The exhibition „There and Back: The Pilgrimages of Livonians in Medieval Europe“, open from 9 March in the tower gallery of the Niguliste Museum, provides an overview of pilgrimages in medieval Livonia. Visitors can learn more about pilgrimage routes in today’s Estonia in a small exhibition room on the ground floor, next to the lift.
Throughout their journey, the medieval pilgrims were urged on by religious motives. Modern pilgrims are largely secular, driven by a wish to escape the routines of daily life, discover new locations and experience the beauty of nature. Besides the physical journey, a pilgrimage also provides an inner journey, a spiritual impact. This is, apparently, the reason why pilgrimages have gained popularity. There are three pilgrimage routes in Estonia, two of which are included in the network of European cultural paths.
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Estonian St James’ Way is part of a network of European pilgrimage routes leading to Santiago de Compostela. The local St James’ Way begins at the Tallinn Cathedral, and takes the traveller from one church to another. The journey starts at one’s front door and heads for Santiago through Ikla or Valga. The route is marked with yellow arrows and scallop shells. Since 2011, a circle of friends-pilgrims, and since 2015 the Estonian Society of the Friends of St James’ Way have developed the route and supported travellers.
Pilgrimages to Jerusalem inspired the Friends of the Pirita Convent, headed by Lagle Parek, to create our own cultural-historical pilgrimage route from Pirita to Vana-Vastseliina. The pilgrimage trail has been developed since 2012. St Bridget, the saint after whom Pirita was named and who is one of the patron saints of Europe, took part in many pilgrimages, including to Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela. The miracle-working cross in the chapel of the Vastseliina castle was a pilgrimage destination as early as the Middle Ages. From there, the route will be extended to Aglona in Latvia.
St Olav’s Way begins in Saaremaa and runs along the coastal areas in western and northern Estonia to St Olav’s Church in Tallinn, to join, through Finland, the route leading to Trondheim. The destination is the shrine of St Olav at the Nidaros Cathedral. Since 2023 St Olav’s Way has been developed by the foundation of the Fund of St Olav the Holy. The goal is to acknowledge the heritage of the Viking king Olav II Haraldsson, including the sea route that stretched eastward from Scandinavia along the coast of Estonia.
The local pilgrimage routes are meant to be travelled on foot, by bike, on horseback or by boat. People can either go through all sections of the trail at different times or choose the ones they are particularly interested in. It is also possible to cover the entire route from one end to the other at one go, within twenty to thirty days. This is, of course, possible in Estonia, but it takes much longer to reach Trondheim or Santiago de Compostela. The websites of the pilgrimage routes offer relevant information, including maps, audio- and video files.
