in their midst, from Russia. Paradoxically these extreme nationalists are at loggerheads with Russian representation in Estonia, but Putin can always manipulate dissent, and in this case say he needs to 'protect' the Estonian-Russian population.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-22232299578027170922019-06-01T12:38:51.952+01:002019-06-01T12:38:51.952+01:00David, you live a life in a beautiful, cultural an...David, you live a life in a beautiful, cultural and moral space, in a sensible intellectual structure. Many people do not - or, rather, they think they do not. They feel ignored by the elite ( you and me ?), threatened by change, and wanting to be ruled by people who are on their side and who they can understand. Hence demagogues that speak to the fears and prejudices of many voters, hence EKME and Farage and Trump. I am I suppose saying that your comment on EKME is not negative enough, since it is rooted in something very basic in the hearts of many voters. It is especially troublesome in that we see this in the Baltic, where in a sense they started with a clean sheet after 1989. These things are difficult to unravel, without the talents of a Franklin Roosevelt.David Damantnoreply@blogger.com