Jaan Poska’s House

One of the older parts of the Kadriorg district lies to the southwest of the palace park. This area developed into Kadriorg Sloboda, the residential district for the servants of the summer palace. It is home to several of the district’s oldest buildings. The oldest parts of the residence at Jaan Poska 8 date back to the 1870s, designed by architect Nikolai Thamm. The building acquired its current volume through extensions made in the late 19th century. Besides its architectural significance, the building holds historical value for Estonian statehood—Jaan Poska lived here from 1908 until his death in 1920. From 1913 to 1917, Jaan Poska was the mayor of Tallinn and from 1918 onwards, he served as Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. In this role, he led peace negotiations with Soviet Russia, culminating in the signing of the Treaty of Tartu on February 2, 1920. In the late 1920s, the house housed the Italian Embassy and in the 1930s, the Estonian Women’s Union. During the Soviet occupation, the building was used by the military-sports organization ALMAVÜ. After standing empty for a long time in the 1990s and being on the brink of destruction, negotiations by the Jaan Poska Memorial Foundation with the Tallinn City Government for the building’s restoration were successful. After extensive restoration work, the building reopened in 2008 as a representative building of the city, known as the Jaan Poska House.