Estonia - Nordic or Baltic? (living in, architecture, architect)

[MimzyMusic]

From what I've heard, Estonia is closer in DNA to Latvians and Lithuanians but linguistically closer to Finns. Culturally I guess they're between both.

Would you say Estonia is Northern or Eastern Europe?

[mommytotwo]

True, but Eastern.

[Sweden]

Estonia is Baltic and eastern.

The Nordic countries are made up by Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. (Just look up the "Nordic union").
The Baltic countries are made up by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
When it comes to these sorts of "boundaries", it's more about history than DNA or language.

[lndigo]

Baltic. Finland isn't even ethnically Nordic.

[Winston Smith]

Estonia is Baltic.

[MimzyMusic]

So you guys are saying it's more like Russia than Finland?

[BigSwede]

Originally Posted by lndigo

Baltic. Finland isn't even ethnically Nordic.

Finland is a nordic country,but not scandinavian.
But they belong to the finno-ugric people.

[internat]

It depends on the criteria. Geographically, anthropologically, linguistically, or what?

Some Estonians may consider themselves Nordic rather than Baltic. It's one of the three Baltic countries, geographically speaking. All Baltic countries have a Finno-Ugric substratum.

Estonians are closer to the Finns proper - their Finno-Ugric brethren north of them. There are many Finnic tribes such as Maris, Mordvins, Veps, living in Russian territory. Some of them are anthropologically quite close to Finns and Estonians.

Estonian is a Finno-Ugric language, whereas Latvian and Lithuanian are Baltic, belonging to the Indo-European family. Both languages have retained a lot of proto-Indo-European features.

Most investments in Estonia are from the Nordic countries. It's also a matter of development. Despite recent advancements and growth in GDP/capita, one must consider the fact Estonians have been under a different political system for a long time. They don't have a Nordic welfare system. I also doubt they have the Jante mentality, not that I think it's a good thing.

Danes and Norwegians are very close. Then Swedes are close to both. I would say Swedes are a bit closer to Norwegians than Danes except maybe for Skåne (Scania) which was Danish territory centuries ago. When I was in Copenhagen I felt it's a bit like the Netherlands or parts of Germany. Sweden got many Finnish immigrants and Finland belonged to Sweden once. It was Österlandet (East Land). Now Estonia would come last in terms of connections. When you go to Estonia you're in a different world, Latvia and Lithuania even more. Even Finland got a different atmosphere than Sweden, to be honest. It's all relative.

There's a Swedish minority in NW coast of Estonia. A few of them were also forced to leave under Catherine II of Russia in the late 18th century. They moved to Ukraine where they established gammalsvenskby, meaning old Swedish village, in English.

The Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have a significant Russian minority. I've been to all those countries. They have been influenced by Sweden and Denmark, and the Hanseatic League (northern Germany). For more information you can do a search about Baltic Germans.

Originally Posted by MimzyMusic

So you guys are saying it's more like Russia than Finland?

[internat]

Read my post. My brother had an Estonian girlfriend. I've heard them and other Estonians say their character is more Nordic, that is cold, for a lack of a better word. Finns hardly talk before drinking copious amounts of alcohol. I wouldn't say Estonians are as extreme, but you get the point. Estonians look and behave more like Finns. Russians always struck me as "warmer" and more family-oriented. They are more Byzantine in their ways.

In terms of architecture, the old town of Tallinn, looks a bit like Visby, Gotland, Sweden. But this is because Hansa towns share many characteristics.

Originally Posted by MimzyMusic

So you guys are saying it's more like Russia than Finland?

[Morren]

I am Estonian in heritage and live in Australia. No one has ever said I look Russian or Slavic but I get Swedish a lot. I guess you could say that my heritage (and that of most Estonian people is Nordic). Also, from seeing pictures of ancestors, I would also say that Estonians are a Nordic people. Just look up Economy of Estonia in Wikipedia to proove the strong ties that undoubtedly exist.