On This Day: The New Estonia Theatre Building Opens

On September 6, 1913, Tallinn opened its new Estonia theatre building. The opening-night performance was Hamlet.

The Estonia Theatre grew out of the Estonia Society, founded in 1865. Early performances focused mainly on folk plays, comedies and musical entertainments. Regular theatre activity began in 1895, followed by more serious drama in the early 20th century. Estonia became a professional theatre in 1906.

The building, completed in 1913, was designed in the Art Nouveau style by Finnish architects Armas Lindgren and Wivi Lönn. One wing served as a theatre and the other as a concert hall, with a restaurant connecting the two. At the time, it was Tallinn’s largest new building.

The building suffered a bombing during World War II. After the war, architects Alar Kotli and Edgar Johan Kuusik led its restoration. The date is also associated with other events in Estonia, including the Soviet Union’s recognition of the independence of the Baltic states in 1991 and the start of a United Nations mission in Estonia in 1993 to monitor the withdrawal of Russian troops.