I TOURISM
Once inside, I was relieved to see that the hangars themselves had been restored so that their original raw industrial beauty and grandeur had been left to speak for itself. It was still a huge space under three very large concrete domes, and although there was clearly a lot going on in the space, nothing could detract from the impact of the building itself. Visitors are directed along a raised walkway that meanders through the space rising and falling gently as it goes. The first exhibits present a history of boating in Estonia from simple
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LIFE IN ESTONIA I 2012 SUMMER
traditional craft built for fishing to dinghies and yachts for racing on water and ice and finally motorboats and more modern vessels. The walkway by then has reached the far end where it turns across to the other side of the building to run along that wall back towards the entrance again, taking visitors through a broad variety of naval exhibits from past and present on its way. The main attraction along this section being the restored pre-war submarine Lembit, but tanks, guns from naval destroyers, and other examples of naval equipment are also on display. The majority of the exhibits are suspended on wires from the ceiling and ‘float’ just below the walkway but several feet above the floor, which is a deep blue and decorated as if we are looking down on navigation charts.
The whole effect is rather like we are walking along a jetty looking at the exhibits floating along side. But at intervals along the jetty visitors can take the stairs down to the blue floor and walk about as if they are divers looking up at the hulls and keels and propellers. Special exhibits and display areas also provide detailed information on particular topics, like the history of the building itself and the process of its restoration. At floor level, you can also appreciate the structures that support the walkway above, which are not just functional but display a certain engineering beauty of their own that echoes the forms of the concrete shells above. In this way it slowly becomes apparent that as a museum, the variety of exhibits target different types of visitors and different age groups and the whole experience manages to keep everyone guessing what is coming next.