Estonian National Museum
National museum of Estonian and Finno-Ugric culture, its roof rising from a Soviet airfield runway.
The Estonian National Museum was founded in Tartu in 1909 to gather the material culture of the Estonian people, and it long lacked a permanent home of its own. Its present building at Raadi opened in 2016 on the site of a Soviet military airfield. The winning competition design by the Paris-based practice Dorell.Ghotmeh.Tane takes one of the old runways as its starting point: the roof lifts gradually from the tarmac and extends the runway line, so that the whole building reads as a continuation of the airstrip.
The permanent exhibition Encounters follows everyday Estonian life from prehistory to the present, using objects, film and interactive displays, while Echo of the Urals presents the languages, beliefs and crafts of the wider Finno-Ugric world. The museum holds collections of textiles, farm tools, photographs and folk art, together with a research hall, library and conservation departments. The surrounding Raadi estate, with its manor ruins and park, forms part of the visit, and the building also houses a theatre hall, shop and restaurant.
Highlights
- Roof that rises from a former Soviet airfield runway
- Encounters: permanent display of Estonian everyday life
- Echo of the Urals: Finno-Ugric languages, beliefs and crafts
- Raadi manor grounds and park around the museum
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