Two Crone note - Kaks Krooni

was first published
http://www.korrespondentin.antjeschiffers.de/en/eesti.htm
I had to find something to explain about my country and its culture. Since I wasn't prepared, I had nothing on me and all i found was two crones in my pocket.
About the project read here: http://www.korrespondentin.antjeschiffers.de/

Berlinerin Antje, the head of the project says:
Tuuli chose the Two Crone note to represent Estonia and it's complicated identity. The note shows an image of the scientist Karl Ernst von Baer.

This is Tuuli's text:
My name is Tuuli. It means Wind in Estonian. My younger brother is Tormis - Storm then. We have usual Estonian parents. My mother is 62 and she is still working full time. My father is 63. Average Estonian man lives 57 years. So my father is dead.
Average Estonian family has 1,2 children (so, we are like Italians - dieing out pretty quickly. Every year in Estonia is less kids going to school. Not enough people any more to keep the nation going). I have three and my brother has four kids now. Other than that, we are usual Estonian parents - I am divorced single mom and my brother never got married. Would we save our country and national identity for future? Or will our kids, when they become usual Estonian parents? We'll see.


One of the most powerful and important symbols of every country and its identity has been and is money - a national banknote nowadays. It is especially important for a new state and it's citizens. Estonians have put a lot of time and efforts into creating our own money. Now into keeping it as long as possible since it carries all these important symbols of us and our culture. It is reflection and reminder of what we are, where we come from.

Most stable state for me in Estonia and in Estonian history is confusion. Confusion about the same idea - what are we and where we came from? Being so small, so opened to all winds that come from this cold sea, always conquered and ruled by someone else - most of us, Estonians have lost understanding of this, even though - symbols and feelings are strong. Even though the population is decreasing, we still have the world largest choir - this year 21 500 people sang together at the same time at our Song Festival and the number of singers in this national choir in increasing.
We are proud of our Old Town in Tallinn. It is beautiful and unique. But, we can't forget that it was not created by Estonians and for them - Estonians lived outside of the city walls. We are proud of our national clothes that are in use even today - these beautiful clothes have many regional variations and reflect, again, the ones who have lived here at different times - Russians, Swedes, Danes, Germans …

My Kaks Krooni banknote that I found in my wallet is a good sample of it - Karl Ernst von Baer, the man on it, was a great guy - noble man who desired knowledge, never stopped asking questions about life around him, and - answered some of these questions for all of us.
Karl Ernst (Karl Maksimovich) was born in 1792 on the Estate of Piep (Piibe) Jerwen County (Järvamaa). This versatile Baltic-German naturalist was born into the family of close relatives Magnus von Baer, the owner of the Estate of Piep and the Knight Commander of the Order of the Knights of Estonia, and his cousin Juliane von Baer.

Young Karl studied at the Cathedral School in Reval (Tallinn), was a student of medicine at the University of Dorpat (Tartu), and graduated from the University as doctor of medicine. Later he continued his studies in Vienna and in Würtzburg, studied and taught (later) in Königsberg (Kaliningrad), in Berlin, St. Petersburg - definitely not a usual 18th - 19th century Estonian man.
In 1826 Baer discovered the mammalian, including human, ovum (De ovi mammalium et hominis genesi. Lipsiae, 1827). He proved that the embryonal development of animals proceeds from more general and simple formal characters to more differential in the further course of development, acquiring more complicated features typical of a subgroup and finally of an individual (so-called Baer laws).

With his monograph "Über Entwickelungsgeschichte der Thiere" Bd. I-II. Königsberg, 1828, summing up his developmental studies, he laid the foundations of the science of comparative and descriptive embryology. In 1837 he organized an expedition to Novaya Zemlya which laid the basis of ecological research in Russia. Again - not a typical Estonian man these days.
His thesis on the diseases endemic among the Estonians (De morbis inter esthonos endemicis. Dorpati, 1814) were translated into Estonian only in 1976 (so 162 years later even though it was highly valued by scientists of other countries, Estonians did not pay attention), his laws on embryonic development were long known worldwide.

Historical 13th -14th century Old Town in Tallinn is not typical Estonian living, but we are proud of it. Neither is our President's palace (built by Russians) and Parlament house. We like these symbols any way and keep as part of our culture and us.

Karl Ernst von Baer was not a typical Estonian. We are proud of him. And we keep him on our national symbol - on a bank note of Kaks Krooni.
Confused?
May be …