If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund. Any hotel that was appropriate for foreign visitors also had to be appropriate for the kgb. This museum is a must to understand how awesomely the kgb tried to protect soviet estonia meaning totally oppress its citizens. Like its neighbors, tallinn has a kgb museum dealing with the same themes. Free entrance to the cafe amigo nightclub except special events and sundays. Its the first skyscraper in estonia and was specifically designed to cater for international tourists. Arrested estonian politicians, civil servants, intellectuals, veterans of the war of independence, but also ordinary people were beaten and tortured there, and then sentenced to death or imprisonment. Price request we invite you to museum of federal service of security of russia former name the chekist museum of kgb of the ussr which tells the history of the most powerful organization in the world kgb. Hotel viru and kgb museum there once was a hotel that came to be named the viru. The hotel viru 1972 was not only estonias first skyscraper, but literally the only place for tourists to stay in tallinn at the time. To continue the 1980s throwback theme, you can pay a visit to the hotels second floor currency bar.
Throughout time the viru hotel has been a symbol and milestone, a legend where one. For an interesting and fun history lesson join one of the groups leaving between 10am and 5. The hotel building was the first highrise building in estonia and an inseparable part of the tallinn cityscape. If working from home is proving difficult or you simply want to get away from it all for a while, you can now book a day room at original sokos hotel viru. A new museum reveals the fascinating time capsule and all the secrets within.
Nowadays the hotel is connected to the shopping centre viru keskus. For almost 20 years thfor almost 20 years the 23rd floor of tallinns city centre hotell viru functioned as the radio translation room for the kgb. During the soviet era the hotel viru was the only hotel in tallinn where international tourists were allowed to stay and the hotel should show them how perfect life in. Viro, viruhotelli, sokos hotel viru, tallinna, eesti, museo. Viru kgb museum, tallinn dark tourism the guide to. Original sokos hotel viru tallinn hotels tallinn estonia. Museum hotel viru and the kgb once upon a time, there was a hotel called viru. Viru kgb museum, tallinn dark tourism the guide to dark. The guide paints a nice picture of the situation back then, but it lacks the kgb feel and experience. Please check the package includes section for more details. Viro, viruhotelli, sokos hotel viru, tallinna, eesti. Hotels near tallinn museum of orders of knighthood, tallinn on tripadvisor.
Owned and operated by foreigners, the hotel viru became a target of kgb monitoring. Wifi is free, and this hotel also features 2 restaurants and 3 bars. Original sokos hotel viru is in tallinns center, 350 feet from the historic old town. Sokos hotel viru viru valjak 4, tallinn 10111, estonia. Our hotel viru and kgb museum will participate as well and offers free guided tours. The year was 1972, and there were still two decades or so until the fall of communism and the collapse of the soviet union. The former kgb prison cells are now open to the public. Estonian hotel hid secret kgb operations room europe news and. The completion of this 22storey hotel in 1972 was truly something spectacular. Hotel viru in tallinn, estonia hasnt been touched since the last kgb agent to. During the soviet era the hotel viru was the only hotel in tallinn where international tourists were allowed to stay and the hotel should show them how perfect life in the soviet union was.
Viru valjak 4, 10111 tallinn, estonia kgb museum contact number. In the capital tallinn, the cold war is part of history. Visit kgb museum on your trip to tallinn or estonia inspirock. Hotel restaurant merineitsi kgb museum contact booking hotel merineitsi kgb museum en et ru fi. The kgb museum tallinn possibly the worst museum in the world. Sokos hotel viru is located in tallinns center, at the gates of the medieval old town.
Originally owned by intourist and called viru hotell, it was first opened on 5 may 1972. Jun 08, 2017 kgb museum in tallinn at hotel virus secret 23rd floor makes for a surprisingly interesting and entertaining visit. Housed in a hotel that was once a hot spot for foreign visitors, kgb museum presents a stark reminder of the secret police network that operated in the soviet union. The building built in 1912 has had a remarkable role in the recent history of estonia. If you are looking for a unique experience, book a seat at the table. The exposition is presented in 4 halls and tells about different work methods of kgb agents historicallydemonstrative hall of federal service of security of russia was opened in.
