Want to cut down a Christmas tree in Estonia? There’s an app for that

By: Adam Rang

Tallinn has just switched on the lights for its Christmas tree in our main town square. This also happens to be the spot where the very first ever Christmas tree was erected in 1441 (although our Latvian neighbours still claim the first tree was in Riga!)

In this article though, I want to show you a modern Christmas tree tradition we have here for selecting the trees we put in our homes. 

In most parts of the world, choosing a Christmas tree just means popping down to the local shops for either a plastic tree or one that’s already been chopped down by someone else. Here’s what we do instead.

In addition to good saunas, there are two things Estonians particularly like: nature and digital services. And quite often, they all work together here.

Estonia’s state forest management centre, RMK, has a mobile app to help you explore the Estonian wilderness throughout the year. It works in Estonian, English and Russian.

At Christmas time though, the app has an additional purpose. You can use it to find a Christmas tree in a state forest that you can cut down for yourself.

It includes a map of where to find them, all the advice you need, and how to pay for your one-time tree cutting license.
RMK began inviting Estonians to cut down their own Christmas trees from state forests in 2008. 

Their main objective is to simply maintain the tradition and encourage Estonians to spend more time in the wilderness. Several state institutions and companies choose this option over shop-bought alternatives and sometimes even see it as a team building exercise.