Organization

Tallinn City Museum brings together seven unique museums across Old Town, Kadriorg, and Kalamaja.

Tallinn City Museum is an institution administered by the Tallinn Culture and Sports Department. It collects, preserves, researches, and presents the history of Tallinn, as well as material related to its residents and living environment. Officially established in 1937, the museum’s collections date back to 1911. 

Today, the museum gives a voice to generations of Tallinn’s residents and captures the ever-changing spirit of urban life. More than just exhibitions, its spaces invite people to meet, reflect, and imagine the future of the city together with local communities and city leaders.

The museum consists of seven distinctive branches that work closely side by side. Since 2019, the Tallinn City Museum includes:

  • Kiek in de Kök Fortifications Museum – explore four medieval defence towers, hidden passages in the city wall, and mysterious 17th-century underground bastion tunnels.
  • Tallinn City Life Museum – step inside a medieval merchant’s house and experience everyday life in historic Tallinn.
  • Museum of Photography – discover the history and modern evolution of Estonian photography in a tiny medieval jailhouse behind the Town Hall.
  • Children’s Museum Miiamilla – a playful wonderland for kids in the heart of the picturesque Kadriorg Park.
  • Kalamaja Museum – a community museum where you can dive into the artistic and vibrant spirit of Tallinn’s “hipster district,” Kalamaja.
  • House of Peter the Great – the oldest museum in Tallinn, where the story of the Great Northern War, the birth of the Kadriorg ensemble, and the beginnings of Estonian museum culture intertwine.
  • The People’s Museum of Tallinn – experience the rich heritage of the city’s diverse communities and their contributions to its cultural life.

CONTACT

Tallinna Linnamuuseum
Vene 17
10123 Tallinn
Tel (+372) 610 4178
E-mail:

HISTORY AND AFFILIATE MUSEUMS

The museum was founded in 1937 as the Historic Museum of the City of Tallinn. Until then, the collections of historic items related to Tallinn was maintained by the City Archives.

Over time, several affiliate museums have been established in historic buildings across the city. These include the cannon tower Kiek in de Kök and its adjoining tunnels beneath 17th–18th-century bastions, the Neitsitorn (Maiden Tower) of the city wall, and the former Town Council jail, now home to the Museum of Photography. The main building of the Kadriorg Children’s Park from the 1930s now houses the Children’s Museum Miiamilla. In Kadriorg, visitors can also explore the House of Peter the Great. In 2016, a display of decorative stones carved by Tallinn masters was opened in one of the bastion tunnels, and The People’s Museum of Tallinn (then known as the Tallinn Russian Museum) officially became part of the City Museum.

COLLECTIONS

The collections of the City Museum now include c 150,000 items connected to the history of Tallinn.
The first statutes of the Tallinn City Museum from 1937 declare: “The aim of the Historical Museum of the City of Tallinn is to acquire, collect and preserve all items of historic and artistic value and related to cultural history that directly or indirectly are related to Tallinn, their research and presentation to the wider public.”

VIRTUAL MUSEUM

In 2015 we started co-operating with Google Inc. and since October 2016 everyone has the chance to visit the virtual Tallinn City Life Museum on Google Arts & Culture platform. The virtual museum includes 3D tours of three of our sites – City Life Museum in the Old Town, Kiek in de Kök, and the house of Peter the Great. It also contains pictures and information about more than 160 items, most of which are not on public display, as well as a number of virtual exhibits.

VOLUNTEERING

If you are interested in getting involved in the museum’s activities, please write to the volunteer coordinator Katrin Lagerest at  or call 5885 3011.

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