10. Emajõe River

Rannu-Jõesuu - Palupõhja - Sangla bogs - Kärevere - Kardla - Kärkna monastery - Tartu - Ropka wet meadows - Haaslava - Kavastu - Saarepera Old river - Praaga

Along the banks of Emajõgi: 101 km by the map

In ancient chronicles the Great Emajõgi river was first mentioned in 1224 (Emaioga). The Livonian chronicler Henricus the Lettis wrote about the Emajõgi: "When Germans reached the stronghold of Tarbatu in 1211, they found it devastated and crossed the river called Mater aquarium (mother of water) to move on to the land of pagans". In the 13th century and later the present Pärnu river was also called the Emajõgi. Until the 18th century when the Tänassilma river near Viljandi became too shallow for navigation, the ancient trading route which had connected Pärnu and Pskov stopped to exist. It went along the Pärnu, the Raudna, Lake Viljandi, the Tänassilma, Lake Võrtsjärv, the Emajõgi and Lake Peipus. Later several plans were made to restore the ancient route. The Emajõgi river is one of the most popular rivers in Estonian folklore. According to a legend recorded by F. R. Faehlmann the riverbed was dug by animals and birds.

Once upon a time Vanemuine (the pagan god) became angry. Birds and animals did not enjoy life quarrelling and fighting with each other. He wanted to send them an elder to govern the animal kingdom. To receive the king, all animals, big and small, had to start digging a river on the banks of which their king was to live in shady forests and green meadows. The river had to be deep and beautiful flowing between the hills and along the valleys. The animals began to work. The hare was laying the course, the fox was running after him and with his pushy tail left a line where to dig. The mole ploughed the first furrow and the badger deepened it. The wolf came and levelled the bottom. The bear removed all the soil and sand. When the river-bed was there, Vanemuine came with a golden ladle full of water and told his water where to flow. This is how the symbol of the County of Tartumaa - the Emajõgi river - was born.

The Great Emajõgi flows out of the north-eastern part of Lake Võrtsjärv. The place is called Rannu-Jõesuu. Flowing eastward it reaches Lake Peipus at Praaga. The Emajõgi flows in the County of Tartumaa. The total length is 101 km (from Lake Võrtsjärv to Tartu - 60 km, from Tartu to Lake Peipus - 40 km).

As the difference between the heights is only 3.7 m on 100 km, the speed of the flow is slow, only some 20 cm/sec. This is important to know it if you plan a rubber boat trip along the river. It is not any better during spring floods, especially on the stretch from Tartu to Lake Peipus because the water regime of the lake influences the river. The biggest floods were recorded on 19 March 1929 when 490 km2 were covered with water and the Emajõgi was 20 km wide at the mouth. The water level in the river is the lowest in the second half of the summer, in August and September.

The Great Emajõgi will allow us to open an attractive tourist route for nature lovers. The less known stretch of the river is Rannu-Jõesuu - Kärevere where the roads are far from the river valley and the density of population is exceptionally low.

At Rannu-Jõesuu the left bank of the Emajõgi belongs to the County of Viljandi. On 10-23 June 1941 a severe battle was fought here.

From Jõesuu to the mouth of the Pede river, the Emajõgi is narrow (20 m) and flowing slowly. During spring floods the river may even flow in the direction of Lake Võrtsjärv. Very seldom the river freezes here because of Kabe and Lustivere rapids. The river-bed is surrounded by low and empty meadows, the bogs and marshes are ahead (the Meleski marshes on the left, the Sangla bogs on the right).

The next 30 km long stretch up to Kärevere has a rare character. Specialists say that there is no similar area anywhere else in Estonia. The river is meandering on the meadow the surface of which is not much higher than the level of water. Hay-making and cattle grazing have become rare. The meadows are covered with brushwood and reed, but there are many rare species: loft-leaved elm, dwarf birch, gladiolus, orchid. The forests are far from the river, on the slopes of the primeval valley. The Emajõgi is full of bends, the high sandy banks are colonies of swallows. Near the river grow reed, bulrush yellow flag, in the water - arrowhead, yellow water lily, pondweed and white water lily. 45 species of fish can be found: mainly pike, bream, perch, roach, ide and sheatfish, the last being rare and under protection.

