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Art Galleries
Museums Performing
Arts Movie
Theaters Reading
Cultural Luminaries
A-Galerii: (H-2) Hobusepea 2. Good selection of unique local handmade jewelry.
Aatrium: (I-2) Harju 6, tel.631-0503.
Allee: (I-2) Pikk 30, tel. 646-4500. Paintings by the pre-war generation.
www.allee.ee
Draakon: (I-2) Pikk 18, tel. 646-4110.
Galerii G: (J-2) Vabaduse väljak 6, tel. 644-9620.
Haus Gallery: (I-3) Uus 17, 641-9471. www.haus.ee
Hobusepea: (I-2) Hobusepea 2. Exhibitions of Estonian art.
Linnagalerii: (J-2) Harju 13, tel. 644-1388.
Lühikese Jala Galerii: (I-2) Lühike jalg 6, tel. 631-4720.
Mustpeade Galerii: (H-3) Pühavaimu 9.
Tauno Kangro Sculpture Studio: (H-3) Uus 20, tel. 641-1002. Open: Mon.-Fri. 10-17. Tauno Kangro is one of Estonia’s very best artists—specializing in bronze sculptures. This place is an absolute must see!
Museums
Most museums are closed on Mon. and Tue. Opening hours are usually from 10 to 18. You can also find information at
www.ekm.ee.
Adamson-Eric Museum: (I-2) Lühike jalg 3, tel.
644-5838. A permanent exhibition of the work of a leading Estonian
artist Adamson-Eric (1902-1968).
Archaeology Museum: (I-2) Rüütli 10, tel.
644-4805. Early Estonian history.
Doll Museum: (B-3) Kotzebue 16, tel. 641-3491.
Open Wed.-Sun. 10:30-17:30.
Energy Center: (B-3) Põhja pst. 29, tel.
715-2650. Open:Mon.-Sat. 10-17. Interactive technology and science
related hands-on, minds-on exhibits and programs. www.energiakeskus.ee
Estonian Art Museum (House of the Knighthood):
(I-1) Kiriku plats 1, on Toompea; tel. 644-9340. Open: Wed.-Sun.
11-18. History of Estonian fine arts.
Estonian Bank Museum: (J-3) Estonia 11, tel.
668-0760.
Estonian Photography Museum: (I-2) Raekoja 4/6,
tel. 644-6553. In the old city prison. www.linnamuuseum.ee/fotomuuseum
Health Museum: (H-2) Lai 28/30, tel. 641-1732.
Open: Tue.-Sat. 11-18. Interactive displays about all the systems of
the human body and more. www.tervishoiumuuseum.ee
Historical Museum: (I-2) Pikk 17, old city;
tel. 641-1630. Early Estonian history.
Kadriorg Palace: Weizenbergi 37, tel. 606-6400.
Open: Tue.-Sun. 10-17. International fine arts collection of
the Estonian Art Museum in the newly-restored Baroque palace that
Peter the Great had built for Catherine.
Kiek-in-de-Kök: (J-2) Komandandi tee 2, tel.
644-6686. Good photo exhibits.
Kristjan Raud Museum: Kristjan Raua 8, in Nõmme;
tel. 670-0023. The works of pre-war painter Kristjan Raud, celebrated
for his illustrations of the Kalevipoeg epic.
Maarjamäe Palace: (A-6) Pirita tee 56, tel.
601-4535. A museum of Estonian history over the last hundred years. www.eam.ee
Maritime Museum: (G-3) Pikk 70, inside the Paks
Margareeta fortification tower; tel. 641-1408. An excellent
museum, and a must for shipping buffs!
Mikkel Museum: (B-5) Weizenbergi 28; tel.
601-5844. Private art collection.
Mine Museum: (H-3) Uus 37, tel. 641-1408. Open:
Wed.-Sun. 10-18. Exhibit of mines of different origin dating to WW I.
Museum of Estonian Applied Arts: (H-2) Lai 17,
tel. 641-1927.
Museum of Estonian Architecture: (B-3) in the
Rotermann Salt Storage, Ahtri 2, tel. 625-7000. www.arhitektuurimuuseum.ee
Museum of Occupations: (I-1) Toompea 8, tel.
668-0250. Open: Tue.-Sun. 11-18. A must museum, focused both
the Soviet and Nazi occupations. (Click here
a longer description.) www.okupatsioon.ee
Natural History Museum: (H-2) Lai 29, tel.
641-1739. Estonian wildlife. www.loodusmuuseum.ee
St. Nicholas Church and Concert Hall: (I-2)
Niguliste 13, tel. 644-9911. Medieval art, including Berndt Notke’s Death
Dance.
Open-Air Museum: See SIGHTS.
Peter the Great House Museum: Mäekalda 2, in
Kadriorg Park; tel. 644-4553. Open: Wed.-Sun. 10.30-18. A humble house
where Peter the Great stayed during his visit to Tallinn with his
personal items on display.
Tallinn City Museum: (I-3) Vene 17, tel.
644-6553. In a medieval merchant’s house; exhibits about Tallinn’s
history.
Tammsaare Museum: (C-5) Koidula 12a, tel.
601-3232; in Kadriorg. The home of Estonia’s most celebrated writer
Anton Hansen Tammsaare (1878-1940) gives a good overview of his life
and work.
