News
Teutonic Knights are back in Tallinn!
What did the authentic insignia of the Teutonic Order look like?
Who wore the famous black cross?
And how did a medieval order of knights survive the centuries and continue into the modern world?
The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood is pleased to present a new exhibition dedicated to the history and legacy of the Teutonic Order in the Baltic region, with a special focus on the Order’s later Austrian and Habsburg periods.
Sword and Cross: the Teutonic Order in the Baltic
For many visitors, the Teutonic Order is associated primarily with the medieval crusades, fortified castles, and the dramatic conflicts that shaped the history of Livonia and Prussia. Yet the story of the Order extends far beyond the age of conquest. Over more than eight centuries, the Teutonic Order evolved from a crusading military fraternity into a religious and charitable institution whose traditions continue to the present day.
The exhibition focuses mainly on the lesser-known Austrian and Habsburg periods of the Teutonic Order. Following the secularisation of its medieval state, the Order survived under Habsburg patronage and gradually transformed into a Catholic religious and charitable institution centred in Vienna.
The exhibition features a wide range of insignia associated with the Grand Masters, professed knights, priests, sisters, and honorary members of the Order from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. Particularly notable are rare Grandmaster’s insignia, ceremonial sword chain, crosses, and decorations reflecting the Order’s evolving identity under Habsburg rule.
Through these objects, visitors can trace the extraordinary transformation of the Teutonic Order across the centuries while observing how its visual identity and ceremonial traditions were consciously preserved. The famous black cross on a white field — once carried into battle during the Baltic Crusades — survived as a symbol linking the medieval Order with its modern charitable mission.
The exhibition will appeal to both enthusiasts of history and the medieval world and to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the cultural heritage of the Baltic region.
Artist’s Exhibition-Sale!
Goldwork Embroidery by Estrena
Goldwork embroidery is a luxury needlework tradition in which the artist uses metal threads – passing threads, purl (canetille), check purl, bullion, flat metal strips, twist threads, etc. – to create richly textured, gleaming designs. Historically, these threads were made by wrapping real gold around a silk or linen core. The Estonian Artist Estrena (Tatjana Rumjantseva) uses high-quality non-precious metal alloys for her creations.
Estrena’s technique blends classical goldwork with contemporary bead embroidery, creating pieces that read like miniature regalia. She works with metal purl, twisted bullion, and metallic threads, couching them in dense, directional patterns that build relief around a central stone – an approach directly descended from the raised gold embroidery used on vestments and orders of knighthood. Her surfaces often combine cut purl segments, smooth gold threads, and fine couching stitches, producing the same interplay of shine and shadow that defined historical goldwork from medieval liturgical textiles to 19th-century order stars. The precision of her padding, edging, and metal-thread placement is entirely in keeping with the traditional craft, even as the scale is intimate rather than ceremonial.
What makes her work feel both historic and modern is the hybridisation: Estrena integrates natural stones, seed beads, and crystal elements into the goldwork framework, using them as cabochon-like centres reminiscent of the jewelled bosses in older insignia. The result is jewellery that mirrors the structural logic of traditional gold embroidery – central device, radiating metal-thread ornament, controlled dimensionality – but expressed with contemporary materials and artistic freedom. Her brooches echo the stars, crosses, and foliate motifs familiar from European orders, while remaining unmistakably the work of a modern craftsperson carrying the goldwork lineage forward.
Each item has been designed and made by hand and is unique – no two are alike.
NEW EXHIBITION!
DIAMOND ORDERS – From Fashion Jewellery to Insignia for Exceptional Service
The countries of the Baltic Sea enjoy the midnight sun in summer, yet must contend with its near absence in winter. This season, we hope to bring a measure of light into the darker months with the opening of our new exhibition, Diamond Orders – from Fashion Jewellery to Insignia for Exceptional Service.
Badges of Orders of Chivalry were originally adorned with precious stones and pearls, reflecting both status and the artistic tastes of their time. Among the most famous early examples are the badges of the Order of the Garter (Great Britain, 1348) and the Order of the Golden Fleece (Burgundy, 1430), renowned for their lavish decoration with diamonds.
Their splendour mirrored contemporary fashion. During the Renaissance of the 16th century—and well into the following century—these jewelled badges became integral elements of court dress. By the 18th century, as the number of Orders created to reward service to the state increased, diamond-studded badges were often presented as personal gifts from the sovereign. Recipients could also commission their own richly decorated versions, particularly in the case of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which was divided in 1701 into Spanish and Austrian branches, both of which continue to exist today.
In the early 19th century, diamonds acquired a new significance within the system of honours. Rather than serving primarily as decorative elements, they became marks of special distinction. Decorations “with diamonds” were conferred for exceptional achievements, distinguished service, or unusually long tenure. In several countries—including Austria, Germany, and Russia—this form of distinction came to represent an intermediate class between ordinary grades of an Order. Though rare today, the tradition of awarding Orders “with diamonds” still continues in some regions.
Our exhibition explores this long and multifaceted history, tracing the evolution of jewelled insignia from courtly fashion items to symbols of exceptional merit. Open now and running until the end of March
Come Celebrate with Us!
The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood is once again open after a thorough reconstruction! And what better way to celebrate it than with free entrance during the European Night of Museums event – Saturday, 17 May 2025, from 17:00 till 23:00.
We are delighted to invite you to experience the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood after dark as part of the European Night of Museums. For one magical evening, we open our doors from 17:00 to 23:00 to celebrate history and art in our new general exhibition. Our staff will be waiting for you to guide you through the new exhibition and answer your questions in English, Estonian, Russian and Finnish.
