The Estonian Open Air Museum (Estonian: Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum) is a life-sized reconstruction of an 18th-19th century rural/fishing village, which includes church, tavern, schoolhouse, several mills, a fire station, twelve farmyards and net sheds. Furthermore, it includes a recently opened 20th century Soviet kolkhoz apartment building, and a prefabricated modern wooden house from 2019. The site spans of land and along with the farmyards, old public buildings are arranged singularly and in groups in a way that represents an overview of Estonian vernacular architecture of the past two centuries from across Estonia.
The museum is located to the west of Tallinn city center at Rocca al Mare.
The plans for founding the museum were first discussed in 1913, when Estonian literati, inspired by Scandinavian open-air museums, wanted to establish such a museum in Estonia. It was finally established in 1957 and opened to visitors in 1964.
The museum's oldest exhibit is the Sutlepa Chapel of the Noarootsi Swedish church, which has been reported since 1670. The most modern exhibit is a prefabricated wooden house from 2019 constructed at the museum; and the most recent exhibit that has opened to visitors in 2021 is the Kolhoz apartment building from the 1960s, brought from Southern Estonia from a former collective farm.
History The Estonian National Museum, established in 1909 in Tartu, took on the creation of an open-air museum as its own task in 1913. Estonian intellectuals got the idea from visiting the open air museums in Scandinavia and Finland (in Sweden the open air museum Skansen was established in 1891, in Norway in 1897, in Denmark in 1901, in Finland Seurasaari open air museum was established in 1909). The First World War hindered the museum from taking more serious steps. As from 1921, the resources of Estonian National Museum were spent on fitting out the Raadi Castle, and increasing economic difficulties did not enable to begin with the costly undertaking – the construction of the open air museum.
In years 1925 – 1931, the Estonian Open Air Museum Association was active in Tallinn, and setting up the museum in the capital was under discussion. In 1920s and 1930s, the ethnographers of the Estonian National Museum I. Manninen, F. Linnus and G. Ränk promoted and planned the future exposition of the Open Air Museum. The Pirita park-museum should have started its work on 1 July 1941 but the war began.
In 1950, the Union of Architects with K. Tihane, A. Kasper, H. Armani, G. Jommi and others raised the issue of setting up an open air museum. More specific preparation activities started in 1956, this time in the Ministry of Culture. Additionally, to the above-mentioned names, architects F. Tomps and I. Sagur, and historians H. Moora, G. Troska, A. Viires and O. Korzjukov were also active in the organizing committees.
The museum was founded on 22 May 1957, it started its activity the same year on 1 June. In July, the museum got a plot of 66 ha near Tallinn, on the coast of Kopli Bay, in the area of Rocca al Mare summer manor, which was established in 19th century. The museum under construction was opened for the visitors in August 1964.
In 1974, the Open Air Museum was offered the I category. In 1975, it was visited by more than 100,000 people.
On April 10, 1984, the Sassi-Jaani exhibit barn-dwelling and storehouse were set on fire. There had been arsons in the Open Air Museum earlier, too, in 1963, 1967, 1968 and 1978, but the Sassi-Jaani exhibit buildings were of special value because of its age and interesting building construction, as there were no equivalent original buildings, a decision was made by the museum's scientific council and public commissions that a copy would be built.
In the 1980s the cultural and educational activities became more lively and new working methods were developed. Following the long-time experience of the Latvian Open Air Museum, the first handicraft fair of the Estonian open Air Museum took place in 1988.
In the 1990s the research work was continued with the field of topics connected with improving the exposition, the study of present exhibit buildings and the history of their former owners became a new trend.
Owing to the breakup of the Soviet Union and the political tensions, the visibility of the museum dropped considerably and new working methods were searched for - more extensive daily handicraft sale in the museum, handicraft demonstrations, temporary exhibitions in exhibit buildings, celebrating notable days of the national calendar as well as topical work with children started to be introduced.
On 1 January 2014, the state museum The Estonian Open Air Museum and state institution Conservation Center Kanut joined and formed a foundation Estonian Open Air Museum Foundation. The foundation works as a museum that introduces rural architecture and landscape as well as a center that deals with restoration, conservation and digitization. +Directors of the Estonian Open Air Museum1957–1971Olimpi Korzjukov1972–1982Leon-Hannes Paiken1983–1987Oskar Vasar1987–1992Tõnis Müller1993–2018Merike Lang2019–Tanel Veeremaa
Exhibition
Western Estonia
Sassi-Jaani farm
The farm is from Kullamaa parish in the early 19th century. The buildings were brought to the museum in 1959-1960 and opened to visitors in 1964. The threshing house and storehouse burned in 1984. The restored farm was re-opened at the museum in 1993.
Köstriaseme farm
Köstriaseme farm is from Kirikla village in Hageri parish. The buildings were brought to the museum from 1959 to 1962, and the farmyard was opened to visitors in 1962.The average sized farm, that paid rent to Hageri church manor, had about 30 hectares of land and about 9 hectares of cropland.
Nuki farm
Nuki smokehouse is an example of the yard of a poorer inhabitant of western Estonia on the periphery of the farm. Built from 1880 to 1890 at the former site of the Nuki cotter in Saunja village in Lääne-Nigula parish. Brought to the museum in 1970, erected from 1970 to 1971.
