Mikkel Museum

Opened in 1997, the Mikkel Museum is the only museum in Estonia based on a collection of foreign art donated by private collectors. Johannes Mikkeli (1907–2006) 16–20. Century Western European, Russian, Chinese and Estonian art collections created during the post-World War II period in the Estonian SSR are a vivid example of the art collector’s desire to preserve old European traditional values ​​under the prevailing ideology of the Soviet Union. Mikkeli paintings, prints, sculptures and above all porcelain are an important addition to the Kadriorg Art Museum collection.

The Mikkel Museum is located in the former kitchen building of Kadriorg Palace. The history of the building dates back to 1721 when the predecessor of the present building was built together with the construction of Kadriorg Palace and Park. The castle kitchen ensemble included an ice cellar, a bread barn and a tablecloth barn. Only the ice cellar on Weizenberg Street next to the Mikkel Museum has survived.

The kitchen house of the 20th century became its present appearance. The renovation of the building and its conversion into a museum began in 1995 when Johannes Mikkel donated the majority of his art collection to the Art Museum of Estonia. The Mikkel Museum, which provides a complete and permanent display of the collection, was opened on 25 June 1997. The renovation project was commissioned by Enn Laansoo Architects AS and construction management by Laansoo Ehitus