On the northern bank Kulu and Kaaristu bogs occupy a large territory being a part of the Alam-Pedja nature reserve. The village of Palupõhja and the Vainu farm (see Route 9) are nearby. The village of Palupõhja faces a danger of being washed away. To protect it, the banks have been fortified using geotextile. On the southern bank there are Laugesoo, Vaaramaa and Peenraraba - different types of bogs forming the Sangla wetland which occupies the fourth place (290 km2) in Estonia. The peat resources are used by the Sangla factory to make briquettes for heating and selling them.

When the Elva river has already flown into the Emajõgi, its valley becomes narrower and forests reach the river. Seven more kilometres down the Emajõgi and we reach Kärevere with its bridge on the Tallinn-Tartu road. From Kärevere to Kastre the Emajõgi flows through an inhabited area. The river flows straight, without any bends, the meadows are narrow. Soon the Laeva canal flows into the river from the left. It was dug after World War 2 for the drainage of wet forests and timber rafting.

We see farmsteads and fields. The first village on the right is Kardla. 7-8 km from Kärevere the Amme river flows into the Emajõgi. Until 1955 navigation was difficult at the mouth of the Amme because of the Muuge rapids. Now a canal has been dug to pass the rapids. There we can see the ruins of the Kärkna monastery (see Route 9).

The Emajõgi is rather straight, wide and slowly flowing from Muuge to Tartu. Behind the high banks there are hay fields, some of them neglected and full of brushwood. Near the Jänese bridge on the left bank there had been summer resorts Ranna and Kvissental, on the right bank - the village of Vorbuse is still alive.

Before reaching Tartu, the Valley of the Emajõgi is only one kilometre wide, its slopes reach the height of even 20 m in some places. The Aruküla caves in the Devon sandstone rock look attractive in the rays of the setting sun. In the limits of Tartu we see the outskirts of Supilinn, the centre with the Town Hall, the Atlantis night club, the market, the Emajõgi Trading Centre, blocks of flats in the residential area of Annelinn.

Picturesque barges which made Tartu famous a century ago, are long gone from the townscape. The barges were moored in the centre waiting for the next spring to come. The vessels were large (about 20 m long, 12 m wide) with complicated rigging and huge sails, they could transport various goods (5 tonnes - kerosene, herrings, salt, sugar, vodka, paper, onions, fish) sailing along the Emajõgi to Lake Peipus and then further on to Pskov, or in the opposite direction.

Having boated down the river and passed Tartu, the valley becomes wider. The wet meadows of Ropka have become internationally known thanks to the more than 90 species of birds nesting near a town. It is the biggest number when comparing data of other European towns. In early spring the river valley is often flooded. At the distance of 7 km from the centre of Tartu the Savijõgi river flows into the Emajõgi form its right bank.

A kilometre down the river and there is another 20 km long Mõra oja (the Mõra brook) flowing into the Emajõgi from the right. The valley is narrowing again up to Kastre. The Emajõgi is 50-70 m wide now, much deeper and flowing slowly. At Haaslava there are large ponds on a fish farm and you can find a 3 km-long marked walking route with places for camping.

The next river flowing into the Emajõgi is the Luutsna river (28 km) the mouth of which is near the Luunja bridge. From Luunja to Kavastu the Emajõgi is straight and wide, the valley-narrow. At Kavastu there is the only ferry in Estonia. A hundred years ago, in 1899, the ferry was built to alleviate transport problems of the local farmers. 1983 the chain broke and the ferry sailed down the river. In 1999 it was restored hoisting the original fly-wheel from the bottom to its initial place. You can nowhere see such an ancient from of crossing the river in Estonia.

 

Two kilometres down the river from Uus-Kastre and you see a river island (400 m long). The main riverbed and the Saarepera Old river run parallel to each other. The place is famous for the colony of gulls. The Saarepera Old river was first mentioned before 1684. The maps used in the Northern War called it Peter I canal.

At Kavastu we can already speak about the river mouth. The area is boggy. See Routes 2, 3 and 4.

The last settlement on the river is the fishing hamlet of Praaga. The few houses have been built on piles. Small wooden bridges connect them. The easterly winds blowing from Lake Peipus bring huge amounts of water and flood the land. Fishermen from Praaga (Praska until the 19th century) were known already in the Middle Ages.

At its mouth the Emajõgi river is 80-120 m wide, 6-7 m deep and flowing very slowly. We can see how the lake is constantly conquering dry land and its waves wash the peaty banks making new space for its waters.