Dissertationes Geographicae Universitatis Tartuensis 21 Dissertationes Geographicae Universitatis Tartuensis 21
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DISSERTATIONES GEOGRAPHICAE UNIVERSITATIS TARTUENSIS 21 DISSERTATIONES GEOGRAPHICAE UNIVERSITATIS TARTUENSIS 21 SAAREMAA WALTZ. LANDSCAPE IMAGERY OF SAAREMAA ISLAND IN THE 20TH CENTURY HELEN SOOVÄLI TARTU UNIVERSITY PRESS Institute of Geography, Faculty of Biology and Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia. The Faculty Council of Biology and Geography, University of Tartu, has on October 21, 2004 accepted this dissertation to be defended for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in geography). Supervisor: Hannes Palang, PhD, Institute of Geography, University of Tartu. Opponent: prof. Anne Buttimer, Department of Geography, University Collage Dublin, Ireland. The thesis will be defended at the University of Tartu, Estonia, on December 3, 2004, at 9.15 in the Scientific Council room in university main building, Ülikooli 18. The publication of this dissertation has been funded by Institute of Geography, University of Tartu. Copyright Helen Sooväli, 2004 Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus www.tyk.ut.ee Tellimus nr 559 CONTENTS List of figures and tables ................................................................................ 7 Original publications ...................................................................................... 9 Author’s contribution ..................................................................................... 10 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 13 1.1. Thesis’ objectives .............................................................................. 15 1.2. Thesis’ outline .................................................................................... 16 1.3. Landscape studies in Estonia.............................................................. 20 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................... 23 2.1. The concept of representation ............................................................ 23 2.1.1. The crisis of representation in cultural geography................... 25 2.1.2. The new cultural geography and the ‘cultural turn’................. 27 2.1.3. The linguistic turn .................................................................... 29 2.2. Visuality and geography .................................................................... 31 2.2.1. The visual turn ......................................................................... 31 2.3. Theory of social representations ........................................................ 34 2.4. Imagery ............................................................................................. 38 2.4.1. A brief history of landscape painting in Europe and Estonia .. 39 2.4.2. Popular imagery – methodological issues................................ 42 3. METHODOLOGY.................................................................................... 45 3.1. Qualitative methodology................................................................ 45 3.2. Contextuality, reflexivity and validity ............................................... 46 3.3. Methods............................................................................................. 47 3.3.1. Historical narrative .................................................................. 48 3.3.2. Interview and questionnaire survey techniques....................... 48 3.3.3. Content analysis....................................................................... 49 3.3.4. Discourse analysis ................................................................... 51 4. SAAREMAA IN FACTS.......................................................................... 53 4.1. Background........................................................................................ 53 4.2. Historical background........................................................................ 55 4.3. Saaremaa today .................................................................................. 58 4.4. Population dynamics.......................................................................... 61 4.5. Land use dynamics............................................................................. 62 5. LANDSCAPE REPRESENTATIONS OF SAAREMAA ........................ 66 5.1. Three surveys on landscape representations...................................... 66 5.1.1. Specialists’ views .................................................................... 66 5 5.1.2. Locals’ views .......................................................................... 67 5.1.3. Tourists’ views........................................................................ 70 Estonian tourists...................................................................... 70 Foreign tourists ....................................................................... 72 Summary ................................................................................. 73 5.2. Landscape representations in texts .................................................... 74 5.2.1. Image of Saaremaa in scientific literature in the 1930s .......... 74 5.2.2. Saaremaa in national media..................................................... 77 5.2.3. Saare County planning Valuable Landscapes......................... 81 5.3. Landscape representations in images ................................................ 84 5.3.1. Saaremaa in landscape paintings ............................................ 84 5.3.2. Saaremaa in tourism brochures and travel guides................... 90 5.3.3. Saaremaa in coffee table books............................................... 93 Popular imagery before the Second World War..................... 94 Soviet popular imagery........................................................... 95 Popular imagery 1990–2004................................................... 98 Summary ................................................................................ 99 6. DISCUSSION............................................................................................ 101 6.1. Persistence and change in Saaremaa landscape imagery.................... 101 6.2. Future perspectives – tourism and real estate development?.............. 106 6.3. Concluding remarks............................................................................ 110 7. SUMMARY IN ESTONIAN.................................................................... 113 8. REFERENCES.......................................................................................... 121 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ 140 Appendix ........................................................................................................ 141 Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................ 143 Publications/Publikatsioonid .......................................................................... 147 6 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1. Model for the concept of landscape ............................................ 17 Table 1. Three approaches to the study of landscape................................ 19 Figure 2. Stages in Estonian cultural landscape history compared with the Western European one .......................................................... 22 Figure 3. Understanding between construction and interpretation, process of mimesis...................................................................... 24 Table 2. Research framework ................................................................... 52 Figure 4. Location of case study area, Saaremaa Island............................. 54 Figure 5. Saaremaa County with its 16 municipalities............................... 54 Figure 6. The traces of tight contacts between islands of Saaremaa and Gotland are still visible in the landscape..................................... 56 Figure 7. Distribution of kolkhozes and sovkhozes on Saaremaa 1947–1950................................................................................... 58 Figure 8. The heritage of the Soviet Army is still visible in the landscape 59 Figure 9. Advertisements, rock videos, movies, etc., make efficient use of landscapes............................................................................... 60 Figure 10. Sõrve Peninsula........................................................................... 63 Figure 11. Satellite image of Saaremaa Island ............................................. 64 Table 3. Dynamics of the share of agricultural land on Saaremaa............ 64 Figure 12. Land use dynamics in Kihelkonna, Torgu and Valjala sites....... 65 Figure 13. Kärkvere village is one of the many pearls of Saaremaa ............ 68 Figure 14. Ohessaare coastal meadow with a farmstead in the backround.......................................................................... 70 Figure 15. Valjala church ............................................................................. 73 Figure 16. Women sowing on Saaremaa ...................................................... 75 Figure 17. A draft of deep-water harbour to be opened in Undva by 2001........................................................................................ 78 Figure 18. ‘Carrot’ and ‘stick’ in Eesti Ekspress.......................................... 79 Figure 19. E. G. Dücker Landscape of Saaremaa (1860) ............................ 86 Figure 20. K. Mägi Sea kales (1913–1914).................................................. 87 Figure 21. J. Võerahansu Sheep clippers (1945).........................................