Basking in the Baltics

Meremuuseum
(Estonian Maritime Museum)

When one lives by the sea, one can expect to see, a craft that sails in the sea. Do you see? Yes, we went to the Estonian Maritime Museum. We've been wanting to go since this summer and just hadn't made it there yet - until now. The setting is inside a giant seaplane hangar right next to the dock. Inside is a collection of water going vessels (ice going as well) from the ancient to the modern, post-WWII era. As with any historical places in Estonia, there is always some correlation to occupational forces that Estonians had to endure. Many of the military ships used in Estonian waters were Russian or German built. There was a temporary exhibit about Vikings and how they lived based on the ruins found at excavation sites in the Nordic regions. On display was also a complete and intact mine-laying submarine (the EML Lembit) that served in Estonian waters. The Lembit was built in 1936 by Great Britain. When she was finally hauled out of the water in May of 2011, she was the oldest floating submarine in the world. Here are a few pictures.

Meremuuseum of Estonia

Museum Floor

Old ships to visit

Sail boats for water and ice

Front hull of the EML Lembit

Lembit torpedo tubes

Crew slept above the topedos

Ancient looking controls

A valve and pipe for everything

Galley (kitchen)

Diesel engine that powered the generator

Generator that powered the electric motors

A view up top

A view of the conning tower

Viking stone art?

Artistic, those Vikings

Viking swords

Scenes of death and the afterlife

This explains the previous picture

Fat Margaret

When the reconstruction of the gate system of Tallinn was implemented in the early 16th century, this tower, which faced the sea, was built unusually large - partly as a way to impress visitors but mostly to scare away potential invaders. It measures 65 ft. in height, 82 ft. in diameter with walls up to 16 ft. thick. Among its primary use as a fortification, it has been used to store munitions and at one time served as a prison. It is now used to house the rest of the displays of the Meremuuseum. It has 5 levels of displays that include more of the civilian aspects of work in the sea.