Nätsi windmill
Big post windmill that comes from Vanasauna farm in Nätsi village, Mihkli parish, the southern part of Läänemaa County in Western Estonia. Allegedly, it was built in the second half of the 19th century on Pärdi-Madise farm in Rabavere village and was then sold to Nätsi village in Mihkli parish. The windmill was owned by different farms in the course of time, until Ants Kümmel, a cotter from Vanasauna farm, bought it after the First World War. He enlarged the windmill and started to grind flour for villages in the neighbourhood. The windmill was transferred to the museum in 1959 and opened in 1960.
Northern Estonia
Härjapea farm
This average-sized Viru County farm was purchased from the owners of Mäetaguse manor for 4,000 silver roubles in 1892. The farm had 44 ha of land, including 13 ha of fields.
The dwelling constructed during the Empire era was later modernised, and the rooms show people's life at the end of 1930s. The orchard and flower beds are also characteristic of the household culture of the interwar period. The farm homestead features the outbuildings of Kutsari farm dating back to the end of the 19th century and the stone threshing floor of a ruined barn-dwelling, so the composite name of ‘Kutsari- Härjapea’ is also in use. The sauna is located farther away at the pond.
The building was completed by the museum's jubilee in the 50th anniversary.
Pulga farm
Pulga farm represents a rental farm characteristic of Northern Estonia dating back to the middle of the 19th century. Farm buildings were brought from the villages of Kuusalu parish to the museum in 1961–1964, and the farmyard was opened to visitors in 1964.
The fact that soil in Northern Estonia is rich in limestone is displayed by many buildings located in the spacious yard: the threshing floor of the barn-dwelling, the smithy and summer kitchen are all made of limestone and stone hedges where large slabs of stone alternate with stonework.
Aarte farm
Aarte farm is an example of a small farm belonging to a fisherman in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Farm buildings have been brought from Aarte farm in Virve village on Juminda peninsula, Kuusalu parish. The farm was opened for visitors in 1982.
Kahala watermill
The small watermill built on Liiva spring on Möldri farm in Kahala village, Kuusalu parish, was used to grind straight flour, wholemeal flour as well as rye coarse meal for making gruel during the spring and autumn floods; it would also make groats. Kahala mill was one of four watermills of Kolga manor. The mill was brought to the museum in 1962 and opened for visitors in 1969.
Southern Estonia
Sepa farm
Sepa farm from Rõuge parish represents the household of a blacksmith in southern Estonia at the turn of the century. Brought to the museum in 1987–1997 and opened for visitors in 1999. This small farm in Võru County had some 10 ha of poor soil, and smithcraft was the main source of income. Due to the changes in the economy of Estonia in the second half of the 19th century, rural handicraft developed at a fast pace.
Kalma windmill
Kalma windmill, ordered by Juhan Särk, was built by Mustvee mill builder Jakob Sõber in Kalma village, Torma parish. The former earned the money to build the mill by fishing in Lake Peipus. Kalma windmill is the museum exhibit of a Dutch type windmill which can be mainly recognised by the cap-like rotating roof with the sails. It was brought to the museum in 1972, rebuilt from 1991 to 1995.
Ritsu farm
Ritsu farm is an example of a cotter's household in southern Estonia. The barn-dwelling in the yard was built in 1860s on Ritsu farm in Tinnikuru village, Paistu parish. (The storehouse and the cattle-shed have not been built yet). It was brought to the museum in 1966, rebuilt in 1968–1975.
Rusi farm
Rusi farm from Võru County holds a special place in the museum display. All farmyard buildings except for the new storehouse were brought from Ala-Rusi farm in Pugritsa village, Karula parish, which has a strong connection with the history of Estonian art. Namely, this was the place where the famous sculptor Juhan Raudsepp (1896–1984) who was then known as Juku from Rusi grew up on the farm of his mother's parents. Ala-Rusi was a farm with around 36 hectares of land and two horses, separated from the older large Mäe-Rusi farm for the family's son upon his marriage. Ala-Rusi buildings were brought over in 1967, and the farmyard was opened for visitors in 2002.
Setu farm
The old farm Vanatalo was situated in Lõkova village (called Ojavere as a part of Estonia) in Pankjavitsa (later Vilo commune), which is now in the Pskov Oblast of Russian Federation.
The eastern part of Setomaa was characterised by farms that were fortified in a way: the dwelling was located in the centre of a so-called three-row yard with rows of outbuildings along two sides of the dwelling. There were narrow yards closed with high gates between it and the outbuildings. The ends of all the buildings faced the village street.
The dwelling and the storehouse were brought to the museum in 1979.
Russian house from Peipus
The so-called Pechonkin's house (by the owner's surname) built in 1863 was brought from the town of Kallaste, former Kodavere parish.
The peculiar Russian settlement established on the shore of Lake Peipus was founded by Russian Old Believers who fled from Russia after the Orthodox Church dissent in the 18th century. The shore villages where soil was poor mainly lived off fishing, growing vegetables and, later, building work.
The dwelling was relocated in 1991.
Islands
Jaagu farm
Jaagu farm was a homestead that was apportioned from a larger state manor to a soldier who had retired from the tsarists army. It had 9 hectares of land, of which 2 hectares was fields. The farm was opened at the museum in 1976.
Jüri-Jaagu farm