Kadriorg Palace and Art Museum

Peter the Great's baroque summer palace with a collection of European and Russian art

Kadriorg Palace is a small Petrine baroque palace commissioned by Peter the Great and completed after his death in 1725. The building, designed by the Italian architect Niccolò Michetti, sits in a formal park of the same name about 2 kilometres east of the Old Town — a 20-minute walk along the coast or a short tram ride. It now houses the Kadriorg Art Museum, a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia, with collections of Dutch, German, Flemish, and Russian art spanning the 16th to the early 20th century.

The formal gardens in front of the palace are immaculate and pleasant to walk in any season. Behind the palace is KUMU, Estonia's main art museum (opened 2006), a short walk through the park. The combination of old and new, royal park and contemporary architecture, makes Kadriorg an afternoon destination in itself.

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A story
Peter the Great began building Kadriorg in 1718 as a gift to his wife Catherine I, after whom the park is named (Kadriorg means "Catherine's Valley" in Estonian). He visited the construction site three times and apparently helped lay bricks personally. He died in 1725 before the palace was completed and never lived to see it finished.

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