The one attraction in Tallinn’s western outskirts is the Estonian Open-Air Museum (Eesti vabaõhumuuseum). Arranged in a spacious wooded park, the museum brings together more than a hundred eighteenth- and nineteenth-century village buildings from different parts of the country.

Exhibits illustrate how Estonian dwellings developed from single longhouses in which humans and animals lived cheek by jowl to more sophisticated farmsteads, in which barns and other outbuildings were built to accommodate the beasts.

Estonian living rooms were traditionally built around open hearths with no chimneys – the resulting fug facilitated the drying of grain and the curing of meat and fish. Until the twentieth century most Estonian houses were built from spruce or pine – except on Saaremaa, where stone walls were sometimes used – as evidenced by a pair of farmsteads on display here.

The museum also includes an appealing wooden church, taken from the village of Sutlepa north of Haapsalu – traditionally an area of Swedish settlement – its roof supported by swelling, cigar-shaped pillars.

An additional attraction is the Kolu Kõrts café, which serves up traditional bean soup and beer.

Practical Info

The Open-Air Museum is 6km west of Tallinn in the upmarket suburb of Rocca al Mare – buses #21 and #21B run here from Balti Jaam (every 20–30min).

Open: daily 10:00 - 18:00

Tickets: €12, family ticket €24

Estonian Open-Air Museum