Tallinn TV Tower brings the world-changing hours of 1991 back to life

This August will mark 25 years since Estonia regained independence. Tallinn TV Tower played a very special role in these events. On 15 June, the TV Tower will open a visitor activity called “August 1991” that will take you 25 years back in time.

CAMPAIGN HAS ENDED! Participate in Tallinn TV tower’s exploration journey this summer and, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to visit ‘free Europe’ between June 15th and August 22nd, 2016.

• Every week, we will be giving a chance to ‘escape’ with the Eckerö Line ship MS Finlandia from Tallinn to Finland for two lucky winners.
• The Grand Prize – a return flight for two on a Nordica plane from Tallinn to Berlin, complete with a visit to the Berlin TV tower – will be drawn from among all participants on August 20th!

Taking the form of an interactive quiz, this voyage of discovery uncovers some of the surprising facts related to those fateful hours of August 1991 and separates myth from reality. Visitors will receive a game card to guide them through 12 fascinating stories featuring various locations within the TV Tower connected to the events of 1991. The activity is open through the end of November. Check out pictures here.

Myths and reality

It’s been 25 years since Estonia regained independence. A new generation has grown up without first-hand memories of these complicated times. To preserve objective memory of the events, from a quarter century ago, we juxtapose myths related to the TV Tower with the reality.

Our in-house cinema will screen never-seen-before clips of the attack on the TV Tower, from the private archive of Aavo Tigane.
We will also see the Border Guard equipment used to defend the tower. We’ll hear audio recordings from the government’s secret communication centre that jammed the occupation forces’ radio transmissions. We’ll also give visitors a chance to make a call to the past, and more.

The August putsch in Moscow affected all of Estonia, but daily life also went on. To illustrate these aspects, we will screen popular 1990s ETV children’s broadcasts such as Pätu, Tammetõru Seiklused, Kadekops and others. The children’s corner will feature a selection of toys made 25 years ago.

We thank our Partners: