Guided tours

BASTION PASSAGES AND CARVED STONE MUSEUM

 

The Carved Stone Museum part of the passages contains a display of decorative stone fragments from Tallinn, which have so far been kept hidden in repositories: portals, pillars, coats of arms with family signs and symbols, relief – decorated window jambs and tombstones from the 16th to 19th century.

The exhibition displaying more than two hundred carved stones is titled “The City of Ruins”. The atmospheric lighting and chambers dedicated to different themes play a crucial role in making the exhibition a coherent whole. In the museum, visitors can pass through the “Garden of Eden”, “Pillar Hall”, “Death Hall” and “Sun Hall”.

The casements next to the Vabaduse väljak (Freedom Square) were closed to the public and filled with water for decades ; now, powerful air conditioners provide an environment suitable for carved stones and acceptable for visitors – the temperature in the passages is between 10 to 12 degrees Celsius all year round.

 

Guided tour fee

Museum ticket adult 8€ / Concessions 6€ (ITIC card, pupils, students, seniors)
+ guide fee 55 € (groupe size min. 5 people)

 

GUIDED TOURS HAVE TO BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE by e-mail: fort@linnamuuseum.ee

The tours are available in Estonian, English, Russian, and Finnish.
Group size is limited to 20 persons.

The tour will take about 1 h 20 min

Please note that temperature in the passages is 7-10 °C throughout the year and we have to navigate some rather steep stairs, so please dress appropriately!
Please note: We do not recommend taking children under the age of 7 to the Bastion passages guided tours!

THE MAIDEN’S TOWER AS HOME AND CAFE

During the tour, we will share intriguing stories about the inhabitants who once lived here and delve deeper into the legendary café’s golden age in the 1980s. We will showcase how the Maiden’s Tower transformed from a fortress into a residence and was later reconstructed back into a defensive tower, within which a café was built. In addition to the Maiden’s Tower, we will also visit two other towers along with their defensive passages.
The tour lasts approximately 1 hour, starting at the Maiden’s Tower, entrance from the Danish King’s Garden side.

Guided tour fee

Museum ticket adult 8€ / Concessions 6€ (ITIC card, pupils, students, seniors)
+ guide fee 55 € (groupe size min. 5 people)

The tour will take about 1 h


GUIDED TOURS HAVE TO BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE by e-mail:

 

 

SPECIAL EXCURSIONS

  • “On the top of the Bastions and  in the Underground Tunnels”

    The Kiek in de Kök Fortress Museum offers a tour of the bastions and underground passageways, but also, exceptionally, of one of the tunnels of the Lindamäe Hill which is rarely accessible to the public

    While visiting the bastions of Harjumäe and Lindamäe we talk about the exciting things that have happened there over the years.

    The earthen fortifications also know as the bastion complex were built at the end of the 17th century. In the underground tunnels, there is an exhibition that is a kind of time travel – from the present day to the 17th century, when earthworks began to be built. We find out why they built such massive artificial mounds, surrounded by thick stone walls with tunnels at the bottom. We learn that over the ages these passages have been used in different ways and by different people. Today, spiders live here and bats hibernate.

    We will start from Kiek in de Kök and finally exit the tunnel to Vabaduse Square. The tour will take about 1 h 30 min

  • “Criminal Tallinn”On a walk starting from Kiek in de Kök, we talk about the criminal past of ancient Tallinn. We’ll talk about crime and punishment in ancient Reval, tell you about the peculiarities of justice in the city, and walk through places associated with crime and delinquency, places of detention and execution.Was the Maiden Tower really a prison for prostitutes, as the urban legend says? But where was the infamous so-called Virgin Cage and what was it for? What was the most honourable method of execution and why were men and women put to death differently? There’s much more about the city’s criminal past – stories stretching back to the 20th century.The walk starts at Kiek in de Kök, from where we move to the Danish King’s Garden and on to Town Hall Square. With those who are up to it, we will walk even further!*Not recommended for children up to 12 years of age.The tour will take about 1 h 30 min

Museum ticket adult 12€ / Concessions 10€ (ITIC card, pupils, students, seniors), no guide fee.

The tours are available in Estonian, English, Russian, and Finnish.

 

The museum is divided in two parts that can be visited either in combination or separately

  • The museum can also be visited in parts:
    In addition to the full ticket, there is a separate ticket for visiting the towers only, and a ticket to visit only the bastion passages and the Carved Stone Museum.
  • The Bastion passages can be visited on your own, independently, without a special tour.
    On the other hand, you can book a guided tour of the spot.
    NOTE! A guided tour with less than 5 registered participants will not take place.
  • Please note that temperature in the passages is 7-10 °C throughout the year and we have to navigate some rather steep stairs, so please dress appropriately!
  • Please note: We do not recommend taking children under the age of 7 to the Bastion passages guided tours!
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