Korporatsioon Ugala (the Ugala Fraternity), also known as Korp! Ugala,[1] is an Estonian student corporation or fraternal organization for college students. It was established at the University of Tartu in 1913. It now has branches in four countries.
The first organizational meeting of Korporatsioon Ugala was held in Tartu, Estonia on December 5, 1912.[2] The student corporation was officially approved by the curator of University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia on November 10, 1913.[3][2] It was created as a student association dedicated to patriotism, hard work, and honesty.[3] Its founders, recent graduates of the university, included:[4]
Aleksander Alver
Eduard Kärner
Hans Karu
Jaan Keerberg
Jaak Kotkas
Paul Kuusik
Adalbert Lübeck
Julius Prisko
Alfred Ruus
Paul Ruus
Helmut Torrim
Richard Villems
Alfred Ruus and Adalbert Lübeck were former members of Fraternitas Estica who were expelled in the spring of 1912 due to an internal rift over organizational priorities.[4] As a result, Korporatsioon Ugala wanted to differentiate itself from the existing Baltic German student corporations. One noted difference was a sense of morality and moderation, including the prohibition of alcohol in its meeting or convention rooms.[4][3]
After the war, the corporation shifted its focus to academic education to develop nationalism.[3] However, it was one of the most liberal of the academic student corporations in Estanoia between the World Ward.[3] It also recognized that alcoholic beverages were a part of student life and lifted its ban.[3]
During the 1930s, the corporation's executive convention and the alumni pushed to abolish the traditional academic dueling.[4] This decision was made so the corporation could absorb the membership of two smaller non-dueling student groups, Rajala and Valvila, that went dormant.[4][3] The corporation also jointly hosted parties with women's corporations.[4]
Ugala'House, 2010
When the University of Tartu's Technical Department was moved to the Tallinn Technical University in 1936, Korporatsioon Ugala established a chapter in Tallinn that opened in the spring of 1937.[4] The Tallinna Ugala chapter absorbed Ugandala, an existing student corporation at Tallinna Technical.[4] In total, the corporation's membership grew to 382, making it one of the largest student associations of the era.[2]
Having outgrown the quarters it has rented since 1920, the corporation built Ugala House, a convention hall at 16 Kuperjanovi Street in Tartu.[4][3][2] It was designed by Tartu architect Arnold Matteus, a Ugala alumnus.[3][4] Ugala Housel was occupied in the fall of 1939.[4] It was the first and only building in Latvia that was purpose-built for a student corporation.[3]
During the Soviet annexation of Estonia in 1940, Korporatsioon Ugala and other student associations were banned for nearly fifty years.[5] In addition, the occupation confiscated most of its assets, including the Ugala House.[4] A large number of the corporation's members were arrested and placed in prison camps, being charged with membership in the Defense Union, which was mandatory at the time for corporation members.[3] Nearly half of Korporatsioon Ugala's members were killed, deported, or disappeared, while 146 members escaped communist Europe.[2]
After World War II, alumni members formed several exile chapters or teams, including one at a refugee camp in Geislingen, Germany.[1][3][5] The first official team was established on April 14, 1945, in Uppsala, Sweden.[1][4][2] This was followed by nationwide teams in the United States on February 28, 1950, and Australia and Canada on June 10, 1951.[1][4][2] For its members in exile, Ugaia was a connection to Estonia.[4] The teams attracted new members and continued to grow in size.[2]
After Estonia's independence, student corporations were again allowed at Estonia's universities and members returned home from exile and the prison camps of Siberian.[3] Members held a reorganization meeting on October 17, 1988.[5] Korporatsioon Ugala was officially reinstated at the University of Tartu on December 17, 1988.[4] It was the first student corporation to be re-established at the university.[3] After a long process, the Tartu government returned Ugala House to the Korporatsioon Ugala Alumni Association on November 17, 1994.[4][2] The corporation moved the structure in 1997 and began its restoration.[4]
Although the majority of its activities are now in Tartu, the corporation continues to have chapters in Australia, Canada, and the United States, with Sweden merging into the Estonia group.[4] In 2022, it had 268 members in Estonia and 72 members in three foreign chapters.[4]
Symbols
The name Ugala was selected to emphasize patriotism.[4] Korporatsioon Ugala's main symbol is its flag which is black, blue, and white.[2][6][3] Black represents the fatherland, blue is for friendship, and white is for honesty.[6] Its banner or motto is "Fatherland, Friendship, Honesty."[3][7] The corporation also has a traditional zirkel or monogram. Its publication is Volber.[8]
Chapters
Following are the known chapters of Korporatsioon Ugala. with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.[4]
Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology is the only technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration and maritime affairs. TalTech has colleges in Tartu and Kohtla-Järve. Despite the similar names, Tallinn University and Tallinn University of Technology are separate institutions.
Korporatsioon Vironia is an Estonian fraternal student society and the oldest student corps in Estonia. The organization is named after the Latin name for the ancient Estonian county of Virumaa. A full member of the organization is called a "vironus", while every member can also be called a "Vironian" (viroonlane).
Korporatsioon Revelia is an all-male fraternity in Estonia. It was founded in 1920.
Korporatsioon Sakala is a fraternal organization of Estonian higher education students. It was established at the University of Tartu on November 14, 1909.
The history of Jews in Estonia starts with reports of the presence of individual Jews in what is now Estonia from as early as the 14th century.
The Estonian Students' Society is the largest and oldest all-male academical student society in Estonia, and is similar to the Baltic German student organizations known as corporations (Corps). It was founded in 1870 at Tartu. It has over 900 members in Estonia and abroad.
Elmar Tampõld was an Estonian-Canadian architect and founder of an academic base for Estonian studies in Toronto.
Fraternitas Estica (C!F!E!) or Korpratsioon Fraternitas Estica is an all-male academic corporation at the University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia. It was founded in 1907 and was reestablished in 1988.
League of Estonian Corporations is an umbrella organisation for male academic corporations in Estonia.
Fraternitas Liviensis is an all-male academic corporation in Estonia. It was established on 28 January 1918 in Tartu, Estonia.
Hämäläis-Osakunta is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking and established in 1653 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the academy moved to Helsinki adopting the name university and Hämäläis-Osakunta moved there along with the other nations. HO represents the historic region of Tavastia, so it recruits its members actively there. The building of the nation, built in 1931, is located in Kamppi, on Urho Kekkosen katu.
Korp! Leola is an Estonian student fraternity.
Andres Järving is an Estonian entrepreneur who is known for one of Estonia's largest private capital based investment and holding companies, NG Investeeringud, of which Järving was one of the majority shareholders until the end of 2023. NG Investeeringud group employs nearly 5400 people and operates in trade, industry and real estate.
Vallo Kirs is an Estonian stage, film, and television actor and stage director whose career began as a teenager in 2004. Kirs is possibly best recalled internationally for his role as Kaspar in the 2007 Ilmar Raag-directed feature film drama Klass.
Filiae Patriae is an Estonian student sorority ; the oldest sorority in Estonia.
Rotalia is an Estonian student corporation. Its members and chapters are located around the world.
Toomas Jürgenstein is an Estonian educator and politician. He was a member of the XIII Riigikogu.
Voldemar Ojansoon was an Estonian lawyer and diplomat.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
