Kumu — the Estonian word for echo or resonance — is Estonia's national art museum, housed in a building designed by Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori and completed in 2006. The building is embedded into the limestone hillside of Kadriorg Park, with a primary façade of limestone cladding and curved glass openings that follow the hill's contour. The interior is a sequence of levels and natural-light galleries that use the topography rather than working against it — the atrium cuts vertically through the building with bridges crossing at each floor level. The collection covers Estonian art from the 18th century through the Soviet period to the post-independence decade; the Soviet-era section is the most intellectually complex, presenting the tension between official culture and private artistic life with considerable nuance. The park approach from Kadriorg Palace adds thirty minutes to the visit and improves the arrival considerably.
Kadriorg, Tallinn, Estonia