Estonian Motorsports Museum (MOMU) puts collection up for sale
The Motorsports Museum in Turba closed its doors last fall due to low visitor numbers and a difficult economic climate. Its former director, Arno Sillat, is now selling the portion of the exhibition he owned.
Sillat said he will sell off or distribute the portion of the exhibition that belonged to him.
"I don't want to leave a seed behind that might spark the urge to start again," Sillat said.
He has already sold some of the museum exhibits he owned and distributed his trophies and helmets among his children.
Interest in the exhibits has been considerable, Sillat explained, though fewer people are ready to make an actual purchase.
In his assessment, interest in buying is split roughly evenly between foreign and Estonian buyers.
Sillat said he does not feel regret over closing the museum or selling the exhibits.
"It was done for a long time; we did it ourselves and financed it ourselves. But nothing in life lasts forever," Sillat said, adding that new challenges await him.
Exhibits deposited at the museum have been returned to their owners and items that were once on display at MOMU — such as an Estonia 21 formula car — can now be found for sale on car sales portals.
The Estonia series formula cars were produced at the Tallinn Experimental Auto Repair Factory and enjoyed major success in Soviet Union championships.
MOMU, which was located in the former Ellamaa power plant in Turba, operated for a total of eight years. According to Sillat, it was one of the largest motorsports museums in the world. The museum also hosted cultural events.
The MOMU exhibition featured various historic formula cars, motorcycles and rally cars, along with other motor sports-related items with which Estonian competitors achieved strong results in international competitions.
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Editor: Märten Hallismaa, Marcus Turovski
