Great Guild House

The House of the Great Guild or Suurgild was built in 1410 on what was then the main street. The date can be seen at the top part of the facade of the building. The curious street door with fine old knockers was added a couple of decades later. The Great Guild was located here. It was the association of Hanseatic merchants and the most prestigious of the four guilds in Tallinn. The trade in Tallinn was based on privileges received during the 13th century. Tallinn got the coining right in 1265 and the warehousing right in 1346. No merchandise could be transited through the town without using the local merchants as intermediators, leaving the residents of Tallinn a significant portion of the trade between Western Europe and Novgorod. The guild operated from at least the 14th century until 1920. Only married merchants who were residents of Tallinn could become members of the Great Guild. Younger single merchants belonged to the Brotherhood of the Blackheads. Over the centuries a variety of events have been held in the Great Guild Hall, ranging from many weddings and other grand parties to church services and court proceedings. The simple and dignified interior is preserved much as it was six centuries ago.

In the Middle Ages the cellar was used for storing wine but during the 19th and early 20th century a popular wine cellar known as Das Süsse Loch or "Sweet Hole" operated there while the upstairs housed the Stock Exchange.

Nowadays the house belongs to the Estonian History Museum and is open to public. Its showpiece exhibition illustrates the history and psyche of Estonia through interactive and unusual displays. In the old excise chamber numismatic relics stretching back to Viking times can be seen.