Ants Viires

Ants Viires (23 December 1918 – 18 March 2015) was an Estonian ethnologist and cultural historian. He is known for research on Estonian peasant material culture—especially traditional woodworking and rural transport—and for his role in producing widely used reference works on Estonian folk culture.

Early life and education Viires was born in Tartu and completed his schooling at the Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in 1937. During his studies he worked at the National Museum of Estonia, which remained an important centre for ethnological research despite wartime disruptions. He received the Jakob Hurt National Culture Award in 2004. In 2005 he was named an honorary doctor of the University of Tartu. In 2007 he was among the recipients of the Estonian state cultural prize for the encyclopedic work Johann Christoph Brotze. Estonica (with Ants Hein, Raimo Pullat, and Ivar Leimus). In 2009 he received the University of Tartu award “Contribution to Estonian National Identity”. Viires was also an external member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.

Personal life Viires was married to graphic artist Evi Tihemets.