The real kgb museum is not much more than 2 rooms with some 70s relics. The country needed hotels suitable for foreigners, and these hotels had to accommodate kgb as well. Hotel viru kgb museum tallinn, estonia attractions lonely. Today there are 19 cells in the kgb prison in the basement plus the guards rooms, the search rooms, some torture cells and a courtyard for prisoner exercise. Access to the museum is available with a guided tour only 1h. After the soviet union collapsed and the room was discovered, it was left alone completely intact until five years ago, when it was turned into a museum. This building was the first skyscraper in the country and became one of the symbols of estonian capital. The original sokos hotel viru tallinn is a hotel in tallinn, estonia. Kgb museum tallinn 2020 all you need to know before. There once was a hotel that came to be named the viru. The tour is a very tongueincheek, even sarcastic, and certainly entertaining affair that tries to provide an insight into the soviet era without making it too gloomy. The hotel viru and kgb museum is situated at the sokos hotel viru and runs until december, 2011. Hotel viru in tallinn was the first towerlike building in the country.
This trip is the perfect introduction for first time visitors to the baltic states. The prison in the basement of the building is as intact as it was in 1991 when the kgb left. For years, the kgb secretly spied on visitors to the hotel viru in estonia. The museum itself is located on the top floor of hotel viru, but you may only access it via guided tours which begin in the hotel lobby. Historians visiting tallinn have several opportunities to catch a glimpse into estonias communist past. Hotel viru has been a landmark in estonia since its opening in 1972. Kgb museum tour welcome to the world where an hour spent makes the two parallel worlds of the soviet time understood and tangible. Kgb museum in tallinn at hotel virus secret 23rd floor makes for a surprisingly interesting and entertaining visit. Having all the foreigners in one place made it much easier to keep tabs on them and the locals they had contact with, which is exactly what the kgb did from its 23rdfloor spy base. Hotel with view and restaurants in tallinn city centre original sokso hotel viru tallinn. Please mind the hidden bugs what a world when tourism picked up in estonia in the 1970s, the kgb finally had the perfect way to monitor foreigners and. Access to the museum only with a tour guide, duration of the tour about 1 h. Not so much of a museum but the guided tour tells an interesting story of the hotel and of how the kgb spied on international tourists. Kgb museum, located on the top floor of the original sokos hotel viru, with excellent views over tallinn.
Its attached to the viru centre shopping mall and the popular kgb museum is also there. Check out where to stay in tallinn and book an accommodation of your choice. Hotel viru kgb museum tallinn, estonia attractions. On the surface the hotel viru and kgb museum would seem to be quite a slight exhibition. Book your tickets online for kgb prison cells, tallinn.
I learned this the hard way as the english tours were fullybooked all three days i was there. There are plenty of stories and history behind this hotel, everything from the secret kgb radio center on the 23rd floor to colorful variety shows. Pay no attention to the spies on the 23rd floor for years, the kgb secretly spied on visitors to the hotel viru in estonia. All rooms have a classic northern design in warm colors and features a splendid view of the city. Kgb museum tallinn 2020 all you need to know before you. The museum, which can only hold 25 people at a time, occupies a hotel room that began to be used. Pay no attention to the spies on the 23rd floor history. A cheap orange typewriter still has a sheet of paper in it. Kgb museum at viru hotel the floor that does not exist. Viru hotel kgb museum things to do in tallinn likealocal.
The 10 closest hotels to tallinn museum of orders of. Sokos hotel viru is located in tallinn s center, at the gates of the medieval old town. Jul 31, 2014 please mind the hidden bugs what a world when tourism picked up in estonia in the 1970s, the kgb finally had the perfect way to monitor foreigners and locals. The hotel for foreigners also had to suit the national security body kgb. Not so much a museum as such but a guided tour through the somewhat museumized parts of the viru hotel in tallinn where the kgb used to operate its surveillance technology to listen into guests conversations and so on. Original sokos hotel viru, viru valjak 4, tallinn 2020. Its been 20 years since estonia won its independence from the former soviet union. May 28, 2012 the kgb museum tallinn possibly the worst museum in the world.
The former kgb headquarters on pikk street have welcomed visitors for several years now, and the kgb museum, on the top floor of the hotel viru on viru valjak, opened early in 2011. The unsuspecting facade of pagari 1 in the old town hides a dark past that once was the kgb prison cells in tallinn. The hotel was built in 1972 due to the fact that the soviet union decided to develop the tourist industry, and to build suitable hotels for the foreign. Share your visit experience about hotel viru kgb museum, estonia and rate i hotels near kgb museum, tallinn on tripadvisor. The viru hotel, open in 1972, is full of various stories stories about the hotel itself, soviet society and the development of estonia. Kgb used to play a big role in hotel virus and generally estonias history. According to tripadvisor travellers, these are the best ways to experience viru gates.
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