What lies hidden in South Estonia?
In October, South Estonia hums with primeval forest rustles, bog pools gurgling, and skies thick with the cries of migrating birds. You don’t need a sharp ear to have a cheeky frog’s croak lock onto your eardrums. Grab a crunchy pickle and listen closely – a tale of a treasure hunt for the Ancient Jar of Secrets begins to take shape!
Cucumber Time has returned, dragging long-buried secrets into the daylight. The kind history has kept zipped shut. Riddles once whispered during family pickle-making, handed down by candlelight flickering through a pickle jar…
The veil of secrecy must be lifted – South Estonia’s treasure hunt is stepping into the open! Whether you sport silky stockings or a hairy chest, the challenge fits every adventurer. Follow the clues like Benjamin Franklin Gates, Robert Langdon, or Nathan Drake. Why not even Indiana Jones? (Though, with all due respect, we’ll skip the human sacrifices and Covenant theatrics.)
Starting October 8th, put yourself to the test in selected South Estonian museums. Right there because, where else? Of course the first pickle-whisperers sought sanctuaries that would remain sacred through time.
How to take part?
Long texts can muddle even the sharpest treasure hunter’s mind. So here’s the plan:
- Pick your favorite from the list of participating museums and head there
- At the ticket desk, ask about the treasure hunt and buy a ticket
- Spot the Treasure Hunt poster nearby
- Crack the QR code with your smartphone
- Hunt for clues and answer the questions!
A few more things to know:
- To enter the prize draw, you must leave your contact details at the end of the questionnaire.
- Every treasure hunter who solves the riddles in at least one museum enters the general prize draw.
- Hunters who visit at least three museums during the campaign period earn a spot in the Ancient Jar of Secrets draw.
Treasure hunt clues await
Ice Age Centre
In the heart of Vooremaa, a mammoth family stands guard over ancient secrets. Travel back in time, then leap forward into tomorrow’s climate mysteries. Will you manage to uncover the hidden laws of nature’s forces?
Estonian National Museum
On Raadi field stands a cathedral of culture, holding Estonia’s story. From peasant aprons to AI light, Kukruse jewels to machine-made images – every piece a potential shard leading closer to the Ancient Jar of Secrets.
AHHAA Science Centre
Ahhaa is like a labyrinth of science, where every door opens into a new world – from the depths of the sea to the infinite darkness of space. Experiments, illusions and inventions are hidden clues guiding a clever treasure hunter to the next path.
Alatskivi Castle
Snow-white Alatskivi Castle unfolds layer by layer. The Nolcken coat of arms, the baron’s love Josephine, the servants’ whispers, here secrets seep from the walls. Step closer and see what still lingers behind the pearly facade.
Juhan Liiv Museum
Oja Farm’s threshing house tells Liiv’s quiet tales. A poet with a coat in one hand and a lasting legacy in another. Empty cases, smoke curling skyward, dreamlike landscapes – all clues for the treasure hunter’s thoughtful mosaic.
Estonian Road Museum
In old post-station walls, roads stretch farther than eyes can see. Robber hills whisper, Independence shadows linger, engines breathe oil. Climb into Bitvargen, shift the hunt into gear, and chase secrets scattered across the highways of time.
Palamuse museum
In Palamuse, Luts’s Spring lives on. 19th century school days, the sacristan’s kingdom, a timeline of primers, all stories of the power of education. But hush, straighten up, face the chalkboard! Perhaps the next clue hides right there?
Kalevipoeg Museum
The Kalevipoeg Museum opens epic worlds. Giant-sized tools in the yard, the ship Lennuk within, even the Gates of Hell aglow. Step forward boldly as each room takes you nearer to the Great Treasure.
A. Le Coq Beer World museum
In Tartu’s malt tower, barley’s rhythm met empires’ fates. An ancient bottle, czarina’s letter, Jaan Kannuska’s legend – the brewery’s time capsule fizzes. An answer is never in the bottle’s bottom, but if it were, then here.
Valga Museum
From Säde Hall grew Valga’s memory-keeper. Here, greats like Märtson and Neuland still shape the county’s tale. Silver treasures shine, but a shrewd treasure hunter inspects Valga Bank’s vault, where true secrets whisper.
Karilatsi Open Air Museum
Once a parish center, now a village chronicle. Granary, schoolhouse, steam engine keep peasant heritage alive. Each item (a schoolbook, a threshing machine) steps you closer to the treasure veiled in the smoke sauna.
This year’s grand prize
This year’s grand prize The Ancient Jar of Secrets holds the secret of eternal youth. No, not some enchanted pickle brine to sip or smear on your skin (doesn’t exist, sorry!).
Instead, it’s five Museum Card gift cards, because exploring cultural heritage is the surest compass to longevity and the closest shortcut to eternal youth.
Why stop at one museum when an entire treasure vault awaits?
If you’re too cozy for the hunt, lighten your purse instead – an investment Warren Buffet himself would applaud.
In South Estonia, a labyrinth of stories awaits – fragments of culture, history, and heritage. The Museum Card binds them together. A digital ticket unlocking over 100 museums and experience centers across Estonia for a whole year.
