Nearly 4000 people visited the Riigikogu Open House Day

On the open House Day of the Riigikogu, the Parliament of Estonia, nearly 4000 people came to Toompea to visit the Riigikogu, learn about the work of the Parliament, meet the politicians and see the rooms they work in. The most popular activities of the Open House Day were guided tours of the Riigikogu and visits to the Tall Hermann Tower. The representative rooms and working rooms of the Riigikogu as well as the offices of political groups, where the people could meet the members of the Riigikogu, were open all day.

Many visitors came from foreign countries, like Ukraine, Finland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, India and Thailand.

The Riigikogu Open House Day began with a musical welcome by Tallinn Trumpet Ensemble on the balcony of Toompea Castle. President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas greeted the visitors in the courtyard of the Castle.

In the café of the Riigikogu, members of the Riigikogu Heiki Hepner, Raimond Kaljulaid, Henn Põlluaas, Mati Raidma, and Marko Šorin held a discussion on the protection of civilians. The discussion was moderated by Urmas Vaino.

Five school teams and two teams of the Riigikogu participated in the quiz of the Open House Day. The close-run competition for the first place was won by the team Riigikogu I, which consisted of member of the Riigikogu Jaak Juske, Advisers of the Legal and Research Department Toivo Mängel and Triinu Põdramägi and Head of State Electoral Office Arne Koitmäe. Team Gustav Adolf Grammar School I won the second place and was the best school team. The quiz was prepared and conducted by acknowledged quiz players Indrek Salis and Aare Olander.

To celebrate the Year of Libraries, the National Library brought along a pop-up library and web games, Tallinn Central Library set up a reading nest with comic books and virtual reality, and Katarina Jee Mobile Library came to Toompea.

The Defence League, Women’s Home Defence, Home Daughters, and Young Eagles held workshops in the Castle and its courtyard. The Estonian War Museum organised a sale in support of Ukraine, and the Women’s Home Defence sold the flower pins of the Blue Hepatica Campaign “Let Us Salute!” to support the war veterans. The students of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre gave a concert dedicated to Ukraine. The Open House Day ended with the concert of the Defence League band Mustad Kolonelid.

With the Open House Day, the Riigikogu celebrated its 103rd anniversary.

The first representative body elected by the people in independent Estonia – the Constituent Assembly – convened in Tallinn on 23 April 1919. Since 1999, the Riigikogu has been celebrating the anniversary of that event with an Open House Day, which this year took place for the 22nd time, after a two-year pause.

Photos of the Open House Day of the Riigikogu (Erik Peinar, Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Source: Parliament of Estonia