Estonian Open Air Museum

The Estonian Open Air Museum (Eesti vabaõhumuuseum) is situated southwest of Tallinn’s city center, in the Rocca al Mare district, in a spacious wooded park overlooking the sea. The museum is a collection of more than 100 preserved 18th- and 19th-century village buildings from different parts of the country. The buildings are mostly farmhouses, but also include a church from the village of Sutlepa north of Haapsalu, which was formerly a Swedish settlement, and a windmill. The museum is home to most of Estonia’s oldest buildings and offers a good opportunity to see traditional wooden architecture and to get an idea of rural Estonian life over the past 200 years.

Exhibits show how Estonian homes developed from single longhouses to more sophisticated farmsteads. You can also see development in the use of building materials, from spruce and pine, which was used until the 20th century, to stone walls.

The Open Air Museum is surrounded by a wooded area, which you can walk through all the way down to the sea. During the summer, there are song and dance shows during the weekends, and on Midsummer Eve there are traditional celebrations, including a bonfire.

The onsite Kolu Kõrts café serves up traditional Estonian cuisine.

The museum is on the number 21 bus route and is open every day. A small entry fee applies.