Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Estonia Tallinn Seaplane Harbour

Seaplane Harbour

Disused seaplane hangar gets a second life as the jaw-dropping home of Estonia's museum of maritime history.

Tallinn, Estonia

Added By
ahvenas
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Rebirth looks good on you, hangar   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
You know you want to climb through this submarine   ahvenas
Deep inside the explorable worlds within Seaplane Harbour   ahvenas
Paraphernalia from a life at sea, bathed in purple   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
Rear view of the museum/hangar   mordekia / Atlas Obscura User
  dogwyllie / Atlas Obscura User
  dogwyllie / Atlas Obscura User
  dogwyllie / Atlas Obscura User
  dogwyllie / Atlas Obscura User
  Lana Velkov / Atlas Obscura User
  dogwyllie / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Completed in 1917 as part of Peter the Great's naval fortress, the Tallinn seaplane hangars were unique in their day for both their size and technology.

The building was among the first reinforced concrete shell structures realized at such an enormous magnitude, measuring in at a whopping 39-by-109 meters. Only over the course of the next decade or so would analogous structures begin to crop up in rest of the world, particularly during the aviation boom of the 1930s.

Back in Estonia, the 1920s and 1930s found the Seaplane Harbor serving as a holiday resort for the Estonian air force unit, providing an athletics hall as well as a tennis court under the hangars. After the Second World War, the hangars were taken over by the Soviet Army. They lost their importance, were neglected and mainly used as warehouses and wood shops.

When Soviet forces left and their assets were taken over by the Estonian government, the hangars were at the center of judicial dispute for a decade. Throughout this time, the building went unmaintained, and the general public was left wondering what was going on inside. Only in 2006 did the government obtain ownership of the property again, at which point it invested in the renovations and restoration necessary to save the building from further decay. 

Currently the former hangars have been repurposed as the jaw-dropping home of the Estonian Maritime Museum's collection. The museum's exhibit includes the oldest shipwrecks found in Estonia, an explorable submarine called "Lembit" and a full size replica of a British seaplane, as well as a myriad of other related historic paraphernalia unique to the region. The real star here, though, is the old seaplane hangar itself; sound and light design create a surreal effect of feeling as if one is underwater, with waves lapping at the ceiling. Periodically a light show of planes traverses the big concrete domes. 

 

Related Tags

Aviation Museums And Collections Museums

Know Before You Go

Seaplane Harbour17 KĂĽti Street / 6 Vesilennuki Street10415 Tallinn, Estonia

 

Community Contributors

Added By

ahvenas

Edited By

littlebrumble, Martin, hrnick, Dr Alan P Newman...

  • littlebrumble
  • Martin
  • hrnick
  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • mordekia
  • dogwyllie
  • Lana Velkov

Published

February 15, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/estonia/15-countries/individual-chapters/929-seaplane-harbour-maritime-museum-tallinn
Seaplane Harbour
Vesilennuki 6
Tallinn, 10415
Estonia
59.451371, 24.738383
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Fortress Patarei

Põhja-Tallinna, Estonia

miles away

Kalamaja Cemetery Park

Tallinn, Estonia

miles away

Linnahall

Tallinn, Estonia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tallinn

Tallinn

Estonia

Places 34

Nearby Places

Fortress Patarei

Põhja-Tallinna, Estonia

miles away

Kalamaja Cemetery Park

Tallinn, Estonia

miles away

Linnahall

Tallinn, Estonia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tallinn

Tallinn

Estonia

Places 34

Related Stories and Lists

15 Wonderfully Repurposed Places

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • Building with Spanish Revival, Art Deco, Streamline Moderne styles.

    Glendale, California

    Grand Central Air Terminal Museum

    This historic aviation building is now a museum owned and operated by Disney.

  • World War II aircraft

    Belgrade, Serbia

    Belgrade Aviation Museum

    In the hinterlands of Serbia's capital, a giant reflective mushroom houses an aeronautical history of the former Yugoslav republic.

  • A 1963 Pilurs-Smith DSA-1 Miniplane built by Tracy Pilurs, winner of the 1962 Women’s National Aerobatic Championship.

    Cleveland, Ohio

    International Women's Air & Space Museum

    A wonderful and easily overlooked museum tucked in Ohio's Burke Lakefront Airport.

  • An early flying machine.

    Owls Head, Maine

    Owls Head Transportation Museum

    Every plane, auto, and bicycle in this collection is kept in working order and are regularly demonstrated to the public.

  • Persu, Duesenberg, some tractor-looking thing

    Bucharest, Romania

    Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum

    Check out engineering marvels of the past at this unintentionally retrofuturist museum.

  • Aircrafts Museum, housed within a disused plane

    Dhangadhi, Nepal

    Aircrafts Museum

    Nepal's first aviation museum found a logical home in the most unexpected place.

  • Pilot Melli Beese

    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

    99s Museum of Women Pilots

    Only museum dedicated to women pilots, with personal artifacts from Amelia Earhart and other aviatrixes.

  • Glasgow, Scotland

    Hunterian Zoology Museum

    An extended zoological collection that doubles as a time capsule.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.