Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom
Vabamu okupatsioonide ja vabaduse muuseum
Interactive exhibits recount Estonia's fifty years under Soviet and Nazi occupation, and its path to regaining freedom.
Vabamu is housed in a modern glass building at the foot of the southern slope of Toompea Hill. It was formerly the Museum of Occupations and was renewed in 2018. The exhibits use oral-history videos from people who lived through the period, a reconstructed Soviet flat and interrogation room, a railway carriage that evokes deportation to Siberia, and radios used to secretly listen to Western broadcasts. Together they tell the story of Estonia being occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, then the Soviet Union again between 1940 and 1991, along with the Singing Revolution and independence in 1991. Outside the museum, a row of dismantled Soviet leader statues is on display. Multilingual audio guides, including English, are available. The exhibits are emotionally heavy. Admission is about 15 euros (check the official website). It is closed on Mondays. It is about a 5-minute walk from Freedom Square.
Opening hours
Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Kiek in de Kök & Bastion Passages
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
- Toompea
- St. Mary's Cathedral (Toomkirik)
- St. Nicholas' Church (Niguliste Museum)
- Kohtuotsa & Patkuli Viewing Platforms
- Town Hall Square & Tallinn Town Hall
- Great Guild Hall (Estonian History Museum)