A CENTURIES-OLD GUILD HALL
The House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads, an elaborate, centuries-old guildhall, boasts some of the most stunning architecture in Tallinn’s Old Town. The most valuable, spectacular rooms in the building are the White Hall (1532), which was the first renaissance-style hall in Tallinn, and the two-naved, gothic St. Olaf’s Hall. Throughout its long and varied history, the guild has generated mysterious legends about saints, soldiers and adventurers, which have given names to the hall’s various rooms. The house now mainly serves as a stylish venue for concerts and other formal events.
Tallinn’s Brotherhood of the Blackheads was a guild for unmarried merchants and shipowners. There is no clear answer as to the founding of the brotherhood. The oldest original document mentioning the Blackheads is the brotherhood’s contract with the Tallinn Dominican monastery from March 28, 1400. This contract affirms the Blackheads’ right to the religious paraphernalia they had deposited at the Dominican St. Catherine’s Church.
Olaf’s Guild Hall is the oldest and most festive hall of the House of Blackheads in terms of its architecture. Olaf’s grand hall was built in 1419–1422 with two naves, and a rare ceiling with High Gothic stellar vaults is considered to be one of the most brilliant architectural masterpieces in Tallinn.
GET IN TOUCH
House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads
Pikk tn 26,
Tallinn, Estonia
T: +372 631 3199
E: info@mustpeademaja.ee
W: https://www.filharmoonia.ee/en/mustpeademaja/hall-rental/hall-rental
