Estonian Maritime Museum
The Estonian Maritime Museum ( Estonian Eesti Meremuuseum ) is a museum about the history of seafaring in the Estonian capital Tallinn (Reval).
location
The seat of the museum is in the canon tower of the thick Margaret, which belongs to the Reval city fortifications, at the north end of the long street (Estonian: Pikk ). A branch of the museum is located in Lennusadam , Tallinn's seaplane airport.
history
A collection of nautical material began in the late 1920s. On September 2, 1931, a call for the collection of maritime objects appeared. A first exhibition of more interesting pieces took place in two small rooms. This exhibition can be seen as the forerunner of today's museum. On December 24, 1934, the director of the waterway authority issued a directive to found a museum. Rooms on the Baikow embankment were assigned as rooms . The initiative to found the museum came from former captains and sailors. The initiative group to found the museum included Madis Mei, Evald Past, Aleksander Heinmaa, August Gustavson and Evald Avik, the director of the waterway authority.
The opening ceremony of the museum took place on February 23, 1935. 360 guests were present, including the Estonian head of state. Madis Mei became the first museum director . After the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union , the museum was closed at its previous location and the collection was relocated to Neue Hafenstrasse (Estonian: Uus-Sadama ) in Reval. After Mei's death on December 17, 1940, Benjamin Valter became the new museum director. Due to the uncertainties of the Second World War , it was decided not to show the collection, but to store it in the cellar of the historic Kiek defense tower in de Kök in the old town of Reval. There she survived the war unscathed, while the formerly used building was destroyed.
After the end of the war, the collection was transferred to the city museum and partly also to the museum of the Estonian city of Hapsal and the Estonian island of Ösel . On August 18, 1959, a maritime department with two employees was set up in the city museum. The collection was transferred to the sailors' club. In July and August 1960 there was an exhibition on Estonia and the sea. On July 1, 1961, the museum was then re-established. Ants Pärna took over the management . The opening for visitors took place on October 22, 1965, after extensive preparations and a search for suitable premises. The museum was housed in the outbuildings of the Fat Margaret. The tower itself was still in ruins and without a roof at that time. However, its renovation was already planned. During the course of the 1980 Summer Olympics , the sailing competitions of which were held in Tallinn, the tower was also to be renovated. The museum was therefore closed on December 26, 1977. Due to construction delays, the reopening did not take place before the games, so only a temporary exhibition was shown during the games.
The actual opening of the museum in today's location in the Dicken Margarethe took place on April 27, 1981.
Since very large exhibits and especially historical ships cannot be shown in the Dicke Margarethe or its surroundings, the idea to open a branch arose. At the beginning of the 21st century, museum ships were brought to the quay at the seaplane airport. In 2010, the renovation of the old hangar there began. On May 11, 2012, the branch office in Lennusadam was opened with an exhibition area of 6,500 m².
exhibition
The museum has four floors of exhibitions on topics related to life on and with the sea. Aspects such as fishing , shipbuilding , ports and navigation are covered. Among other things, more than 100 ship models are shown. There is a museum shop on the ground floor. A café is operated on the roof of the tower during the summer months.
Historic ships are exhibited in the Lennusadam branch, including the Lembit submarine .
literature
- Thorsten Altheide, Heli Rahkema: CityTrip Tallinn (= CityTrip series ). 4., rework. and completely updated. Edition Reise Know-How Verlag Peter Rump, Bielefeld 2016, ISBN 978-3-8317-2815-2 , p. 31
- Valeri Sepp: Tallinn History of an Unusual City , Felistella, Estonia 2013, ISBN 978-9949-9264-8-0 , p. 60
Web links
- Estonian Maritime Museum website
- The Great Beach Gate and Fat Margaret. In: visitestonia.com
- Estonian Maritime Museum - Fat Margaret Tower. In: visittallinn.ee
Coordinates: 59 ° 26 ′ 32.8 " N , 24 ° 44 ′ 57.7" E