The Estonian National Museum ( et, Eesti Rahva Muuseum) founded 1909 in
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
is a museum devoted to
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
Jakob Hurt
Jakob Hurt ( in Himmaste – in St Petersburg) was a notable Estonian folklorist, theologian, and linguist. With respect to the last, he is perhaps best known for his dissertation on "pure" -ne stem nouns ("Die estnischen Nomina auf -ne purum ...
's heritage, to
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 ...
n
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
and
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
. The first items for the museum were originally collected in the latter part of the 19th century.
The museum tracks the history, life and traditions of the
Estonian people
Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language.
The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to othe ...
, presents the culture and history of other
Finnic peoples
The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...
, and the minorities in Estonia. It has a comprehensive display of traditional Estonian
national costume
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
s from all regions. A collection of wood carved beer
tankards
A tankard is a form of drinkware consisting of a large, roughly cylindrical, drinking cup with a single handle. Tankards are usually made of silver or pewter, but can be made of other materials, for example wood, ceramic, or leather. A tankard ...
illustrates the traditional peasant fests and holidays. The exhibition includes an array of other handicrafts from hand-woven carpets to linen tablecloths.
History
The museum opened at
Raadi Manor
Raadi Manor (german: link=no, Ratshof) was in the area known as Raadi-Kruusamäe, on the outskirts of Tartu in Estonia. The manor and Raadi Manor Park were the home to the Liphart noble family who were significant art collectors. The family ...
in 1922 with the Finnish ethnographer
Ilmari Manninen as its director.
Manninen had been working for
Tartu University
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
since 1919. Raadi Manor had been the ancestral home of
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
art collectors like
Karl Eduard von Liphart
Baron Karl Eduard von Liphart or Carl Eduard von Liphart (16 May 1808 – 15 February 1891) was a noted art expert and collector from Estonia. The family manor was near Dorpat (now Tartu).
Life
Liphart was born in Kambja Parish in the Kreis Dorp ...
and his son
Ernst Friedrich von Liphart
Baron Ernst Friedrich von Liphart (1847–1932), Russified as Ernst Karlovich Lipgart and also referred to in English as Earnest Lipgart, was a painter, a noted art expert and art collector from what is now Tartu in Estonia. After living for a t ...
. They had moved away in 1860 but their collections remained although the most valuable parts had been sold starting in 1920. Although they were lovers of art the Lipharts were not well regarded by the local Estonians. They were seen as "culturally revolting" Baltic German's at that time.
[
]Raadi Airfield
Raadi Airfield (Tartu Air Base) is a former air base in Estonia located northeast of Tartu. The land once belonged to Raadi Manor and is now designated as the new site of the Estonian National Museum.
History
In 1940 were requisitioned fro ...
was built on the manor's land in 1940. Raadi Manor, the main building of the museum, was destroyed in the Tartu Offensive during 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 opposin ...
.[History of Manor]
Eesti. Rahva Muuseum, retrieved 31 December 2013 After this the airfield dominated not just the museum but the whole of the city. The airfield became a secret Soviet bomber base and there was no room for the museum's collection. During this time Tartu's culture was hidden. The museum's artefacts had to be stored in churches and other spare space around the city and the air base meant that foreigners were not allowed to visit the city.[Estonian National Museum, When ...Where is this?]
Estonian National Museum, retrieved 3 January 2014
In 2005 the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the Union of Estonian Architects announced together with the museum an international competition for the Estonian National Museum's new building. The project was won by an international collaboration of architects for the work ''Memory Field'': Dan Dorell (Paris, France), Lina Ghotmeh
Linda Ghotmeh is an architect and leads her own practice in Paris, France. Born in Beirut, she completed her education at the American University in Beirut.
Ghotmeh co-founded a firm in 2005, Dorell Ghotmeh Tane Architects, Paris (DGT), which ha ...
(Paris, France), and (Paris, France).
The grand opening took place in Autumn 2016. The new single storey building houses the museum as well as supplying conference space and a cinema. The building design incorporates the history of the site including the manor, the war and the airfield.[ERMi ehitus 2015]
/ref>
In August 2021 the head of the museum, Alar Karis
Alar Karis (; born 26 March 1958) is an Estonian Molecular genetics, molecular geneticist, Developmental biology, developmental biologist, civil servant and politician who, since 11 October 2021, has served as the sixth President of Estonia.
P ...
, was elected by Estonia's parliament to the position of President of Estonia
The president of the Republic of Estonia ( et, Eesti Vabariigi President) is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid.
Estonia is ...
.
References
External links
* (eesti keeles , in English , suomeksi , no-pyccku)
{{Tartu landmarks
History museums in Estonia
Museums in Tartu
National museums
Museums established in 1909
1900s establishments in Estonia
Ethnographic museums in Europe