Explore Estonia

At one time those who lived in the area of present-day Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were known as “the werewolf people”, by neighbours and invaders. This had partly to do with pre-Christian legends about a woman who transformed into a she-wolf, a naiselibahunt , a story thought to be of Baltic-Finnic origin. Certain times of the year were known as the werewolf times, in southern Estonia and northern Latvia, and in Livonia of former times. Particularly at the equinoxes, and t

Among Estonian girls’ and women’s names, Liivi holds a special place; it honours a Baltic territory that no longer exists, and a Finnic language  that is all but extinct. So, what is there to celebrate about Livonia? Going back to the early 1200s the three Baltic States we know today were divided between northern Estonia, ruled by Danes, and lands to the south, Liefland and Courland, occupied by land-grabbing, German-speaking, crusading orders, operating with Papal blessing,