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The Estonian Maritime Museum ( et, Eesti Meremuuseum) is located in the Fat Margaret tower in the old town of
The Estonian Maritime Museum ( et, Eesti Meremuuseum) is located in the Fat Margaret tower in the old town of Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
. The museum presents the history of ships and navigation in Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
and related to Estonia. Other parts of the Maritime Museum are the mine museum and the Seaplane Harbour museum where ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s are presented. The museum claims to be one of the largest museums in Estonia and the most popular.
History
The Museum was established in February 1935 by former captains and sailors. In November 1940, after theSoviet occupation of Estonia
The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...
began, the museum was closed and its collection moved to the Kiek in de Kök tower. The original museum building was destroyed in the war.
After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the museum's collection was distributed to Tallinn City Museum and other local museums. In 1961, the museum was reestablished. In 1977, as part of a restoration plan of the Old Town in preparation for the upcoming 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, the museum was again closed and reopened in April 1981.
Since 1981, its main exhibition has been housed by the Fat Margaret tower. A second museum was opened in May 2012 in the Seaplane Harbor.
Fat Margaret
Fat Margaret (Estonian: ''Paks Margareeta'', also known in German as ''Dicke Margarethe'') was built in the early 16th century (from 1511 to 1530) during the reconstruction of the medieval city gate system. The etymology of the tower's name derives from the fact that it was the largest part of the city's fortifications with walls measuring 25 meters in diameter, 20 meters in height and up to 5 meters thick. Apart from being a fortification against would-be invaders to the port of the town, it was also built to impress outside visitors arriving by sea.Exhibitions
Present exhibits include * EML ''Lembit'' - A World War II ''Kalev''-class submarine * EML ''Grif'' - A ''Zhuk''-class patrol boat * EML ''Kalev'' (M414) - A ''Frauenlob''-class minesweeper * PVL 105 ''Torm'' - A ''Storm''-class patrol boat used by the coastguard. * PVL 106 ''Maru'' * PVL 109 ''Valvas'' - An Iris-class patrol boat used by the coastguard, originally known as the USCGC Bittersweet * EML Suurop (P421) - AR-class patrol boat
The R-class patrol boats was a class of Finnish patrol boats, originally constructed as coastal minesweepers. They were modified into patrol boats by the end of the 1960s and transferred to the Patrol Flotilla and later to the 7th Missile Floti ...
* ''Suur Tõll'' - a steamer-icebreaker built in 1914
* Research vessel ''Mare''
See also
* Estonian Navy * EML ''Olev'' (M415) * EML ''Vaindlo'' (M416)References
External links
* * {{Authority control Museums in Tallinn Maritime museums Museums established in 1935 1935 establishments in Estonia Kesklinn, Tallinn