First Newspaper In Estonia – Cosmos Tour
By sandra. Filed in Cosmos Jewels of the Baltic Tour, Estonia, Europe |
Johann Voldemar Jannsen was an Estonian journalist and poet who wrote the words of the Estonian national anthem, Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, (My Fatherland). In 1864, Jannsen also managed to persuade the Imperial censors to allow him to publish the first national Estonian language newspaper Postimees (The Courier) which is still published today in an online version.
As the leader of the choral society which organized the first nationwide Song Festival in Tartu in 1869, Jannsen played a crucial role in the Estonian National Awakening (every festival closed with his song, My Fatherland. Look for the blog called “Estonia Sings for Freedom” about this.)
Jannsen was the father of the poet Lydia Emilie Florentine Jannsen, who had to use the pen name of Lydia Koidula. Lydia wrote for her father’s newspapers, but had to use a different name because in the mid nineteenth century (in Estonia and in Europe) it was not considered suitable for a lady to be a writer.