pärnu museum

THE STORY OF PÄRNU STARTS HERE

The PERMANENT EXHIBITION OF PÄRNU MUSEUM spans 11,000 years, from the Stone Age to the present, offering an overview of the region's and Estonia’s history. The atmosphere of past millennia and centuries can be felt through authentic objects, new knowledge, games, and immersive areas. Using both traditional and interactive solutions, visitors can explore five exhibition halls and watch historical overviews of Pärnu’s past in the cinema hall located between them.

The exhibition includes several highlights from our collection – a fragment of a Hanseatic cog from the 14th century, the ruins of the medieval New Pärnu city gate and town wall, the weathercock from the former main church of the city, St. Nicholas’ Church, the so-called “Stone Age Madonna” from the Pulli settlement dating back more than 8,000 years, a pilgrim badge from Hanseatic-era New Pärnu, a sundial that once adorned the building of Academia Pernaviensis – a university that operated in Pärnu during the Swedish era, the first Estonian-language Bible from 1739, a bound volume of the newspaper Perno Postimees, a chessboard with hidden letters from Estonian President Konstantin Päts to the Estonian people and the League of Nations – written before the occupation began in 1940, a Soviet-style standardized living room, and much, much more.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum also has an entire floor dedicated to TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS.

Pärnu Museum has two branches:
– Koidula Museum, located in a mid-19th-century schoolhouse in the Ülejõe district of Pärnu (Jannseni 37),
– and the Red Tower (Hommiku 11), the oldest and only surviving medieval building in the city. There you can explore the history of the former prison tower and medieval New Pärnu, and watch a 10-minute panoramic film about the area’s history.

To truly understand Pärnu, you should start from the very beginning!
Pärnu Museum, Koidula Museum, and the Red Tower will take you on a journey through history. With a combined ticket for the Pärnu Museums, you can deeply explore your destination.

The combined ticket grants you one-time access within a year to all three museum locations:
– the main building of Pärnu Museum at Aida 3,
– the medieval Red Tower at Hommiku 11,
– and the Koidula Museum at Jannseni 37.