The Dominican Monastery was one of the most powerful institutions in medieval Tallinn – until it was comprehensively trashed by anti-Catholic rioters in 1525. The site was subsequently used as a school, hospital and arsenal before a new church was built in the mid-nineteenth century; it remains the city’s main Catholic place of worship.

Some of the former monastery buildings now accommodate the Dominican Monastery Museum (Dominiiklaste kloostri muuseum), home to an extensive collection of medieval and Renaissance stone-carving, including some intricate fourteenth-century tombstones. Look out for a delightful relief of an angel in a triangular frame courtesy of Arendt Passer – the doyen of sixteenth-century stone masonry who also worked on the portal of the House of the Blackheads and Pontus de la Gardie tomb’s in the cathedral.

Running along the surviving wall of the original monastery church is a narrow alleyway known as Katariina kaik (“Catherine’s Passage”). It is now occupied by a string of craft workshops, where you can observe potters, bookbinders and glaziers at work.

Practical Info

Vene 16

Museum open: mid-April to September daily 10:00 - 18:00

Tickets: €5