Korporatsioon Ugala

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Korporatsioon Ugala, also known as Korp! Ugala, is an Estonian student fraternity founded at the University of Tartu in 1913. The first organizational meeting was in 1912, and it was officially approved on November 10, 1913. Its purpose is patriotism, hard work, and honesty. Its founders included Aleksander Alver, Eduard Kärner, Hans Karu, Jaan Keerberg, Jaak Kotkas, Paul Kuusik, Adalbert Lübeck, Julius Prisko, Alfred Ruus, Paul Ruus, Helmut Torrim, and Richard Villems. Ugala set itself apart with a strong moral code and originally forbade alcohol in its meeting rooms.

In 1915 Ugala helped found the League of Estonian Corporations. In 1918 its members voted to join the Estonian War of Independence, and more than twenty received the Cross of Liberty. After the war, Ugala focused on education and nationalism but remained relatively liberal for Estonian student groups; the alcohol ban was lifted. In the 1930s, the group moved to abolish academic dueling and absorbed two smaller groups, Rajala and Valvila. It also hosted parties with women’s corporations. A Tallinn chapter opened in 1937, and Ugala built Ugala House in Tartu, a hall designed by alumnus Arnold Matteus; it opened in 1939.

Soviet occupation in 1940 banned Korporatsioon Ugala, with many members arrested, deported, or killed. Exile chapters formed after World War II, including in Uppsala (1945), the United States (1950), and Australia and Canada (1951). Ugala was officially reinstated at the University of Tartu on December 17, 1988, becoming the first student corporation to be re-established there. Ugala House was returned to the alumni association in 1994, with restoration completed by 1997. Today the organization is active mainly in Tartu, with chapters in Australia, Canada, and the United States (Sweden merged into the Estonia group). By 2022 it counted 268 members in Estonia and 72 abroad.

Symbols and publications: colors are black, blue, and white; motto is "Fatherland, Friendship, Honesty"; its zirkel monogram and the publication Volber.