Kadrioru kunstimuuseum

About the museum

Kadriorg Palace was built near Tallinn as a summer residence for the Russian Tsar Peeter I; construction began in summer 1718, and the estate took its name from Tsarina Katariina I. The chief architect of the palace was the Italian Nicola Michetti; after he returned to Italy, construction was led by Mihhail Zemtsov. Peeter I died in 1725 and many of the planned works remained unfinished. In 1827 Nikolai I ordered repairs to the palace, and in 1827–1831 the building was rebuilt, with a semicircular glass veranda and a new staircase among other things. In the 19th century Kadriorg became a fashionable seaside resort.

After the February Revolution of 1917 the workers’ and soldiers’ councils of Tallinn took possession of the empty palace, and in 1918 it was handed over to the city of Tallinn. In 1927, after extensive renovation, an art museum opened in the palace. In the 1930s the building was rebuilt to a design by the architect Aleksandr Wladovsky as the residence of the head of state; a neo-Baroque ballroom and interiors in the national style were completed. From 1946 to 1991 the palace was again the main building of the Eesti Kunstimuuseum. In 1991 it was closed for complete restoration, and in 2000 it opened as the Kadrioru kunstimuuseum (Kadriorg Art Museum).

The Kadriorg Art Museum is Estonia’s only museum devoted to the art of earlier Europe and Russia. It holds the country’s largest collection of old masters from Western Europe and Russia, covering paintings, sculptures and applied art. The palace itself is among the museum’s most important exhibits, because layers of different periods can be seen in it, from the ballroom of Peeter I’s time to the neo-Baroque hall and the national-style rooms of the 1930s.

Highlights

• Dutch Golden Age paintings, including two works from the workshop of Pieter Brueghel the Younger
• Russian art: portraits by Fyodor Rokotov, sea views by Ivan Aivazovsky and works by Ilya Repin
• Italian 17th-century painting, including works by Bernardo Strozzi and Francesco Trevisani
• German portrait art, from a 16th-century portrait by the Cranach workshop to Anton Graff
• Western European and Russian porcelain and applied art, 18th–20th centuries
• Historic Baroque palace with Peeter I’s ballroom and the neo-Baroque hall of the 1930s

Permanent exhibitions

• Kadrioru kunstimuuseumi püsiekspositsioon – Paintings, graphic art, sculptures and applied art from the 16th–20th centuries, Western European and Russian: Dutch, Russian, German and Italian art and porcelain. The historic interiors have largely been lost, so the texts explain the former purpose of each room.
• Skulptuurikogu avahoidla – The sculpture collection of the Eesti Kunstimuuseum is open to visitors as a storage space; admission is free.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Eesti Kunstimuuseum

Admission & discounts

Free admission: On the last Wednesday of the month the ticket costs €3 (family ticket €6). On 1 June (Children’s Protection Day) children up to and including 18 years of age enter free; this does not apply to pre-booked tours.

The full ticket is valid for one visit within one year from purchase. Reduced and free admission requires proof. Free admission on presentation of proof also for children from children’s homes, victims of repression and persons equated with them, museum staff, members of ICOMOS, ICOM, AICA and EstSEA, students of art history and fine arts, journalists (with press card), holders of the Tallinn Card and the WFTGA Cultour Card, and holders of the museum card. Free admission does not apply to pre-booked tours and programmes.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: not available
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

Wheelchair users can enter by a ramp on the left of the main door; portable telescopic ramps are available to overcome the steps, and a security guard helps to fit them. They are not suitable for mobility scooters, three-wheeled vehicles or low-platform aids with heavy batteries. The museum can lend a wheelchair on request. The lift is in the shop and ticket area (rear left corner) and serves the main hall, the permanent exhibition and the temporary exhibitions on the first and second floors; to use the lift, ask the security guard to attach your ticket. The Russian art exhibition on the second floor in the seaside wing can be reached only by stairs. The accessible toilet is on the ground floor, opposite the lockers. On the first floor there is a tactile model of the palace; descriptive texts in Braille are at the entrance, in a drawer next to the audio guide devices. There is no induction loop. Sign-language interpretation cannot currently be booked; hearing groups may bring their own interpreter. Visits should be announced in advance to the security staff by telephone at +372 565 5302; accessible parking on the grounds is by arrangement at +372 606 6400.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

The children’s audio guide (in Estonian) leads children through the palace, guided by the character Kadri; the device can be borrowed free from the museum or listened to on a smartphone. On the upper floor there is an activity room where children can play, build, draw and solve tasks, and the halls contain play tasks. For families there is also a discovery trail in Kadriorg Park, the colouring and puzzle book “Kadrioru lossi lood” (Stories of Kadriorg Palace), children’s birthday programmes and the programme “Kunstidetektiivid” (Art Detectives) for ages 7–11.

Getting there & parking

From Kumu you can enter the park through a pedestrian tunnel or along the historic, steep Katariina steps. The bicycle park is on the palace forecourt. An accessible lift on Valge Street, opposite the pedestrian tunnel, leads to the Kumu courtyard and by ramps into the park. To drive a car to the palace, call the gate at +372 565 5302.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

The palace café is on the ground floor of the palace and is open during the museum’s opening hours and during events (telephone +372 522 2986). The menu is based on French and Russian cuisine and includes pastries, light meals, pancakes and desserts; the café has up to 24 seats. The museum shop sells books, exhibition catalogues, souvenirs, jewellery and bags by Estonian designers, porcelain and reproductions of the museum’s works.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Family celebrations, team events and anniversaries of educational institutions are held in the palace (programme “Tähistame lossis!” – “Let’s Celebrate at the Palace!”); the palace café can be rented for private events. Events are arranged through the events page of the Eesti Kunstimuuseum.

Plan your visit