Virumaa

Virumaa (Latin: Vironia; Low German: Wierland; Old Norse: Virland) is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built many strongholds, like Tarwanpe (modern Rakvere) and Agelinde (now Punamägi Hill in Äntu village).

Vironian was divided into five clans (kilikunda), Maum (in Estonian "Mahu"), Laemund (Lemmu) also known as Pudiviru, Askele, Revele (Rebala), Alentagh (Alutaguse). Like other Estonian tribes, Vironians remained predominantly pagan before Northern Crusades in the 13th century.

History

According to the Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Vironians believed that Tharapita, a god worshipped by Osilians (the tribe inhabiting Saaremaa) was born in Vironia. However, Vironian elder Thabelin of Pudiviru had endorsed Christianity before the German and Danish crusaders reached Estonia. Thabelin (Tabellinus) was baptized by Germans in Gotland island. Later, when competing Danish crusaders arrived to Vironia, Thabelin was suspected of being too pro-German and hanged.

Korporatsioon Vironia

Korporatsioon Vironia (abbreviated korp! Vironia or C!V!) is an Estonian fraternal student organization and the oldest student corps in Estonia.

History

Vironia was officially founded at the Riga Polytechnical Institute on 9 December [O.S. 26 November] 1900 as the very first ethnic Estonian student corps. It remained the only Estonian student corps in Riga and became also the only Estonian member of the two Baltic German corps federations (Chargierten-Convent) in the Baltic governorates. Vironia was also the initiator and the co-founder of the League of Estonian Corporations in 1915.

After a brief evacuation to Moscow during World War I in 1915 and short return to Riga in 1918, Vironia entered the Estonian War of Independence in corpore. 6 of its members died in the war and one died of war injuries after the war. It was reactivated in Tartu, Estonia in 1920 and opened a second chapter in Tallinn in 1936. After being banned following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1940, it opened 8 colonies abroad in 6 Western countries and there was also unofficial activity in Venezuela. Underground activity in occupied Estonia was restored in the 1960s and the chapters in Tallinn and Tartu were legally restored in 1989. Today, Vironia has more than 550 members worldwide, being among the biggest Estonian student organizations. Active chapters in Estonia exist in Tallinn and Tartu and active colonies exist in Toronto and the US West Coast and inactive colonies in Sweden and Australia.