The Ministry of Culture is located in one of the most impressive 20th-century buildings in Estonia – a former Art Nouveau office building with traces of Romantic Nationalism and Neoclassicism in Tallinn city centre.
The building was supposed to set an example to the new business district of Tallinn in the early 20th century. The design, which won an international contest, was by a renowned Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950), and the construction, which took place in 1911-1912, was financed by Tallinn Mutual Credit Association.
The monumental 5-storey Credit Association house was erected on a narrow plot between Suur-Karja Street, Väike-Karja Street and Pärnu Road.
The limited construction area resulted in a unique architectural solution in Estonia – the courtyard is placed on three levels and connected to side-streets via ramps.
Two higher courtyards are accentuated by a joining oval opening that lets in the light. The top courtyard is made more attractive by an arcade of massive pillars and a forceful, projecting tower over the staircase.
The front facade of the building is symmetrical, its central axis emphasised by a magnificent two-storey arch, a wide set of stairs, high narrow bay windows, and an arched gable. The overall vertical appearance is balanced by the attic, lesenes between windows, and ornamental strips. A streamlined roof and rounded corners provide the outline of the house with a softness that was preferred in that era.
In 1913 the building was decorated with Egyptian-style cement sculptures made by the sculptor Jaan Koort (1883-1935), but these were removed in 1921.
On the second floor in the wing towards Suur-Karja Street, in the current rooms of the Ministry of Culture, there used to be bank offices, furnished with stylish oak panelling and furniture, private offices, and the rooms of the Credit and Deposit Association. The only part to have been preserved from the original interior nearly unchanged is the entrance and entrance hall. One of the decorative details in the hall – an image of a small boy with cornucopia as an allegory of Autumn – was made into a former symbol of the Ministry of Culture by the designer Tiit Jürna. The top floors of the building were used as apartments, the ground floor with large shop windows used to be, and still functions as, a business area.
In addition to the Ministry of Culture, the complex houses the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Estonian Song and Dance Festival Foundation, the Estonian Music Council and the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians.
Sources of the building’s history:
- Eesti Arhitektuur 1 Tallinn , "Valgus" 1993 - K.Hallas, Büroohoone Pärnu mnt 10, pp. 176-177
- Eesti kunsti ajalugu, "Kunst" 1977 - chapter on Estonian art from the turn of the century until 1917. L. Gens, Arhitektuur, p. 102
Last updated: 12.01.2021