Estonian Open Air Museum to restore 19th-century Swiss-style summer villa
A late 19th-century Swiss-style summer villa will be restored to its original design at the Estonian Open Air Museum and is scheduled to be completed by the 2027 summer season.
Since 1970, the building has been used by the museum as work and storage space.
According to museum communications manager Riine Kallas, the renovation will aim to preserve as many original parts and details of the building as possible, as well as fully restore its former wraparound balcony.
After the renovation, the interiors of the first two floors will be restored authentically to the period and opened to visitors as part of a future Baltic German exhibition.
Estonian Open Air Museum (EVM) board member Tanel Veeremaa noted that the building will also continue to house workspaces, but for the first time, the majority of the villa will be open to visitors.
Unlike other buildings relocated to the Open Air Museum from elsewhere in Estonia, the Swiss villa was originally constructed in Rocca al Mare around 1870.
The house is part of the former Rocca al Mare summer manor complex of merchant and Tallinn mayor Arthur Girard de Soucanton (1813–1884), whose other surviving buildings include the Hagermeister House, renovated in 2024, and the Mechmershausen House.
Work on the Swiss villa is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
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Editor: Liisa Matsar, Aili Vahtla
