Top ten things to do in Estonia
21.07.2023 - 08:30
/ roughguides.com
From the cultured capital of Tallinn to the winter-playground that is Otepää, here are ten of our favourite things to do in Estonia .
Originally dating back to the sixteenth century, Alatskivi Castle was rebuilt between 1876 and 1885 by Baron von Nolcken who was inspired by the royal residence of Balmoral in Scotland. With its protruding towers with cone-shaped roofs, the building is considered to be one of the most beautiful neo-gothic manor houses in the Baltics.
Members of the Old Believers, an offshoot of the Russian Orthodox Church, fled Russian persecution in the seventeenth century, eventually settling on the fringes of the Russian empire along the shores of Lake Peipsi. The lake is Europe’s fifth largest, and sits on the border between Russia and Estonia. To this day, the Old Believers maintain age-old traditions and survive on fishing and cultivating cucumbers and onions.
Onions from Old Believers © inese.online/Shutterstock
The quaint little town of Viljandi in southern Estonia overlooks a picturesque lake, and is home to the impressive hilltop ruins of the twelfth century castle of the Teutonic Order that covers an area of eight hectares. Viljandi is the capital of folk music and the country’s largest annual music festival that takes places on the last weekend of July during which concerts are held within the castle and other venues around the town. Viljandi’s charming streets are decorated with eight large concrete strawberries that point to the gallery of naïve painter Paul Kondas, where the artist's colourful works are on display, including his well-known The Strawberry Eaters (1965).
Located in a wonderful fifteenth century building, once the headquarters of the Great Guild, Tallinn’s History Museum houses a permanent collection entitled “Spirit of Survival” that traces Estonian history over the last 11,000 years with a series of interactive displays. It’s worth visiting the museum for the building alone, with its large cellars and intricate woodwork. The basement displays shed light on the building’s former days as an auction house for art in the mid-eighteenth century, up until to 1896 when it hosted the country’s first film show.
An aerial view of Tallinn by Kiki Deere
The wonderful Toy Museum is located in one of the oldest surviving wooden buildings of the university city of Tartu. On display is a wealth of objects including Estonian farm children’s toys, such as handcrafted wooden pastoral animals, and Soviet toys that were mostly educational in nature. These well-loved objects provide a fascinating insight into the lives of Estonian children throughout the years.
Tallinn’s award-winning Seaplane Harbour Museum is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most exciting museums. The uniquely