Theater and Music Museum: (I-2) Müürivahe 12,
tel. 644-2132.
Estonia Concert Hall: (J-3) Estonia pst. 4, tel. 614-7760. This neo-classical building features regular concerts. Their website is also the best source of classical concert information.
www.concert.ee
Estonian National Opera: (J-3) Estonia pst. 4, tel. 683-1260. Located in Estonia Concert Hall, the Opera will celebrate its 100th season beginning in September.
www.opera.ee
St. Nicholas Church (Niguliste Church): (I-2) Niguliste 3, tel. 644-9903. Dating back to the 13th century, this church hosts regular concerts of sacred and secular, early and modern classical music.
See list of events for this month here!
The info service Ekspress Hotline can tell you what’s showing, tel.
1182. Films are in original languages with subtitles.
Coca-Cola Plaza (I-4) Hobujaama 5, next to the main post
office. By far the biggest, most high-tech theater; 11 screens. See
www.superkinod.ee
for schedules.
Kinomaja: (I-3) Uus 3, tel. 646-4510. Cult and lots of foreign films.
Kosmos: (C-3) Pärnu mnt. 45, call 1182 for
schedules. Hollywood
hits.
Sõprus: (I-2) Vana-Posti 8, tel. 644-1919. Mostly
non-Hollywood, quality movies. www.kino.ee
Most of the books below are at Amazon.com;
you can find some in local bookstores.
Histories/Current Affairs—History of the Baltic States, sold at many Tallinn stores, is thorough—but often lacks color and context. A touching first-hand account of Stalinist deportations is
Sentence: Siberia by Ann Lehtmets; War in the Woods is a history of the anti-Soviet guerrilla movement. Douglas Wells’
In Search of the Elusive Peace Corps Moment is a collection of true stories from the time he worked here.
Baltic Revolution is a sometimes provocative history by Anatol Lieven; well written, but parts are now outdated. A history of the pre-war era is
The Baltic States: Years of Independence by Georg von Rauch. David Smith’s
Estonia: Independence and European Integration is a newer publication on recent history. Serious history students can try Andres Kasekamp’s
The Radical Right in Interwar Estonia. L’Estonie, identité et indépendence by A. Bertricau in French.
Novels—Arved Viiralt’s beautifully written
Graves Without Crosses, related to the Soviet takeover. The Czar’s Madman
by Jaan Kross is superb; Treading Air is another Kross’ novel now available in English. William Palmer’s
The Good Republic is a fanciful novel set during the war-time occupation. A.H. Tammsaare’s Mark Twainian
The New Devil of Põrgupõhja, about Satan trying to prove to God he can win salvation as an Estonian peasant, is outstanding.
Poetry/Short Stories—There’s a translation of the national epic,
Kalevipoeg. Also try: Baltic Elegies by poet Ivar Ivask,
Wandering Border, by Jaan Kaplinski, and Writings from an Unbound Europe.
Guidebooks—Bradt’s Baltic Capitals and Lonely
Planet’s Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania.
Marie Under (1883-1980) is regarded by many as Estonia’s greatest
modern poet. Her work during Estonia’s period of independence was highly acclaimed,
but it was her writing from exile about the pain of exile that appears to be her most
enduring work.
Lennart Meri, 70, is a celebrated Estonian writer, film director and
philosopher; he’s also the current Estonian president. He won acclaim in the
’70s and ’80s for his impressionistic anthropological films on obscure
Finno-Ugric tribes in the USSR. (Meri’s father, Georg, was the leading post-war
translator of Shakespeare.)
Veljo Tormis, 69, is celebrated for his revival of an ancient,
chanting-style song—the runic. His ingenious, many-layered choral compositions are
progressive yet harken back to something primordial.
Alo Mattiisen (1961-1996) was a highly influential pop music composer
of the late ’80s. He wrote pro-independence rock songs that became virtual anthems
during the independence drive.
Mark Soosaar, 52, is Estonia’s premier documentary maker. He has
chronicled sweeping changes here by focusing on the lives of colorful individuals. He is
founder of the Charlie Chaplin Cultural Center, in Pärnu’s old Communist
headquarters.
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803-1882) was the main author of the
national epic Kalevipoeg. It’s had a huge influence on modern Estonian culture.
Jaan Kross, 77, has often been nominated for the Nobel literature
prize. His best novels explore the dilemma of intellectuals trying to keep their Estonian
identity under German or Russian rule.
Neeme Järvi, 60, is a top international conductor and now director of
Detroit’s Symphony Orchestra. Järvi, 60, has helped promote works by Estonian
composers, including Rudolf Tobias and Veljo Tormis.
Anton Hansen Tammsaare (1878-1940) is arguably Estonia’s greatest
writer of all time. His Dostoyevskian novels in the 1930s—especially Truth and
Justice—helped define modern Estonian values.
Lydia Koidula (1843-1886) is perhaps Estonia’s most beloved
poetess. Her romantic poems about Estonia fueled the National Awakening in the 1800s.
Arvo Pärt, 62, is one of the most innovative composers of the 20th
century. His works echo religious music of the Middle Ages. His better known compositions
are Tabula rasa and St. John’s Passion.
Art Galleries
Museums Performing
Arts Movie
Theaters Reading
Cultural Luminaries
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