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Estonian Maritime Museum

Coordinates: 59°26′33″N 24°44′59″E / 59.4425906°N 24.7496438°E / 59.4425906; 24.7496438
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Estonian Maritime Museum
Eesti Meremuuseum
Exposition of the Estonian Maritime Museum
Map
Established23 February 1935; 89 years ago (1935-02-23)
LocationPikk 70, Tallinn, Estonia
Coordinates59°26′33″N 24°44′58″E / 59.4424°N 24.7494°E / 59.4424; 24.7494
TypeMaritime museum
Collection size84,697
Visitors403,400 (2014)[1]
DirectorUrmas Dresen
Public transit accessLinnahall, TLT
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Fat Margaret tower

The Estonian Maritime Museum (Estonian: Eesti Meremuuseum) is located in the Fat Margaret tower in the old town of Tallinn. The museum presents the history of ships and navigation in Estonia and related to Estonia. Other parts of the Maritime Museum are the mine museum and the Seaplane Harbour museum where ships are presented.[2] The museum claims to be one of the largest museums in Estonia and the most popular.[3]

History

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The Museum was established in February 1935 by former captains and sailors.[4] In November 1940, after the Soviet occupation of Estonia began, the museum was closed and its collection moved to the Kiek in de Kök tower. The original museum building was destroyed in the war.

After World War II, the museum's collection was distributed to Tallinn City Museum and other local museums. In 1961, the museum was reestablished. In 1977, as part of a restoration plan of the Old Town in preparation for the upcoming 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, the museum was again closed and reopened in April 1981.[5]

Since 1981, its main exhibition has been housed by the Fat Margaret tower. A second museum was opened in May 2012 in the Seaplane Harbor.[4]

Fat Margaret

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Fat Margaret (Estonian: Paks Margareeta, also known in German as Dicke Margarethe) was built in the early 16th century (from 1511 to 1530) during the reconstruction of the medieval city gate system. The etymology of the tower's name derives from the fact that it was the largest part of the city's fortifications with walls measuring 25 meters in diameter, 20 meters in height and up to 5 meters thick. Apart from being a fortification against would-be invaders to the port of the town, it was also built to impress outside visitors arriving by sea.[6]

Exhibitions

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Present exhibits include[2][dead link]

EML Kalev (M414)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Meremuuseum tegi järjekordse külastajate rekordi" (in Estonian). ERR. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Eesti Meremuuseum". Meremuuseum.ee. 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  3. ^ "The Museum - Seaplane Harbour". Lennusadam. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  4. ^ a b "Estonian Maritime Museum". meremuuseum.ee. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  5. ^ "History : Meremuuseum". meremuuseum.ee. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  6. ^ "Great Coastal Gate and Fat Margaret tower". Tourism.Tallinn.ee. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
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59°26′33″N 24°44′59″E / 59.4425906°N 24.7496438°E / 59.4425906; 24.7496438