Estonian Health Museum
Estonian Health Museum takes part in Open House Tallinn. Admission is free. No registration needed - just turn up.
- Address
- Lai tänav 30, Tallinn, Eesti
- Open
- Sat, 10. October; Sun, 11. October
- Tours
- Sat, 10. October: 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 | Sun, 11. October: 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00
- Tour languages
- eesti, English, русский
- Architects
- Lai 28 esmamainitud 1391, Lai 30 esmamainitud 1422; klassitsistlik ilme 19. sajandi algul
- Tour length
- 45-60 min
- Max. visitors
- 15
Lai Street is one of the oldest streets in the Old Town, first mentioned in 1314. It became unusually wide after 1310, when the town wall was moved westwards. The Estonian Health Museum has operated here since 1989 in two buildings of medieval origin. Lai 28 first appears in the town property register in 1391 and its cellar walls date from the 14th century; the present house was formed by joining several smaller buildings and acquired its classicist appearance in the early 19th century. A doorway with a late Gothic portal and a hewn limestone hooded chimney have survived. Lai 30 is first mentioned in 1422 as part of the Pikk 33 plot and became a separate property in 1477; originally a diele-dornse type dwelling, by the end of the 18th century it was converted into a storehouse, the gable was demolished and cargo hatches were cut into the wall. The buildings were restored in 1986-1989 by the Polish company PKZ. They came into the museum’s use thanks to the physician Jaan Novek, who gave up the Lai 28 building due to be returned to him on condition that it be handed over to the health museum. This is therefore not a purpose-built museum but a pair of merchant houses shaped over centuries, where thick limestone walls, vaulted rooms and narrow staircases are interwoven with contemporary exhibition design.
The foyer of the Health Museum.
Open House Tallinn