Corner of history

Stude Cafe
Stude Cafe

History of the oldest Café in Estonia

Café Maiasmokk is considered to have been established in 1864, although already in 1806 there was a small bakery and a shop at the same location. In 1864 the house was owned along with its business by a Baltic German confectioner Georg Stude. He also bought a large house on the corner of Pühavaimu and Pikk and built them into a single building as we see it today. Renovations made it possible to expand production and build a better selling space. As in the past, one could still place an order for delicious cakes and coffee from the table.

Georg Stude’s marzipan products were the ones that earned the best reputation. During the second half of the 19th century they delivered marzipan also to the Russian imperial family and its court.

The café obtained its luxurious look, which has been preserved until today, in 1913. Even more so than rust-colored wooden display cases and counters with bronze ornaments, the exceptional glass ceiling with paintings catches the eye of the customers.

The Soviet occupation caused the nationalization of Georg Stude’s business and it was incorporated with other confectioneries in 1941. As a result of several mergings it became later a part of what we know as Orkla Estonia ltd.

That is how the production of Georg Stude’s marzipan and handmade confections made it to the confectionery called Kalev. But the production of his tarts and cakes continued in it’s former location on Pikk street.

The café is called Maiasmokk since 1984.

In 1997 Maiasmokk OÜ was registered and seven years later Kalev ltd acquired the majority share of the company. In 2007 the production of marzipan figures made its way back to the historical premises of café Maiasmokk and it is located there to this day.

In the end of 2010 Kalev ltd purchased the historical building of café Maiasmokk from the city of Tallinn at an auction. As of today Maiasmokk OÜ is the subsidiary of Orkla Estonia ltd.

The history of the café on the first floor

The first floor of the building was once the apartment of the company’s owner Georg Stude and his family. These rooms have later been used for various purposes. For example, from 1947 to 1952, some of the rooms housed the editorial offices of the women’s magazine Eesti Naine. In the 1980s, there was a very popular restaurant here. It was so busy that people often had to pull a few strings to get a table.

Cafe Maiasmokk Stude street entrance
Cafe Maiasmokk Stude street entrance