Interpreting Estonian mires: common perceptions and changing practices

Over the centuries mires have been considered to be mostly useless, even dangerous places. Adopting a landscape semiotic perspective the article delineates the current common perceptions of Estonian mires based upon 767 questionnaires. Today the mire is commonly perceived as undisturbed wilderness offering possibilities for various recreational as well as traditional activities. The image of mires in popular consciousness is predominantly based on touristic experience of protected areas. The history of the most widespread practices in the mires over the 20th century reveals three general paradigmatic frames of reference: traditional where mire appears to be liminal; industrial where it is encultured; and ecological where mire is aestheticized. In its orientation towards aesthetic and emotional values the common perspective diverges from the landscape ecological definition. Tourism to non-protected, partly meliorated mires should be encouraged to give a more realistic perspective of the mires to nonprofessionals.