Museum anniversary year
2026 will mark 50 years since the opening of the Under and Tuglas Literary Institute Museum! When we hosted our first guests in 1976, the museum was called the Friedebert Tuglas House Museum.
We have collected all the anniversary year events on this page (the list is growing!). More detailed information about each event can be found on the „events“ page on our website a few weeks before the event.
January
Activities of the Under and Tuglas Literary Institute
On January 10, Director of the Literary Institute Kristi Viiding, Head of the Department of Modern Literature Merlin Kirikal and Head of the Department of Old Literature Kaarel Vanamölder will discuss the future plans of the renewed Literary Institute in the program „Loetud ja kirjutatud“ on Vikerraadio, Radio program of the Estonian Public Broadcasting. Listen to the program here.
Estonian Literature Day
On January 30, Estonian Literature Day, the President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis, will visit the Literary Institute Museum. The focus of the visit is the current state and future needs of Estonian literature research, as well as the Literary Institute’s plans and activities. See the photo gallery here.
February
When a book steps out from between its covers – Kerttu Siplas’ exhibition at the Literary Institute Museum.
From February 27, the exhibition „Out Between the Covers“ by fashion designer Kerttu Siplane will be open for public at the Literary Institute Museum. The exhibition is inspired by books left on the shelves of recycling rooms at waste stations. Read more here.
March
Friedebert Tuglas’ Birth Anniversary
On March 2nd, the 140th anniversary of Friedebert Tuglas’ birth, we will announce the winners of the Tuglas Short Story Award together with the Estonian Writers’ Union. The short story award founded by Tuglas is currently the longest-running literary prize in Estonia, and this year the jury chose as the most outstanding short stories „Stefan“ by fs (published in Vikerkaar No. 9) and „Eestimaa puit“ (Estonian Wood) by Silvia Urgas (published in Looming No. 1).
Marie Under’s Birth Anniversary
On March 27, we will celebrate Marie Under’s 143rd birthday with a candlelight vigil, a tour, and the Marie Under evening „And Now a Star Fell and My Heart Set on Fire“ organized in the Writers’ House together with the Estonian Literary Museum. Read more here.
May
Let’s Do It!
On May 3, a traditional Let’s Do It! workday will be held in the garden of the Literary Institute Museum. This is a special Nõmme garden, which became a landmark in its own right during the Tuglas era. More information and registration on the Teeme Ära page.
Museum Night
On May 16, during the annual Museum Night, you can hear the voices hidden in the collections of the Literary Institute. We will open the exhibition „Voices in an Everyday Evening“, which asks: what voices did Marie Under, Artur Adson and Elo and Friedebert Tuglas read, hear or even create? The house tour with the opening of the exhibition will start at 7 PM. You can find out about the Museum Night program here.
Nõmme cultural landscapes
On May 28 at 4 PM, cultural historian and the first and long-time Director of the Nõmme Museum, Piret Loide, will come to the Literary Institute Museum to talk about the literary and cultural landscape of Nõmme. The evening is part of the Nõmme Spring 2026 program. The event is free.
June
The Museum’s journey through five decades
On June 25 at 5 PM, everyone is invited to the Literary Institute Museum for an evening lecture focusing on the history and development of this remarkable museum over the past 50 years. During the evening, Elle-Mari Talivee, Senior Researcher at the Literary Institute, will present the story of this unique house museum’s formation and its role in Estonian literary and cultural history.
July
Tuglas’ Life in Nõmme
On July 17 at 4 PM, the Literary Institute Museum will host the guided tour „The Tuglas’ Life in Nõmme”, offering a glimpse into the everyday lives of Elo and Friedebert Tuglas, who moved to Nõmme at the beginning of the Soviet occupation. The tour will also introduce treasures preserved in the museum, including items from the Tuglas’ book, photograph, manuscript, and art collections. The event will be held in English. Admission with a museum ticket: €5 regular admission, €3 concession admission (school pupils, university students, and seniors), or free with a museum card. Read more here.
