Tartu's new Downtown Cultural Center to be named 'Siuru'
Tartu's soon-to-be-built Downtown (Südalinna) Cultural Center will be named "Siuru." The name was chosen by an expert jury after an open call yielded 280 suggestions from members of the public.
The name "Siuru" was proposed independently by two Tartu residents – Tõnis Tatar and Piret Tarto.
Tõnis Tatar said the reason for his choice was that a hundred years ago, "Siuru" was the fiercest, most youthful, rebellious and avant-garde group in Estonian culture.
"It was a contemporary of the Pallas Art Society and Art School. The Pallas Art School and Gallery exist in Tartu today, why not the Siuru Cultural Center? I also think Siuru is a beautiful word – elegant, dialectal, and modern at the same time. To me, the Siuru Cultural Center sounds as beautiful as, say, the Kiasma Art Museum or the Oodi Library in Helsinki," said Tatar.
According to Piret Tarto, she believed from the very beginning that the name of the cultural center should come from Kalevipoeg and Estonian mythology.
"The Siuru bird is a mythical bird in our national epic. As the name of a literary group, 'Siuru' celebrates the joy of creation and the emergence of Estonian culture during the early part of the last century," Tarto explained.
The name "Siuru" first appeared in Estonian cultural history in the epic poem Kalevipoeg. It is believed that the word "Siuru" was invented by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, author of the epic poem, based on the mythical image of the bluebird.
Following a public call to name the center in May and June this year, 185 unique suggestions were put forward by the people of Tartu.
The winning name was chosen by an expert jury by a jury.
The jury met several times during the summer to discuss the proposed names in depth, analyzing both their meaning and their practical uses. The name "Süku" was also seriously considered, having been proposed 21 times during the call for ideas, though ultimately it was not selected. Initially used as a colloquial abbreviation among the people working on the project, the word "Süku" gradually began to spread to the public in spring 2020.
However, the jury eventually came to the unanimous decision that the best name for the cultural center is "Siuru."
"I'm very happy that the people of Tartu were so active in sharing their ideas and that among all the names was 'Siuru,' a name with significant meaning in our cultural history," said Tartu Mayor Urmas Klaas (Reform).
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Editor: Michael Cole
