The Museum of Architecture offers the opportunity to order city tours to different parts of Tallinn to take in the local architecture. These tours take groups to enjoy the city’s everyday environment and also sample the military and industrial history of the city.
The range of themes include Kadriorg wooden architecture, Soviet architecture, the architecture of the Rotermann Quarter, Tallinn’s military legacy, Tallinn’s older suburbs, and industrial architecture on Kopli Peninsula. Tour descriptions can be found below.
Please book city tours at least five business days before the desired date by email atinfo@arhitektuurimuuseum.ee
| TOUR IN ESTONIAN | FOREIGN LANGUAGE TOUR | |
| Group up to 15 people | 150€ | 250€ |
| Group up to 30 people | 250€ | 350€ |
Wooden Architecture of Kadriorg
Kadriorg has been one of the most prestigious areas of Tallinn through the ages. The residential quarter began developing around the summer residence of the Russian tsar at the beginning of the 18th century and represents the full range of architectural styles and building booms in Tallinn. The uniqueness of Kadriorg is its wealth and elegance; it is both a public and intimate cityscape. Kadriorg contains many significant monuments to Estonian statehood, but also a number of museums, restaurants, sports facilities, etc.
The tour concentrates on wooden architecture. We will follow the story of Kadriorg’s peculiar street structure that grew around the former water channel and railroad, explore traces of the summer resort and above all walk among the restored splendour of the peaceful and romantic old residential quarters.
The final route and potential visits to interiors will be agreed upon with the client prior to the tour.
Duration: 2–3 hours
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
Group size: max 30
The best of Soviet Modernism in Tallinn
The legacy of occupation is contradictory everywhere. In Estonia, the Soviet regime and ideology followed the barbaric air raids that destroyed a significant part of Tallinn. This tour combines a short visit to the UNESCO World Heritage listed Tallinn Old Town and the new structures built during the Soviet period. Several pearls from the 1990s will also be visited.
The tour starts in the Old Town. In addition to historical content we introduce the story of 50 years of the Tallinn Old Town Conservation Area, we see the new buildings from the 1950s that replaced the medieval buildings which were destroyed in WWII. The tour continues in the Museum of Occupations erected in 1998. Passing the building of the National Library from the early 1990s, we proceed to a cohesive area dating from the 1940s and 1960s. The former “cultural centre” housed the complex of Academy of Sciences including a library, the buildings of various institutes and even the luxurious apartments of the scientists. The quarter includes also former headquarters of the Estonian Communist Party, now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Duration: 2–3 hours
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
Group size: max 30
Tallinn’s early suburbs
Walking tour through the Old Town to the district of Kalamaja. This tour introduces key buildings from Medieval Tallinn and its Hanseatic heritage, but we will also observe how Tallinn expanded outside its Medieval walls and became a modern industrial city.
The legacy of 19th and early 20th century Tallinn differs from Riga, Stockholm and St. Petersburg, as the main building material here was timber. The well-preserved Medieval Old Town as well as the suburbs give an overview of the development of the nation through a turbulent of history of serfdom, industrialisation, emancipation and Soviet occupation.
Duration: 2–3 hours
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
Group size: max 30
Tallinn Military Heritage
The preparations for World War I started long before it actually broke out. On the southern coast of Finland and northern coast of Estonia a maritime defence system – Peter the Great’s naval fortress – was built to protect St. Petersburg.
In addition to the fortifications, on the narrow peninsula of Kopli in Tallinn, three ship building industries were established, where in addition to ships, submarines were built. The tour introduces a number of objects in the defence line, military industries and areas such as Noblessner and a Russian-Baltic Shipyard, a factory producing military arsenal, the Patarei sea fortress (later a prison) and the Seaplane hangar, which has won several awards for the creative restoration work.
Duration: 2–3 hours
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
Group size: max 30
By bus
Rotermann Quarter
The Rotermann quarter is an example of the symbiosis of contemporary uniquely high-quality architecture and an ensemble of protected 19th century industrial buildings.
Inside former mills, and grain and flour processing buildings there is now a picturesque array of restaurants, shops, offices and apartments. The tour starts with an introduction to 20th century Estonian architecture in the former salt storage that houses the Estonian Museum of Architecture. The tour then continues through the adventurous contemporary modifications of the industrial buildings.
Duration: 2 hours
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
Group size: max 30
Industrial heritage of Kopli peninsula
The rapid growth of Tallinn as an industrial town began with the building of the railway in 1870. There were several large textile factories, a railway, metal industry and three shipbuilding companies. The heart of Tallinn’s industry is situated in Kopli peninsula on a 5 km long, relatively narrow stripe of land. In addition to a dozen industrial complexes and factories, the area also included residential quarters, schools, kindergartens, shops and churches.
Duration: 2–3 hours
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
Group size: max 30
Transport: bus or bicycle
