16-meter long tapestry telling the story of Estonian literature now on display
A tapestry over 16 meters long and embroidered by over 3,000 people has been finished and is now on display in Tallinn.
The tapestry marked 2025's Year of the Book in Estonia, and illustrates the history of Estonian literature.
It had toured the country during its creation, with members of the public given the opportunity to add their own embroidery work while it was held at libraries nationwide.
Designed by students from the textiles department at the Kõrgem Kunstikool Pallas art school in Tartu, the embroidery work starts with the first ever recorded sentence in written Estonian: "Laula, laula, pappi" ("Sing, sing, priest"), as the tapestry marked last year's Year of the Book in Estonia.
Mart Jagomägi, vice-chair of the Year of the Book committee, told Ringvaade that the work began a little over a year ago, in February 2025, with the first stitchers being First Lady Sirje Karis and textile artist Anu Raud; Jagomägi himself said he had been involved in embroidery work on nearly 30 separate occasions.
The tapestry consists of two very different sides. "On the first side, it was what needed to be embroidered. On the backside, there was a completely free design; people could stitch their names, logos of institutions, anything they wanted," explained Jagomägi.
Around 3,000 people overall contributed to the creation, most of whom entered their names in the companion logbook.
"The tapestry was embroidered in 48 places, and there are 2,917 named entries in the logbook," Jagomägi went on.
"The youngest embroiderer was just two years old at the time of stitching, and the oldest was 105, continuing to stitch the lining of the tapestry at 106," noted Jagomägi.
The work was not without its casualties either. "The only blood I know of was when people pricked their fingers with the needle. At one point, I noticed that plasters were also accompanying the tapestry," Jagomägi said.
While the final length was meant to be 16.5 meters, once unrolled it turned out to be a little short of that, at 16 meters and 20 centimeters. "The embroidery pulls the fabric together a bit," Jagomägi explained.
From Saturday the tapestry has been on public display at the National Library of Estonia (Eesti rahvusraamatukogu) in Tallinn.
Next month, it will move to the Tartu-based Estonian National Museum (ERM). "On April 19, the tapestry exhibition will open at the ERM, where the tapestry will be on display for two years," Jagomägi added.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Annika Remmel
Source: "Ringvaade", interviewer Grete Lõbu
