Swan Pond

This old park body of water was called the Lower Pond on a plan of Kadriorg from seventeen twenty-three. In seventeen forty-one, an island was created in the middle of the water, trees were planted on it, and a pavilion was built; later, people skated here on the ice in winter under electric light, while a restaurant operated on the shore. In the middle of the nineteen thirties, the banks were given their present park appearance, with lawns, flowerbeds, and fountains, while a round pavilion surrounded by columns appeared on the island. It and the trees on the island still draw the eye across the water.

For almost a century, people tried to keep swans on this pond, and each time the birds’ fate was decided by people on the shore.

The body of water itself is much older than its name. On a plan of Kadriorg from seventeen twenty-three, it is marked as the Lower Pond. In seventeen forty-one, workers created an island in the middle, built a pavilion, and planted trees. Later, townspeople skated here under electric light, and a popular restaurant operated on the shore.

In the middle of the nineteen thirties, this part of the park was redesigned. Kadriorg was being prepared as the residence of Konstantin Päts, head of the Estonian state, and the adjacent area as the People’s Park for townspeople. The dilapidated restaurant buildings were demolished; lawns and flowerbeds were laid out around the pond, and fountains were installed. The architect Villem Seidra designed a round pavilion with columns for the old island.

At the same time, the birds that gave the pond its new name appeared here. According to surviving newspaper notices, around nineteen thirty-four, the Australian ambassador gave Konstantin Päts a pair of black swans. The Lower Pond beside the residence was chosen for the gift. The swans settled in, raised chicks, and spent the summer months here. Townspeople began to call the body of water Swan Pond.

After that, park staff repeatedly populated the pond with birds. In Soviet times, the zoo was required to provide Kadriorg with swans: a pond with such a name was supposed to be shown together with them. Later, black swans were borrowed from Tallinn Zoo for the summer.

Visitors fed the birds, although signs by the water asked them not to. In two thousand twelve, one swan died from unsuitable food. The following year, the zoo gave the park a new female. In December two thousand fourteen, she died as well; the autopsy again showed that the bird’s body could not withstand what people had fed it. The male was not left here alone: swans form lasting pairs. After the repeated deaths, the zoo refused to provide Kadriorg with new birds.

The round pavilion remains on the island, where summer concerts are held. Fountains operate on the water. There may be no swans in front of the pavilion: the pond’s name remains from the gifted pair, while its last successors were taken away from here.