Estonia - Coat of Arms 2007

Saaremaa County
Price: 0.28 Euro
Date: 25 January 2007
Print: offset
Designer: Lembit Lõhmus
Sheets: 5 x 5
Quantity issued: 5 090 000
Printing house: AS Vaba Maa

The Estonian Saare (Island) county is made up of five inhabited islands and numerous small islands and islets with a total territory of 2,922 square kilometres and a population of about 38,000. The island county is valued by both islanders and mainland Estonians as the place to spend their summer holidays, discovering deserted beaches and the islands' natural wonders. The islands' unique natural and cultural heritage, the islanders' warm humour and hospitality will help visitors forget the fast pace of daily life and experience the passage of time the islands way in the westernmost Estonian county, where the sun sets later than on the mainland. Various cultural events organised on Saaremaa, Muhu, Abruka, Vilsandi and Ruhnu will make island holidays a success. But for those who prefer peace and solitude, there are the Vilsandi National Park and the Viidumäe Nature Reserve, as well as the characteristic island landscapes - alvars and juniper stands, coastal and wooded meadows, not to mention coastal villages and the roar of waves breaking on the shore.

Tartu County
Price: 0.35 Euro
Date: 02 July 2007
Print: offset
Designer: Lembit Lõhmus
Sheets: 5 x 5
Quantity issued: 3 000 000
Printing house: AS Vaba Maa

Estonia’s Tartu County is versatile both in terms of its nature and culture. It has the town of Elva set in a pine wood, the Vooremaa drumlin area, a remnant of the Ice Age, the eel-rich Lake Võrtsjärv lined with reed beds, major wetlands at both ends of the River Emajõgi, the undulating Kambja and Pangodi area that will progress into uplands slightly further south, primeval forests at Järvselja and the banks of Lake Peipsi, one of the largest fresh-water bodies in northern Europe, on the banks of which Russian-speaking Old Believers grow the best onions in Estonia. The Emajõgi cuts the county, and indeed the whole of Estonia, into two halves. In olden times its served as the boundary between two major dialectal groups, as well as frames of mind. Yet the county also has unifying features: conservative balance, a patriotic spirit, cultured interests and the will to learn. In fact, learning and aspiration for education is the most important common denominator for the county. It is the county where the first Estonian schools for peasants’ children opened and where the only classical university in Estonia attracts students from near and far. The aura of the county seat, the educational and research centre of Tartu, prevails over the whole county and its people have picked fostering education and research as their development strategy.