HERMANN’S OAK

Young Karl August Hermann loved sitting beneath the oak – first as a student and later as a teacher. According to local tradition, it was while sitting beneath this very oak that 17-year-old Hermann wrote the song “Süda tuksub tuks, tuks, tuks…” (“The Heart Beats Thump, Thump, Thump…”).

The old oak was cut down around 1949–1951. Ten years ago, local history researcher Anne Ütt located the former site of the tree and also found the remains of an old tree stump there. Fortunately, photographs of the tree have also survived.

Background from Anne Ütt’s Facebook post:

“On September 23, it will be 175 years since the birth of Estonian composer, musicologist, linguist and cultural figure Karl August Hermann. Ten years ago, I wrote about Hermann and posted some photographs. I found them again and am sharing them once more.

In 1931, a local newspaper published a short article about an oak that grew somewhere near the river, between the parish house and the bridge by the schoolhouse. There had been a bench beneath the oak where K. A. Hermann loved to sit, both as a student and later as a teacher. Branches from the oak were also used to make a wreath that was sent to Tartu for K. A. Hermann’s funeral. The local singing and theatre society ‘Leelo’ planned to attach a commemorative plaque to the oak in Hermann’s memory.

I read this story more than 20 years ago, but the oak remained undiscovered. Ten years ago, I came across several photographs with ‘Hermann’s oak’ written on the back. I took my camera and set off towards Kalda Street to investigate! I found the location, but not the oak. However, there were remains of an old tree stump there, which could very likely have belonged to this very oak. The small bridge over the trickling stream mentioned in the article, the corner of the building visible in the photograph, and the path running along the river all point to this being the correct location.”

In the photographs: HERMANN’S OAK. In the first photograph, Ferdinand Rusi; in the second, K. A. Hermann’s daughter Salme.

Photographs from a private collection.