Estonian Open Air Museum (Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum, EVM). Tallinn, Estonia

This picturesque museum just 15 minutes drive from the center of Tallinn reveals how families of different incomes and occupations lived in Estonia in the 18-20th centuries.

Its large territory embraces buildings that used to be in every village: a church, a tavern, a school, windmills, a shop, and a barn. Here, you can get an idea of the life and routine of both the poorest strata of the population and its wealthy representatives.

There is a collective farm apartment building where villagers’ apartments are furnished in the style of the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2010s. Attention to detail is breathtaking to the point that you can find products of those times in the refrigerator and appropriate clothes in the closet. Kolkhoz apartment building won the Best Estonian Museum Exhibit award in 2021!

This is an interactive museum, so when you enter the building, you may be welcomed by the “owners” in themed costumes waiting for you. If you want to immerse yourself even deeper in the life of those times, ride on a horse-drawn carriage across the vast territory of the museum.

At the local Kolu Inn tavern, you can taste Estonian national dishes. We recommend taking the national Estonian dish Mulgipuder – crushed potatoes with barley served with fried onions and pork belly, or roasted meat whose serving size will pleasantly surprise you. For dessert, be sure to try the traditional kama mousse. Accompany your meal with local herbal tea or carbonated apple juice.

A new exhibition for the whole family – a barn-shed building on Kolga farm – has recently opened. Here, children can get acquainted with different animals and explore an interactive exhibition that compares life on the farm in earlier times with modern consumption habits.

In May, the museum will open a new adventure trail for children to learn vital life skills through play.

On holidays, you may come here to enjoy fairs, themed workshops, concerts and various festivities. Just follow upcoming events on social media so as not to miss a thing:
www.instagram.com/eestivabaohumuuseum
www.facebook.com/EestiVabaohumuuseum

Tallinn, Estonia