Tallinn Cathedral School 700

Tallinn Cathedral School – the cornerstone of education in Estonia

The year 2019 marks the passing of 700 years since Tallinn Cathedral School was first mentioned in historical documents. As a celebration of this occasion, Tallinn City Museum and Tallinn Cathedral School have created an exhibition titled “Tallinn Cathedral School – the cornerstone of education in Estonia”. Centred around the history of the Tallinn Cathedral School, the historical exhibition illustrates the story of Estonian education throughout the centuries up until the mid-1900s.

Tallinn Cathedral School is the oldest school still operating in Estonia and one of the oldest in the Baltic Sea region. A Latin cathedral school in the Middle Ages, it functioned as a trivial school (trivialskolan) providing primary education during Swedish rule and was later transformed into a German academic school for the nobility, eventually becoming a high school. Paying equal attention to all these different periods of the school’s history was an important part of the challenge of designing the exhibition.

The exposition was divided into three spaces and themes: school history, well-known alumni and related items/memorabilia and a more hands-on space, especially for a younger audience. The three very different rooms and theme approaches are united by a bright and active yellow color scheme that creates an unexpected and active environment. Black-and-white photos and a typographic structure are used for balancing the exhibition.

Since the school was established in the Gothic era and the exhibition is also part of the celebration of Tallinn’s 800th anniversary, the Tallinn 800 typeface was selected for the title texts.

Curator: Ene Hiio
Interior Design: architectural firm b210, Ruutu6