Dan Dorell Lina Ghotmeh ja Tsuyoshi Tane Viron kansallismuseo 2016 C

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 ...

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