Niguliste Museum has gained numerous reputable international and local awards for the research, conservation and popularisation of its collections.
Tallinn Tourist Deed of the Year, 2023
The large-scale development project of Art Museum of Estonia, „Closer to the sky! Glass lift in the Niguliste tower“ was announced the Tallinn Tourism Deed of Year 2023 at the Tallinn Entrepreneurship Awards gala.
The new glass elevator and sky floor of the Niguliste museum was opened on March 10, 2023. After the reconstruction works, which lasted for a year, the guests were for the first time granted the opportunity to discover the medieval church tower firsthand. The elevator, traversing through four floors, takes one to the sky floor, which grants an unique view to the surrounding old town and the Tallinn Bay. A newly-developed exhibition gallery was also opened on the 2nd floor of the Small Chapel of the Niguliste Museum.
Tourism Object of the Year, 2023
The Estonian Travel and Tourism Association chose Niguliste Museum, one of the daughter museums of Art Museum of Estonia, as the country’s tourism object of the year.
Annual Awards of the National Heritage Board of Estonia, 2023
New in Historic Environment, 2023
The Niguliste Museum church tower development was recognised with the yearly award in the “new in historic environment” category at the National Heritage Board competition. The author of the architectural solution and design was developed by KOKO Architects, the interior designer Liis Lindvere (KOKO) and produced by Tarrest LT.
The National Heritage Board gives out yearly awards to recognise and highlight the most remarkable people and outstanding achievements of the past year in the field of heritage protection.
Estonian Annual Museum Award, 2023
Science Event 2023
The Art Museum of Estonia’s and Niguliste Museum’s series of events organised as a part of the research and exhibition project “Michel Sittow in the North? Altarpieces in Dialogue“ was awarded the title of the Science Event of the Year.
The research project focused on the heritage of the highly-esteemed European court artist Michel Sittow’s Tallinn workshop, and the other international masters who were active here at the same time, as well as the artworks created by them in Tallinn in the beginning of the 16th century.
The series of scientific events, which had a very wide range and was aimed at various target groups, formed a united whole. It including the international conference Michel Sittow in the North? Artistic contacts in the late medieval Baltic Sea region” in Tallinn (02.-03.11.2023), the research seminar “Üle mere – yli meren. Building Artistic Contacts Between Estonia and Finland in the Long Middle Ages” in Helsinki (14.10.2022) and “Art Contacts in Late Medieval Sweden” in Tallinn (19.10.2023), among other events.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
The Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star
Sirje Helme, the CEO of Art Museum of Estonia was recognised with the Swedish III Class Commander of the Order of the Polar Star, and Tarmo Saaret, the director of Niguliste Museum with the Swedish V Class Knight of the Order of the Polar Star for their services in advancing the relationships between Estonia and Sweden.
The Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, along with the Estonian Alar Karis and Mrs Sirje Karis, visited the exhibition „Michel Sittow in the North? Altarpieces in Dialogue“ in the Niguliste Museum on May 2nd, 2023. The exhibition focused on two altarpieces produced in the workshop of Michel Sittow in Tallinn in the 1510s, the magnificent Bollnäs Holy Kinship altarpiece from Sweden and the Tallinn Passion Altar. Showcasing the Bollnäs altarpiece in Estonia is an extraordinary event and shows the warm and trusting collaboration between the cultural institutions and specialists of Estonia and Sweden.
The Royal Order of the Polar Star was instituted in 1748, and is intended to recognise personal efforts for Sweden or for Swedish interests, especially within public activities, as well as the successful performance of public duties and assignments.
Annual Prize of the Estonian Society of Art Historians and Curators, 2021
The annual prize was granted to the research project “Christian Ackermann. Tallinn’s Phidias. Arrogant and Talented” (2016–2020), in which the art historians from Art Museum of Estonia took part, and which was accompanied by an exhibition of the same name in the Niguliste Museum.
The exceptionally thorough and wide-ranged research project focused on Christian Ackermann, the most outstanding artist of Estonia in the end of the 17th Century, and let both art specialists as well as the general public explore his ouevre for the first time. The most visible results of the multi-layered research project were the grand exhibition opened by the Art Museum of Estonia in the Niguliste Museum in late 2020, as well as an extensive monography. The exhibition was also on display in the Tallinn St Mary’s Cathedral in the Summer and Autumn of 2021.
The project was carried out by Hilkka Hiiop, Tiina-Mall Kreem, Anneli Randla, Isabel Aaso-Zahradnikova, Triin Kröönström and Andres Uueni.
