Photo: Fuzheado · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Keelatud kirjanduse muuseum

The small Old Town museum collects banned, burned and censored books from around the world and presents the various forms of literary censorship.

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About the museum

The Museum of Banned Literature (Keelatud kirjanduse muuseum) is located on Munga Street in Tallinn Old Town and collects banned, burned and censored books from all over the world. The museum's aim is to preserve the books, to tell the stories of their authors and to teach the public to recognise the various manifestations of censorship. The museum regards itself as politically neutral and does not impose its opinion or its own definition of censorship on visitors; instead it gives them knowledge and skills to make up their own minds on the subject.

The permanent collection contains more than 600 books from more than 115 countries. Each book shows a slightly different form of censorship: the collection includes works banned in the past and today, well-known cases and small local stories. The books are presented in carefully considered contexts, and trained staff can explain their backgrounds. Many works in the collection may offend visitors, because their content is racist, sexist, blasphemous or hateful; the museum nevertheless considers it important to preserve and study such material.

The museum does not publish a list of its books online, because the collection is not a censorship database but represents different forms of literary censorship. Since 2020 the museum has organised dozens of tours for school and university students, and seminars on banned literature are offered to librarians and teachers.

Highlights

Over 600 banned books from more than 115 countries
Works censored in the past and today
Stories of the books explained by trained staff
Tours for pupils and seminars on banned literature
Wish list of books for donation