Removed Kuressaare monument may become fill material

A monument to victims of fascism removed from Kuressaare nearly a year ago may be turned into fill material because no institution has committed to preserving or reinstalling it, ERR reported.

The monument was erected near Kuressaare Castle in 1965. When its dismantling and the reburial of remains began in October 2025, the Saaremaa municipality said it planned to move it to the Sõrve military museum, where it could potentially be restored.

Nearly a year later, the municipality has still made no decision about the work by architect Allan Murdmaa and sculptors Riho Kuld and Matti Varik. “This question comes as a surprise to me. We have not discussed it and no decision has been made,” Saaremaa municipal mayor Rainer Antsaar told ERR. He said a decision could possibly be made next week.

The one-year storage agreement with Dolokivi, the company that dismantled the memorial, expires in about a month. The monument’s dismantled parts have been stored at the company’s yard and in a hangar since their removal.

“I need to write to the municipality and ask whether they will extend the agreement or what will happen to the monument. Then we will have to decide what to do next. If nobody wants it, the stones will become fill material,” said Dolokivi manager Peeter Sai. He added that he would expect payment if the storage agreement were extended.

The monument consists of dolomite slabs arranged on 22 to 23 pallets and a separate obelisk made from a seven-tonne stone block. Sai said the parts have some cosmetic defects but that the former monumental sculpture is in generally good condition.

According to Sai, the municipality had agreed that a permanent location would be found within a year, but this has not happened. The Heritage Board wants to preserve the monument, he said, but both reinstalling it and storing it would be expensive.

To reinstall the monument, it would have to be filled again with silicate material. The dismantling company removed the old material and retained only the dolomite parts. The monument can be moved only with a crane or other lifting equipment, Sai said, adding that the work would be costly.

The local Sõrve military museum has reportedly been discussed as a possible new home, but it has no room for the monument because the museum already has many other items. Sai said there would be little point in transporting the parts to Sõrve merely for storage, as the monument’s weight could eventually cause it to sink into the ground.

The Lagedi war museum near Tallinn also reportedly considered taking the monument, but the plan was abandoned because of the high cost.

Saare municipality crisis preparedness adviser Gunnar Havi said the monument would not be turned into crushed stone, but acknowledged that dealing with it would be a major expense for the municipality. Restoring it in its original form would cost tens of thousands of euros, he said. One option under consideration is displaying only the valuable slabs and the obelisk, although Havi did not specify where this would happen.