The Estonian Society of Art Historians and Curators is a voluntary and independent professional union of individuals active in the areas of art theory, art history, art criticism and curatorship.
Annual Award of the National Heritage Board of Estonia, 2020
The team of the research project „Christian Ackermann: Tallinn’s Phidias, Arrogant and Talented“ was awarded the title of the best heritage researchers of the year. The project is a collaboration between the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Art Museum of Estonia and the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. From the Art Museum of Estonia the Team consisted of Tiina-Mall Kreem, Isabel Aaso-Zahradnikova, Merike Kurisoo and Tarmo Saaret. The aim of the project was to rediscover the artworks of Christian Ackermann – the most controversial and talented sculptor of the Estonian Baroque age. The culmination of the research project was the exhibition „Christian Ackermann: Tallinn’s Phidias, Arrogant and Talented“ in Niguliste Art Museum (June 11, 2020 – May 2, 2021).
The National Heritage Board of Estonia awarded 14 of the most outstanding restauration works, new buildings in historic settings, people, discoveries and undertakings of the year.
Villem Raam Stipend, 2020
The stipend was gained by the art historian Merike Kurisoo (PhD), curator of the Niguliste Art Museum, for her on-going research of medieval ecclesiastical art in both the museum and scientific research context.
The Villem Raam Sub-Foundation, a part of of the The Estonian National Culture Foundation, has acknowledged every five years since the year 2000 the outstanding professional work of an art historian researching the medieval period. It is named after Villem Raam (30 May 1910 – 21 May 1996), a well-known Estonian art historian, art critic and conservator-restorer.
IIC Keck Award 2018
The research and conservation project “Rode Altarpiece in Close-Up” received the IIC (International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works) Keck Award by the Royal British Columbia Museum. A deciding factor in earning the award was the work that promoted the role and speciality of the conservator, as the project helped present the nuances of this profession to a wider audience.
The Royal British Columbia Museum’s international IIC Keck Award has been issued since 1994. The award is presented every two years at the IIC Congress to the individual or group contributing most towards promoting public understanding and appreciation of the accomplishments of the conservation profession.
European Heritage Europa Nostra Award, 2017
The European most prestigious heritage protection award in the category of scientific research was granted in 2017 to the Niguliste Museum’s Rode Altarpiece Research and Conservation Project.
The project was carried out in very close collaboration by an interdisciplinary group of researchers from the fields of both science and the humanities. Their scientific research created valuable new knowledge concerning one of Estonia’s most important works of art. Comparative studies of other works attributed to Rode’s workshop were also incorporated. The new knowledge which has emerged from this research forms the basis for further development in the heritage field in Estonia, Europe and beyond. “This highly complex project has succeeded to coordinate and make use of international resources to restore this splendid altarpiece in situ. The enthusiastic and open-minded team has achieved this incredible result with a relatively modest budget”, stressed the jury.
Recognition awards were given to twenty-nine laureates from eighteen countries for outstanding accomplishments in the conservation of cultural heritage, research, education, training and awareness-raising, and for dedicated service in preserving cultural heritage. The winners were picked by a jury of independent experts from among two hundred and two candidates.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2016
Science Award in the Events Category
The Science Award in the Events Category of 2016 was granted to Niguliste Museum for carrying out the project “Rode Altarpiece in Close-up” (2013–2016). The project was centered around the technical examination and conservation of the retable (1478–1481) of the high altar of the Niguliste church in Tallinn, crafted in the workshop of the master Hermen Rode of Lübeck. The most significant aspect of the project was the inclusion of imaging and information technology solutions, as well as scientific studies, comprehensive documentation and the mapping of information. A great focus was set on the popularisation of science by presenting the study results through educational programmes, workshops and multimedia solutions (website, blog, interactive multimedia programme, Science Web and much more).
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
National award for Popularisation of Science, 2015
In 2015, the Estonian Research Council granted the Niguliste Museum project “Rode Altarpiece in Close-up” the second prize in the category “Activities/activity programmes for the popularisation of science and technology” for their promotion of scientific methods, the integration of humanities and natural sciences, and the presentation of cultural heritage to the general public.
TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2014
The Niguliste Museum was recognised by the well-known travel info website TripAdvisor based on the positive feedback given by visitors. The award has previously also been gained by the Kumu Art Museum and Kadriorg Art Museum.
The TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence honors select accommodations, attractions, and restaurants that consistently demonstrate a commitment to hospitality excellence.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2010
Heritage Protector in a Museum
In 2010, the title of Heritage Protector was awarded to the director of the Niguliste Museum Tarmo Saaret for a noteworthy contribution to the convergence between the museum and heritage protection.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.