Description:
The seaplane hangars at the Tallinn Seaplane Harbour are the most important engineering landmark in the region. They are the first large-scale reinforced concrete shell structure in the world. At the time when the hangars were built in 1916, The Builder, a British journal, compared them with the Hagia Sophia cathedral. In the Soviet period, the seaplane harbour was in the hands of the military and the neglected hangars were decaying rapidly. By the time the restoration work began in 2009, the building was in terrible disrepair and on the verge of collapsing. Quick action carried out by an experienced team helped to save and refurbish the building. In 2010–2012, the seaplane harbour was renovated as a maritime museum and opened in May 2012. With a few months since the opening, it has become Tallinn’s most visited attraction after the Old Town and the most visited museum in Estonia.