National Museum of Estonia – Picture by National Museum of Estonia.
Thursday, 29 September 2016, Tartu, Republic of Estonia: President Toomas Hendrik Ilves opened Estonia’s first national museum dedicated to the history, statehood, life and traditions of Estonians and other Finno-Ugric peoples.
It was built on the edge of Tartu, neighbourhood of Raadi, upon an abandoned Soviet airfield. The Estonian National Museum (Eesti Rahva Muuseum) was open to the public on 1 October 2016.
The project is the largest independent Estonia has ever undertaken; both financially as well as in spatial terms . The museum was designed by the Paris-based architecture firm, DGT.
A plethora of items making up the permanent exhibitions have been donated by private Estonians, foreign institutions and archives. Amongst of rarest items are the book in which the Estonian language was first written down, the robe of the first Estonian Orthodox Bishop and the first Estonian national flag.
For further information:
National Museum of Estonia: http://www.erm.ee
