Tallinn, 2004

Ecological Museum

One of the best surprises on our holiday was the open air museum, out of town at Rocca al Mare.

Kullamaa

Kullumaa is in Western Estonia, was the home of a family called Sassi-Jaani.  The farmyard has an ingenious gate.
Gate at Sassi-Jaani Farm
The whole farm was brought to the museum in 1959, but unfortunately burned down in 1984, so the houses are copies.  This shot shows the well with the dwellinghouse in the background.
Sassi-Jaani Farmhouse
One other picture of note shows their summer kitchen.
Sassi-Jaani Summer Kitchen
Here is an exhibition of the different styles of corner joints builders made when building log cabins.
Log wall corner joints
The cattleshed was (according to the guidebook), home to 2 to 3 horses, 4 to 6 oxen, 2 cows and (if they lived inside in the winter) 4 to 6 sheep.
Sassi-Jaani Cattleshed
Everything was made out of wood:
Sassi-Jaani Storage Vessels
Anything to do with storing food, or growing it:
Sassi-Jaani Wooden Ploughs
Even the shear on the upper of these two ploughs is wood.  It isn't too hard to see why this museum was a good propaganda boost for Soviet housing programmes.  And industrialisation:
Sassi-Jaani clothmaking equipment
The next farm was the Köstriaseme.  The guidebook did not say whether this was the name of the tenants, the owners, or the place it came from.

Köstriaseme

Kostriaseme Farmhouse
The most obvious difference on the outside is the fact that there was a fence to separate the cleam farmyard from the animals´ side.  Weirdly, though, the summer kitchen and laundry building was on the animals´side. 
Kostriaseme summer kitchen
Even Christine had to duck to get through the doors in these houses.  The living quarters begin to be more comfortable (the farm dates from the second half of the 19th Century).
Kostriaseme, living room
Even if the clothes and equipment remain quite primitive
Kostriaseme, weaving room

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