August
A glimpse into the interior design of the Tuglas’ House Museum
Starting August 31, visitors to the Literary Institute Museum can view the interior design sketches for the extension of the Friedebert Tuglas’ House Museum, which opened in 1976. Having recently undergone renovations, the Literary Institute Museum building is special precisely due to the symbiosis and unique interior design characteristics of two eras—the 1930s and the 1970s. The sketches offer a glimpse into the creative minds of interior architects Saima Veidenberg and Valve Pormeister, as well as top-tier 1970s design. The exhibition will remain open until November.
September
Series of evening house tour begin
From September to December, monthly evening house tours will take place at the Literary Institute Museum. The tours will explore the lives of writers in the Nõmme house, feature readings of their work, display interesting items from the institute’s collections, and introduce the rooms where prominent figures of Estonian literature once spent their time. In addition, visitors will get a behind-the-scenes of the museum’s research work and learn about current ongoing projects. More information here.
Juhan Liiv visiting Under and Tuglas
On September 3rd, the Literary Institute Museum will host its first research salon at the museum, featuring guest speaker Tanar Kirs, researcher at the Juhan Liiv Museum and lecturer in Estonian and comparative literature at the University of Tartu. The discussion will focus on the literary canon – particularly Juhan Liiv, Marie Under, and Friedebert Tuglas – and the role of museums in preserving and shaping the canon. More information here.
Architour
On September 4 at 5.30 PM, as part of Architour, organized in cooperation with the Museum of Estonian Architecture, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the surroundings of the Under and Tuglas House Museum in Nõmme. The programme includes a walking tour through Nõmme’s picturesque streets with journalist Epp Alatalu, followed by a museum tour focusing on the interior design of the writers’ house which will be led by Killu Raja, Senior Museum Operations Specialist at the Literary Institute. More information here.
Podcast Külmavärinad (Shivers) public recording
On September 24, everyone is invited to the Under and Tuglas House Museum to listen to the eerie stories of the Kikimoorid about Nõmme and the adventures of its residents. Dagmar Lamp and Heidi Ruul, creators of the podcast Külmavärinad (Shivers), are known as the Kikimoorid. They share chilling true stories, fascinating adventures from both history and the present day, and tales from the worlds of crime and the paranormal, drawing on material from Estonia and abroad.
Researchers’ Night
This year, the theme of Researchers’ Night is energy, which will be explored from a literary perspective on September 25th at 5 PM at the Literary Institute Museum. We ask, is everything really energy, as was believed by Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Wilhelm Ostwald (born in Riga in 1853), in whose wake of ideas the young Friedebert Tuglas also briefly moved? How was energy understood back then, and how were energy-packed poetry and prose created? Three Literary Institute researchers will address the topic from different angles: Academician Jaan Undusk will give a presentation on the energeticist mindset at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, poet Aare Pilv will read energy poetry, and literary scholar Merlin Kirikal will read energy prose. The detailed schedule can be found here.
Diverse starting points for the origins of the narratives of the Estonian diaspora communities
On October 1st at 4 PM, the Literary Institute Museum will host a scientific salon featuring guest speaker Aivar Jürgenson, Senior Researcher at the Estonian National Museum. In the salon, we will discuss three expatriate Estonian societies with different fates: those deported to Siberia during the Tsarist era, those who voluntarily migrated to the Caucasus, and those who fled to the West in the 1940s.
October
Will beauty save the world?
On October 15th at 5 PM, a public recording of Ööülikool (Night University) will take place at the Literary Institute Museum. Writer and poet Aare Pilv will lead a discussion titled „Will Beauty Save the World?“ This catchphrase has drifted from its original context in Dostoevsky’s „The Idiot“, yet in this form, it still expresses a certain faith – that beauty possesses a saving, redeeming power, or in other words, that what is beautiful is also good, and we recognize the good through beauty. Naturally, this gives rise to a whole host of questions, such as: why is goodness not directly visible, whereas beauty is; if evil presents itself through beauty, is it deceiving us; what do we actually mean by beauty when we attribute such power to it; is beauty a matter of taste; are goodness and evil matters of taste; and what kind of world is this that specifically needs beauty to save it? The event will take place in Estonian.
November
New exhibition at the museum!
On November 6 at 5 PM, we will open an exhibition of paintings „Elutants“ (Dance of Life) by Anu Hint in the museum gallery. It’s opened until December 15.