26 A. Weizenberg Street,
Tallinn, 10127, Estonia
Tel.: +372-601-45-48
E-mail: kadriorupark@kadriorupark.ee
The magnificent Petrine Baroque palace and Kadriorg Park (Ekaterinenthal), situated two kilometers from downtown Tallinn and created by order of Peter the Great during the Northern War, is one of the premier works of the 18th Century masters in the then-Governorate of Estonia. Today, the complex is the largest palace and park ensemble in Estonia.
The name Ekaterinenthal (Catherinethal – German for “Catherine’s valley”) was chosen in honor of the wife of Peter I – Ekaterina I. Residents of Estonia refer to the site as Kadriorg (a simplified Estonian translation – Ekaterinenthal: Est. Kadriorg – Kadrioru loss/Kadri valley).
During the Northern War (1700-1721), Estonia was annexed by Russia. In 1711, Peter I, joined by Ekaterina I, made his first trip to Revel. The tsar was charmed by the town’s environs, and in 1714, a plot for the construction of a palace to serve as the summer residence of the imperial family, featuring a park, was purchased from the widow Drenteln into the state treasury. As construction of the palace proceeded, the remaining manor home (known today as the Cabin of Peter the Great) was refurbished and converted into the tsar’s residence.
Groundbreaking on the palace and park ensemble took place on 22 July 1718 according to a design by the Italian architect Nicola Michetti. Constructtion work was supervised by his assistant Gaetano Chiaveri. In 1720, at Michetti’s insistence, Mikhail Zemtsov was dispatched to Revel from Petersburg, who went on to complete construction of the ensemble.
Unfortunately, construction of the park and palace was not completed during Peter the Great’s lifetime. From that point on, Kadriorg Palace was used relatively infrequently as a tsarist residence, but during their visits to Tallinn, the palace was home to all Russian emperors from Peter I to the last sovereign of the Romanov dynasty – Nikolai II.
From 1919 to 1930, the palace was used to house the Museum of Fine Arts of Estonia.
In the 1930s, the palace served as the official residence of the head of state (beginning in 1938 – the President) of Estonia. Until, 1944 it was the location of the headquarters of the German command. In 1944, restoration work commenced. From 1946 through 1991, the palace was the main building of the Estonian Museum of Art. Today, it houses one of its branches, and the vast palace park is a favorite strolling spot of Tallinn tourists and residents alike.
In 2002, the municipal organization “Kadriorg Park” was founded.