The Song Celebration Museum

The cradle of Estonian theatre and song festivals

 The Song Celebration Museum presents the history of Estonian song festivals and national theater. The museum’s permanent exhibition Carry Your Own Tune explains how the first song festival was organized in 1869. The exhibition provides an overview of the rooted traditions of the celebrations, how they have changed over time, and how politics have also played a role in the history of song celebrations.

The second permanent exhibition of the Song Celebration Museum presents the history of Estonian national theatre. In 1870, Lydia Koidula’s folk play The Cousin from Saaremaa was performed in the Vanemuine Cultural Society, which can be considered the beginning of Estonian national theatre. It was also the birth of the oldest theater in Estonia, Vanemuine. The permanent exhibition, Raise the curtain! Vanemuine Theatre 150, summarizes the colorful history of Vanemuine Theatre. Visitors have the opportunity to experience making a theater production themselves and to see the behind-the-scenes life. Various hands-on activities help visitors learn about the professions related to stage performances, and theater world terms are introduced.