Laulupeomuuseum — Attraction in Tartu linn

A very thought-provoking museum. The “explanations” give the context very well and don’t force a single interpretation on you. Rather, they tend to ask pertinent questions so you can make up your own mind. It’s a small museum but the admission fee is cheap. At its simplest, it’s a museum about the song festival: telling about the first one in 1869; about how it developed; the difficulties it faced (from “Russification” policies of Imperial Russia to Soviet pressure to make it into a socialist festival); and through to the modern era when music played a big part in Estonians’ resolve to reassert their independence. The museum shows how music interplays with patriotism and how large gatherings of this kind shape national identity and sense of community. You can listen to some of the music: it’s very stirring. And there’s fascinating contemporary footage of the 1969 festival (I wished I had time to watch it all the way through). Apparently, the film was doctored before release to insert pro-Soviet material: the event was supposed to be celebrate the centenary of Lenin but for Estonians it could only be the 100th anniversary of the first national singing festival in Tartu. The film shown here edits out all the Communist claptrap and what you see is a people really passionate about their...

Jaama 14, Tartu 58.386491, 26.732633‎ 58° 23' 11.37", 26° 43' 57.48"

Дом, построенный в классическом стиле первой половины 19-го века, является культурным памятником и значимым местом в истории развития эстонской культуры. С 1870 по 1903 год здесь собиралось Общество Ванемуйне, благодаря которому появилась традиция проводить Певческие праздники. Первой театральной постановкой, которая ознаменовала рождение эстонского театра, считается народный рассказ, перенесённый Лидией Койдулой на сцену, под названием «Племянник с Сааремаа». Экспозиция музея Певческого праздника, разделена на три части, которые рассказывают об истории дома, истории Певческого праздника, и о рождении народного эстонского театра. Посетителей и жителей города ждёт красивый парк...

Lovely small museum about the Estonian song festival and its history. It was super interesting and I only regret not having more time, since you could easily spend 2 hours there. I hope I'll come back...