Maiasmokk ( et, sweet tooth, literally 'sweet lip') is a historical

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

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 capital of Estonia. In its current form it dates back to 1864, making it the oldest operational café in Estonia. The premises also contain a museum about the history and uses of

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...

. It is currently owned by the Kalev company.

Location and description

Café

The official website of the Maiasmokk says that the café "offers you fresh pastries, pies and cakes made at the cafe as well as delicious handmade candies." It also has hot coffee offered in a variety of forms. The café has two floors. The coffee-house is located at the intersection of Pikk and Pühavaimu streets, in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

of Tallinn. It lies diagonally opposite the Church of the Holy Ghost, and the

Great Guild The Great Guild ( et, Suurgild, german: Große Gilde) was a guild for merchants and artisans, operating in Tallinn from at least the 14th century until 1920. It was based in the Great Guild hall, a Gothic building in the historical centre of Tal ...

(housing parts of the

Estonian History Museum Estonian History Museum ( et, Eesti Ajaloomuuseum) is a museum about the history of Estonia in Tallinn. It was initially established by pharmacist Dr. Johann Burchart who ran the town hall pharmacy known as the Raeapteek. Inaugurated in 1987, it ...

). The interior of the café has remained unchanged for almost a century.

Museum

Apart from the café, the premises also contain a room with an exhibition about the history and uses of

. The Kalev Marzipan Museum Room has around 200 marzipan figures, made from molds over 100 years old, and features marzipan painting and lectures. A marzipan artist, who does the marzipan painting, is always located in the museum.

History

Maiasmokk is said to be the oldest cafe which is still operational in Estonia. The history of the coffee-house goes back to August 11 1806, when sugar baker Lorenz Cavietzel obtained the right to the land on which the present building stands. It was the first sugar bakery was established here, but it was not until 1864 that the presently visible café was constructed. In 1864, the property was bought and redeveloped by the

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 ...

confectioner Georg Stude, and a café has operated in the premises since then. During the late 19th century, the coffee-house became renowned for its

production, and clients buying marzipan included the

Russian Imperial family The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

. At the beginning of the 20th century, prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the café received several valuable awards. In 1941, the company became nationalised, but the café continued to operate during the

Soviet 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 ...

. In 1997, after Estonia had re-gained its independence, the café was registered as a private enterprise. A majority of the shares were bought by Kalev in 2004, and it is today (2015) a part of the Kalev company. In 2006 the Estonian Post Office created a postage stamp to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the cafe. In 2010, Kalev also bought the house in which the café is located.

References

{{Coord, 59, 26, 17.40, N, 24, 44, 43.71, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Coffeehouses and cafés Estonian cuisine Tourist attractions in Tallinn Marzipan Restaurants in Tallinn