Estonia is said to have one of the largest collections of folk songs in the world, with some 130,000 songs. The country’s centuries-old folk songs reveal the culture of Estonia, especially in their ‘regivarss’ songs, with a sort of a rhythmic verse. Each line of the song is repeated several times, with variations on a theme. Today, the country’s ancient folklore is rarely encountered, except on the island of Kihnu and border region of Setu.

The first Estonian book was published in 1535. However, the foundations of Estonian literature were laid in the beginning of the 19th Century, and by the end of the century it is said that 100 percent literacy was achieved in the country. The poet and philologist Kristjan Jaak Peterson wrote the first original verse in the Estonian language in the beginning of the 19th Century.

From 1860 to 1880, a national awakening of the Estonians was reflected in the language, intellect, honour and conscience of the society, when the epics of Friedrich Reinold Kreutzwald were published. Estonian literature in the beginning of the 20th Century is known within the context of European modernism. The first literary group to bring about new trends and movements influenced by French Symbolism, European art and the Neo-romantic cult of personality was Noor-Eesti, or Young Estonia. One of the most distinguished Estonian novelists in the first independence period included Anton Hansen Tammsaare. His masterpiece Truth and Justice is a saga of farm life. Juhan Liiv is a legendary 19th-century poet, and his poems are cited today by many Estonians. Jaan Kross is the most highly acclaimed contemporary writer in Estonia, who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kross’s historical novels and short stories present an allusive analysis of the present times and explore the relationship between the individual and power.