Tallinn Tops Government in Blackhead Feud
Tallinn Administrative Court yesterday annulled a Cabinet order whereby a medieval guild building was set to be returned to the surviving members of the guild in Germany.
The verdict does not close the case, only compels the Cabinet to reconsider Tallinn municipalities’ motion to keep the building under city administration, Anneli Vilu, a spokesperson for the court, told uudised.err.ee.
While many medieval guilds were abolished during reforms after Estonia gained independence in 1918, the Brotherhood of the Blackheads was officially recognized by the state, and remained the owner of the building until the Soviet occupation in 1940.
The court agreed that an organization registered in Germany, Bruderschaft der Schwarzenhäupter aus Reval, is the lawful successor to the Brotherhood of the Blackheads but stated that the Cabinet had not offered a reasonable evaluation explaining what the Brotherhood would use the building for, if returned.
The court also found that the Brotherhood has not been significantly active in Estonia in the last 20 years and a further study would be needed to prove the guild is sustainable.
Internationally renowned conductor Eri Klas, who has wielded the baton for countless concerts in the House of the Blackheads, said there was no interest by anyone except artists toward the medieval building before it was overhauled. In 2006, Parliament handed the building over to the City of Tallinn, which spent 75,000 euros for repairs of a leaky roof and last year gave it to Tallinn Philharmonic. “Music rings from morning to evening in that building,” said Klas.
Tallinn’s mayor, Edgar Savisaar said that the court’s decision was a great Christmas present. “We were able to defend the house for the good of artists and for the city. Tallinn Philharmonic may rehearse with less worry this evening than they did in the [yesterday] morning,” said the mayor.
“The Brotherhood has done everything possible to reassure the house will continue to be used as a cultural object. We drafted a contract, signed it unilaterally and asked the city to sign it or propose their own terms, but we have had no reply,” said Ants Nõmper, an attorney representing the Brotherhood.
Former rector of the Tartu Theological Academy Peter-Friedrich Krienitz, who said he considered himself a friend of the brotherhood, said: "I know many members of the Blackheads who are ready to come back to Estonia and accomplish something here. They have accepted many Estonians into the brotherhood as well."
The Brotherhood has 30 days to contest the decision in Tallinn District Court.