“The Old Man of Ülemiste” is a sculpture created by Andres Rattasepp, bringing one of the best-known figures of Estonian folklore into the urban space of Ülemiste City. It is a mythological figure who, according to legend, lives in Lake Ülemiste and watches over the fate of Tallinn.

According to the folk tale, the Old Man of Ülemiste rises from the lake from time to time and asks in the city: has Tallinn been completed. If someone answered “yes”, he would flood the city. Therefore one must always answer that the city is not yet finished – there is still work to be done.

This story has also shaped the symbolic understanding of Tallinn as a city that is constantly developing and can never truly be finished.

Rattasepp’s sculpture interprets this mythological character in a playful and visually powerful way. The figure shaped from wood combines human and fish features – referring both to the lake environment and to the old man’s connection with water. Large, widely stretched arms and an expressive face give the character both a warning and a slightly humorous character at the same time, making him accessible also to younger viewers.

The work is not merely an illustration of the legend, but functions as a bridge between the past and the present day. Ülemiste City as a rapidly developing campus relates directly to this story – here there is always something being built, changing and developing. In this way, the sculpture becomes not only a cultural reference, but also part of the identity of the environment.

The result is a work that brings a historical myth into contemporary urban space, inviting one to pause, remember and make sense of the city’s constant development through the centuries.