News
New Exhibition!
State awards of ukraine for gallantry in combat
The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood presents its new temporary exhibition War Awards of Ukraine at War!
This exhibition is our first collaboration with the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War (Kyiv War Museum). We present Ukraine’s first state awards for gallantry in combat, established last year by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. You can see designs and project models for Ukraine’s second highest award – Cross of Combat Merit, as well as the cross itself, on loan exclusively for this exhibition in Estonia. The project models were produced before the final decision on the award’s design could be taken (five very different ideas – five different takes on how the award could have looked).
Also at the exhibition – the presidential award «For the Defence of Ukraine», officially approved on 5 August 2022 .
This is the first time that these awards are exhibited.
The exhibition will be open until 2 September 2023.
Audio Guide in a New Language!
Dear friends! We are happy to announce that our audio tour is now available in the Polish language. A big thank you for making this audioguide possible goes to our dear friend Lukasz Gaszewski, specialist in phaleristics, counsellor to the Polish Army Museum and the National Museum in Warsaw, long-time member of the Orders and Medals Society of America (OMSA), author of publications about orders, decorations and medals.
We hope that this will make the visit of all our guests from Poland even more unforgettable and would like to invite everyone to come and get acquainted with the orders of Poland and their history.
One of the historical items that you can see at our museum is the badge of the order of the White Eagle presented by August the Strong of Poland to Peter the Great of Russia in 1712. Augustus founded the Order of the White Eagle in 1705. However, new research shows that the first orders of the White Eagle could have been bestowed as early as 1702.
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!
Audio Guide in a New Language!
Dear friends! The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood is once again number one! This time we are the first museum in Estonia to introduce our extremely popular audio guides in the Ukrainian language! In the last year the museum saw a significant increase in the number of visitors from Ukraine and we are very grateful to the Ukrainian Embassy for their assistance in making the audio guides possible.
Ласкаво просимо до Талліннського музею лицарських орденів!
WELCOME to the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood!
Best of the best 2022
Dear Friends! We are proud to announce that The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood has won the 2022 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award for the best museum and attraction in Estonia!
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.
Portugal in Focus
Orders of the bleeding heart
Military Orders of Chivalry flourished in Portugal during medieval times. Although they underwent a series of changes keeping up with the time, one thing remained constant – the beauty and elegance of their insignia! Discover the history of Portugal through the stars, badges and chains of its powerful orders and most respected awards.
Now at the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood!
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!
Coming in February
Diamonds for merit
A temporary exhibition is set to open in February at the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood. It will focus on orders’ insignia decorated with precious stones.
In the 18th century, it was common for kings and rulers to order diamond-studded stars and badges of orders of knighthood intended to be worn at special occasions to match their diamond buttons, tie-pins, clasps, and shoe-buckles. Such unique insignia were also on occasion presented as a sign of special friendship or favour or to mark a significant event. In the early 19th century, many monarchs introduced the practice of presenting insignia with diamonds as a special distinction to an earlier received award. In countries like Russia and Germany, with several orders of merit, these diamond studded badges became a separate grade before receiving the next higher order in rank.
Beautiful masterpieces made by the world’s best jewellers, these stars and badges shine today as brightly as the day they were awarded.
June Schedule
The Museum is opening in June
Dear friends! We are happy to announce that the Museum will be open for visitors starting Monday, 31 May, on the weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00. This schedule will be active for June 2021. We hope that we can get to our regular schedule as the situation with travel restrictions normalizes.
For those who would like to visit the Museum on the weekends, please give us a call and we will try our best to accommodate you.
Make sure to take advantage of the special ticket price that we have for June. Adult tickets are 7 euro and family tickets only 15 euro.
We are closed on June 24 and 25 for the Holidays
See you at the Museum!
Working on the Renewed Exhibition
With the travel restrictions and quarantine measures still in force, our museum continues to operate behind closed doors meticulously working on the renewed exhibition. Here are some glimpses into what is to come when the museum can safely open its doors again to the public.