Furthermore, it includes a recently opened 20th century Soviet kolkhoz apartment building, and a prefabricated modern wooden house from 2019.

The site spans 72 hectares (180 acres) of land and along with the farmyards, old public buildings are arranged singularly and in groups in a way that represents an overview of Estonian vernacular architecture of the past two centuries from across Estonia.

[1] The museum is located 8 km (5.0 mi) to the west of Tallinn city center at Rocca al Mare.

[2] In 1950, the Union of Architects with K. Tihane, A. Kasper, H. Armani, G. Jommi and others raised the issue of setting up an open air museum.

Additionally, to the above-mentioned names, architects F. Tomps and I. Sagur, and historians H. Moora, G. Troska, A. Viires and O. Korzjukov were also active in the organizing committees.

In July, the museum got a plot of 66 ha near Tallinn, on the coast of Kopli Bay, in the area of Rocca al Mare summer manor, which was established in 19th century.

In the 1990s the research work was continued with the field of topics connected with improving the exposition, the study of present exhibit buildings and the history of their former owners became a new trend.

Owing to the breakup of the Soviet Union and the political tensions, the visibility of the museum dropped considerably and new working methods were searched for - more extensive daily handicraft sale in the museum, handicraft demonstrations, temporary exhibitions in exhibit buildings, celebrating notable days of the national calendar as well as topical work with children started to be introduced.

The foundation works as a museum that introduces rural architecture and landscape as well as a center that deals with restoration, conservation and digitization.

The dwelling constructed during the Empire era was later modernised, and the rooms show people's life at the end of 1930s.

The fact that soil in Northern Estonia is rich in limestone is displayed by many buildings located in the spacious yard: the threshing floor of the barn-dwelling, the smithy and summer kitchen are all made of limestone and stone hedges where large slabs of stone alternate with stonework.

[1] Kahala watermill The small watermill built on Liiva spring on Möldri farm in Kahala village, Kuusalu parish, was used to grind straight flour, wholemeal flour as well as rye coarse meal for making gruel during the spring and autumn floods; it would also make groats.

This small farm in Võru County had some 10 ha of poor soil, and smithcraft was the main source of income.

All farmyard buildings except for the new storehouse were brought from Ala-Rusi farm in Pugritsa village, Karula parish, which has a strong connection with the history of Estonian art.

Namely, this was the place where the famous sculptor Juhan Raudsepp (1896–1984) who was then known as Juku from Rusi grew up on the farm of his mother's parents.

The shore villages where soil was poor mainly lived off fishing, growing vegetables and, later, building work.

As the stony soil and pastureland produced little income, the members of the large family earned money to pay the rent and other expenses from seasonal work.

The role model for the typically spacious farmyard seen on Hiiumaa was Pendi farm in Lelu village, which still had the old fencing that partitioned the yard.

The estate owner had control of the farm family itself as well as the land and buildings and fishing rights in coastal waters.

The construction cannot be precisely dated: archival data mention the chapel as early as in 1627, but the year engraved above the church door is ‘1699’.

The shop building with rather a conventional floor plan was constructed in 1914 by Jaan Meiberg, a distiller from Ingliste manor.

Shops started emerging here and there in rural settlements in the last quarter of the 19th century when country population's demand for bought-in goods increased.

Such fire stations of medium size were built by rural firefighters’ societies in major Estonian villages in 1920s–1930s.

With the assistance of the founders of the Rocca al Mare school it was relocated and rebuilt in the museum in 1999, and the opening ceremony took place on 1 September 2000.

Originally designed as an energy efficient single-family home, the modular house introduces innovative construction technologies and materials.

Similar kolkhoz houses by standard design can be found all over Estonia and they have become a common part of our rural landscapes.

In the basement, an exhibition on the development of Estonian rural life from the establishment of collective farms to the present day is set up, along with a play and activity area, which is called The World of Little Ilmar.

In 2012, the implementers of this programme formed a separate department under the name of the Center of Rural Architecture of the Estonian Open Air Museum.

The center received the Grand Prix of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2015 in the Education, Training and Awareness-Raising category with the Programme for Owners of Rural Buildings in Estonia[11] In 2008 a mixed choir was founded within the Estonian Open Air Museum and the next year, in 2009, the group participated for first time in the national song festival (in Estonian: laulupidu).

[12] On June 11, 2015, The Center of Rural Architecture of the Estonian Open Air Museum received the Grand Prix of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2015 in the Education, Training and Awareness-Raising category with the Programme for Owners of Rural Buildings in Estonia.