2 Euro BU

The earliest Estonian printing emerged in the context of the Reformation. Reformers wanted to disseminate religious texts not only in Latin, but also in the languages of the population. In Livland at the time, which included the territory of present-day Estonia, translations were therefore prepared for the local population. Church, administration and printing, however, remained shaped by German and Latin for a long time.

No copy survives of the earliest known printed work containing Estonian text. Its existence can be traced through records from Lübeck. According to these records, a shipment of Lutheran writings intended for Livland was confiscated by the authorities. Consequently, little is known about the wording, extent and precise linguistic form of the Estonian portion.

The oldest partially surviving Estonian printed work is a Lutheran catechism from 1535. It was written by the clergyman Simon Wanradt and translated into Estonian by Johann Koell. This book has also not survived in its entirety: fragments were not discovered until the 20th century, after pages had been used to reinforce a later book binding.

A unified written language developed only gradually. Initially, North Estonian and South Estonian writing traditions developed alongside each other. Clerical translations, grammars and dictionaries contributed to establishing vocabulary, orthography and sentence structure. Another reference point was the complete Bible translation of 1739, which was based on North Estonian. In the 19th century, newspapers, schoolbooks and literary works extended the use of Estonian beyond the ecclesiastical sphere. During the national awakening, the language also became a central vehicle of Estonian cultural and political self-organization.

The chosen coin occasion thus refers not only to a single, lost printed work. It represents a process that unfolded over centuries, in which regional language forms developed into a standardized literary and state language. In Estonia, the anniversary was also observed as a nationwide themed year of the Estonian book.