in tiMe

destination
The museums
of Kadriorg
Russia needed a residence there. Peter initially
stayed in a rather modest summer cottage in
Kadriorg but was fascinated by the surroundings
and decided to build a palace and park ensemble
worthy of the Russian Empire.
After having hired an Italian architect, Niccoló
Michetti, Peter ordered the works to commence
in summer 1718. Michetti remained true to
the Italian trends of the time according to which
the palace and its extensions were built on a
natural terrace.
The local terraced relief also dictated the layout
of the park – the Lower Garden was designed
in front of the palace and the Upper Garden at
the back which, in turn, was also located on
different levels.
Niccoló Michetti designed the palace in three
parts. The well preserved main hall is one of the
finest examples of Baroque architecture in Estonia
as well as of Peter’s era Russia and of the entire
Northern Europe. The entrance hall has
preserved its authentic look as have many of
the stoves in the palace.
The palace complex comprises several
adjacent buildings, the majority of which have
been renovated. The development of a grandiose
park ensemble with many auxiliary buildings,
canals, ponds and almost 50 fountains
was unfortunately cut short by the death
of Peter the Great in 1725.
Picturesque park
The Kadriorg Park is a fine example of Tsarist
extravagance and is also a typical cut of the
world trends of the time. While the palace is
unmistakably of Italian style, the garden was
already designed to present French features
that prevailed in Europe at the time. The
northern part of the park was intended to
have the look of a natural landscape with an-
KUMU Art
Museum
Apart from the
classical as well as
contemporary works
of Estonian artists the
KUMU Art Museum
(Weizenbergi 34/ Valge 1) also
hosts international exhibitions
and offers the services of its
digital archive which is actually
a picture bank where you can
see, search and order works
stored in the archive of the
museum without having to leave
home. In 2008, the KUMU Art
Museum was awarded the European
Museum of the Year Award.
Kadriorg
Art Museum
The collection of the
Kadriorg Art Museum
located at Kadriorg
Palace (Weizenbergi
37) comprises over
900 paintings by Western European
and Russian artists from
the period between the 16th and
20th centuries; it houses 3,500
prints; over 3,000 sculptures and
items of miniature plastics, as
well as 1,600 items of applied art
(pieces of furniture, porcelain,
glass, etc). The exposition also
includes a selection of works by
Estonian, Russian and English
silversmiths and goldsmiths.
Mikkel
Museum
In 1994, the private art
collector, Johannes
Mikkel (1907–2006),
donated to the Art
Museum of Estonia his
private collection comprising
over 600 pieces of art by Western
European, Russian, Chinese
and Estonian artists from the
period between the 16th and
20th centuries. The historic
Kadriorg Palace kitchen (Weizenbergi
28) was specially renovated
to house the collection and it
was named the Mikkel Museum.
The pride of the collection are
the four etchings by Rembrandt.
kevad/spring 2011 I INTIME 33