The museum on the ground floor of a neo-baroque building erected for the castellan of Kadriorg in the mid-19th century shows the last apartment of one of the best-known Estonian writers of the early 20th century – Eduard Vilde (1865-1933).
Vilde moved into the apartment in November 1927 and lived there until his death on 26 December 1933. The authentic furnishing of the 1930s shows very well the huge changes in the mode of life. There are paintings and sculptures by recognized contemporary painters and sculptors. The balusters of the wooden staircase that date from the turn of the 19th and 20th century are also original.
The birchwood furniture made at the Luther Mechanical Woodworks Ltd. that worked in Tallinn before the Second World War and exported furniture all over Europe, was given to Vilde by the Ministry of Education. As the sets of furniture in Vilde Museum are the best survived ones, the museum is often also called the Luther Museum.
When walking in the park, Vilde often met another great writer Anton Hansen Tammsaare who had moved to Kadriorg in September 1932. Legend has it that the men used to talk standing for a long time. The Vildes, Eduard’s wife Linda Vilde was one of the first Estonian women journalists, were often visited by writers Tammsaare, Tuglas, Metsanurk, Vares-Barbarus, artists Koort, Sannamees and actors Pinna and Särev.
Vilde was fond of visiting stylish cafes in Kadriorg. His favourite place was the cafe Eldorado in Poska Street. Vilde who was always elegantly garbed, was a rather typical example of a spiritual public figure sitting and reading newspapers, sometimes treating ladies with coffee.
