Vabamu | Vabamu Website

Vabamu is the largest active non-profit private museum in Estonia with a mission to educate the people of Estonia and its visitors about the recent past, sense the fragility of freedom, and advocate for justice and the rule of law. We operate in three areas: Vabamu Museums, Youth Engagement NoVa and Global Conversations.

Vabamu Museums

Vabamu has two museums: Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom and KGB Prison Cells. In these museums, visitors can learn about Estonia’s recent history through people’s personal stories.

Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom

KGB Prison Cells

Vabamu Youth Engagement NoVa

Vabamu Youth Engagement NoVa includes a variety of educational activities from museum tours and excursions to discussions, movie nights and hackathons. NoVa is also an online study platform for independent learners.

Vabamu Global Conversations

Vabamu Global Conversations are Vabamu’s international activities that increase our global partnerships and networks. Our aim is to keep Estonia globally connected so that we will never be alone again.

Online exhibition “Free Winds”

This exhibition highlights the extraordinary voyages of thousands of Estonians who secretly fled from Sweden in the late 1940s and sailed in old, battered boats across the Atlantic Ocean to freedom.

Exhibition “Defending Freedom: Estonian Civil Society in the Russo-Ukrainian War”

The exhibition “Defending Freedom: Estonian Civil Society in the Russo-Ukrainian War” offers visitors a unique opportunity to see how Estonian civil society and the state have contributed to supporting Ukraine and defending freedom. The exhibition is open from 28.09.2024 to 30.04.2025.

What’s on!

In our museums, you can visit exhibitions and attend various events. By pressing the arrow, you can see our upcoming events. You can find complete information about what is happening in the museums in the calendar.

Permanent Exhibition “History of the KGB House”

The KGB Prison Cell exhibition ‘History of the KGB House’ speaks primarily of the crimes committed there. But just before entering the building, it is well worth taking a glance at the beautiful facade of one of the most elaborate Art Nouveau buildings in Tallinn and pondering the strangeness of history.

Permanent Exhibition “Freedom Without Borders”

The exhibition ‘Freedom Without Borders’ speaks of occupation, resistance, freedom, and recovery. It consists of five parts: crimes against humanity, Estonians in the free world, life in Estonia, the restoration of independence, and freedom.

Public Tours at the KGB Prison Cells

Every Wednesday in June, July and August at 6 p.m., a public tour of KGB Prison Cells takes place. The tour is in English.

Exhibition “Deported Childhood. Survivors’ Stories”

“Deported Childhood. Survivors’ Stories” is open in KGB prison cells, which tells about Estonian children who survived deportation and life in Siberia. Their stories are especially important today as Russia continues to deport children illegally, repeating the crimes of Stalin. This time, the children are not from Estonia, but from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.