The Estonian Maritime Museum is located in the Fat Margaret tower in the old town of Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

. The museum presents history of ships and navigation in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 and related to Estonia. Other parts of the Maritime Museum are the mine museum and the Seaplane Harbour where museum ship

Museum ship

A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

s are presented.

Present exhibits include

• EML Lembit - A WWII Kalev class submarine
• EML Grif - A Zhuk class patrol boat
• EML Kalev (M414)
  EML Kalev (M414)
  EML Kalev was a Frauenlob-class minesweeper of the Estonian Navy and belonged into the Estonian Navy Mineships Division.-Introduction:...
  
   - A Frauenlob class Mine warfare vessel
• PVL 105 Torm - A Storm class patrol boat
  Storm class patrol boat
  The Storm class fast patrol boats were a class of 20 vessels built for the Royal Norwegian Navy.In Norwegian these boats were called missilkanonbåter meaning boats with missiles and guns. They were operated by the Coastal Combat Flotilla together with the MTBs, or Missile Torpedo Boats. None of...
  
   used by the coastguard.
• Suur Tõll - A Steamer-icebreaker built in 1914

Fat Margaret

Fat Margaret's Tower is a defensive structure at the end of Pikk tänav (Pikk Street). Together with the Suur Rannavärav (Great Coastal Gate), it served to defend the city of Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

 from the seaward side of town.

Fat Margaret was built in the early 16th century (from 1511 to 1530) during the reconstruction of the medieval city gate system. It has a diameter of 25 metres, a height of 20 metres, and walls up to 5 metres thick. The etymology of the tower's name is unknown. Apart from being a fortification against would-be invaders, Fat Margaret had been used a storehouse for gunpowder and weapons, and as a prison.

See also