The Estonian Museum of Occupations and Freedom is to celebrate the country’s Independence Day on 24 February with a special programme with activities for the entire family.
The museum and the KGB prison cells will open their doors to the public at 8:00 AM on 24 February.
The museum will offer free guided tours with a museum ticket: at 8:30 AM and 1:30 PM in Estonian, and at 2:00 PM in Russian. The tours will take you through the exhibition “Freedom Without Borders” where the recent history of Estonia is told through the memories of the ancestors of the Estonian people.
Alongside the permanent exhibition, the visitors to the museum will have the opportunity to explore items from the museum’s collections, especially exhibited for the Independence Day. As an example, a secret typewriter that belonged to the former prime minister, Mart Laar, which was used to write underground literature. The exhibition will be opened till the end of March.
To celebrate the Estonian Independence Day, the entry for both museums is with the special discount – the entry to the museum is €5 (the discounted ticket €3 and the family ticket €11) and to the KGB prison cells €2.
Encouraging people to reflect on history and stand up for liberty
The Museum of Occupations and Freedom and its branch, the KGB prison cells, are the largest active non-profit museum in Estonia.
The museum recounts the story of the Estonian people from occupation to independence and inspires people to maintain and stand up for their freedom. “We educate, engage and encourage Estonian people and visitors to reflect on recent history, feel the fragile nature of freedom, and stand up for liberty and justice,” the museum tells of itself.
The Museum of Occupations and Freedom got its start in 1998, when the Kistler-Ritso Estonian Foundation and the organisation of the same name in the United States were founded simultaneously to contribute to the research and remembrance of Estonia’s complex recent history. The mission of the foundation was to create a museum in Tallinn reflecting Estonia’s recent history. The museum, founded on donations by Olga Kistler-Ritso, was opened to visitors on 1 July 2003.
Cover: Vabamu in Tallinn. Photo by Anu Vahtra.
