- Country
- Estonia
- Scope of application
- Culture and leisure
- Type of organisation
- Other
- Organisation responsible
- Niguliste Museum of the Art Museum of Estonia
The Niguliste Museum, located in an old church building, is home to Estonia's most valuable collection of medieval and early modern art. Recognizing the importance of making cultural heritage accessible to everyone, the museum has implemented several accessibility features to ensure a comfortable and safe experience for all visitors, including those with disabilities.
For visitors with mobility impairments, the museum offers wheelchair-friendly exhibition halls and ramps, including a permanent ramp installed in front of St. Anthony's Chapel. An elevator provides access to all four floors, including the top floor, which offers views of the old town from four cardinal points. Additionally, there are accessible parking spots available upon prior arrangement with the museum.
For visually impaired visitors, the museum provides tactile paths in the cashier and dressing room areas, leading to accessible toilets. Tactile signage, including tactile numbers on lockers and their keys, and a tactile model of the church are also available. Audio guides, including verbal descriptions of routes to the museum and within the museum, and descriptive translations of the museum's most valuable treasures, such as Bernt Notke's "Dance of Death" and three late medieval altarpieces, are accessible in Estonian and English via SoundCloud and YouTube platforms as well as via an hardware audio guide on-site.
Hearing-impaired and deaf visitors can benefit from sign language interpreters for tours and museum programs, and they are welcome to participate with their interpreters. Tablet devices with sign language translations of the museum's key exhibits can be borrowed from the museum's cashier. Sign language translations are accessible on YouTube.
The Niguliste Museum constantly collaborates with various accessibility experts to continuously improve its services. The project to enhance accessibility was supported by the National Heritage Board through the Museums Accelerator program.