Free admission during the event!
NEW EXHIBITION!
THE SOVEREIGN ORDER OF MALTA – IN SERVICE OF MANKIND
As the Embassy of the Order of Malta celebrated its second anniversary since it opened in Tallinn, we have prepared a joint exhibition which will last till November.
Modern awarding systems trace their roots to the military orders of knighthood established during the first Crusades and the first Military Order – the Order of the Hospitallers, known today by all as the Order of Malta, probably the most famous order in the world. We should credit the members of this Order and its volunteers for upholding the traditions that sustained this chivalrous international community through more than 900 years of turbulent history. Its charitable work and dedication to its primary goal of assisting those in need earned it its high reputation and the right to be the last globally acknowledged sovereign order, with over 100 Embassies worldwide, now also in Estonia.
With this joint exhibition prepared for our visitors in cooperation with the Order of Malta and the Embassy of the Order in Estonia, we focus on the work of the Order of Hospitallers today, presenting the awards and insignia given and worn by the majority of its members, supporters and volunteers.
Attention! To make as many people as possible aware of the history of the Order and its work today, the Embassy of Malta in Estonia is sponsoring free tours to the exhibition for schools (organises class tours for children 12 years and up).
Under the Napoleonic Eagle
New Exhibition!
It is impossible to overestimate the impact that the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, whom it elevated on its waves, had on our world. We most often regard Napoleon as a great military leader whose military successes reshaped European warfare and influenced military thinking for years to come. His political skills allowed him to consolidate power and establish the Napoleonic Empire in Europe. His conquests spread the principles of the French Revolution, and while his rule was often oppressive, it also had a profound impact on the development of modern European nations. The 1804 Napoleonic Code influenced civil law codes worldwide, promoting equality of all men before the law and individual rights, as well as the secular character of the state. His reforms included the establishment of government-run schools and public works projects. Napoleon’s reign inspired artistic and literary movements. His patronage of the arts and encouragement of intellectual pursuits left a lasting cultural legacy.
By establishing the Order of the Legion of Honour in 1802, Napoleon also created a blueprint for most of the following state orders and decorations. Like a sponge, the Order of the Legion of Honour soaked in all the progressive principles of the French Revolution, all those principles that we hold dear today: liberty, equality, fraternity and ensured its survival as a great order, known and respected through all the world, even after its creator fell from grace.
As Napoleon grew his Empire, he put his closest relatives and friends on the thrones of conquered countries: Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Westphalia, the Two Sicilies. For a brief moment in the history of those countries, their old orders (where they existed) were abolished, and new ones were created. These new orders followed the example of the Legion of Honour and had beautiful, original and sometimes unusual designs and fascinating symbology: bees, wolves, lions, snakes and the all-powerful eagle above them all – The Great Napoleonic Eagle – a symbol of power and a connection to an ancient past. Inspired by the eagle standards of the Roman legions, the Eagle was not the only symbol, alluding to Bonaparte’s claim to ancient roots. As Napoleon crowned himself the King of Rome with the famous Iron Crown, he thought to solidify his status with the Order of the Iron Crown, which you will see today. The Capitoline Wolf of Rome, suckling Romulus and Remus, is depicted on another no longer awarded order – the French Order of the Reunion.
With our new exhibition we pay homage both to the trailblazing order of the Legion of Honour and the orders that closely followed but only shined for a very short, although significant, time in history.
New Exhibition!
Last week, the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood hosted a joint phaleristic conference together with the Slovak Pahleristics Society.
For this event, the museum prepared a special exhibition, “Orders of the First Republic of Slovakia”. The Museum boasts the fullest collection of orders’ insignia on this subject, with several unique samples to be seen only at the Tallinn Museum. This is a great opportunity for our visitors to see these rare objects and to learn more on the history of Slovakia.
Two publications were made especially for this exhibition. You can find them in our online store and in the museum’s souvenir shop.
The exhibition will be open until 28 January 2024.
New Exhibition!
The art of wearing orders and decorations
The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood presents its new temporary exhibition on the art of wearing order insignia, specifically on the wearing and mounting of sashes and ribands. Order insignia have been part of the male costume of the nobility elite since the creation of the Order of the Garter in the fourteenth century, but this time our focus will be on the period when orders and decorations began to be worn en masse, as the orders themselves started to change from elite domestic organisations of the few to awards based primarily on merit and firmly established instruments of diplomacy and diplomatic protocol.
Rarely do we reflect on the mode in which the badges are sewn to the riband. Today’s style of wearing orders and decorations was established in the late nineteenth century and our exhibition shows the different ways that the badges have been attached to the ribbons and sashes, the ways the ribbands were pleated, folded and tied – the most customary mountings being still used today in most countries.
The exhibition is scheduled to run until the end of February!
Best of the best 2022
The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood has been recognized by Tripadvisor as a 2022 Travelers’ Choice award winner and the number one museum in Tallinn according to visitor’s rankings!
The award celebrates museums and attractions that have received great traveller reviews from visitors around the globe on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months. As challenging as the past year was, the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood stood out by consistently delivering high-quality content, top educational and cultural experience and high quality of service.
Celebrate St Valentines Day at the Museum!
Stories of love and passion trapped in gold
Dear friends! To mark St Valentine’s day, which has come to be associated with love and friendship, we invite you to bring the one you love to our museum today and hear the romantic stories associated with the world’s most famous orders! Knighthood and chivalry has always been associated with romantic love. But you will be surprised to know, how many actual orders of knighthood have romantic stories in their origin.
All through the day our curators will be sharing stories about their favorite orders. Join us and discover a new side to awards you never new was there!
