Not listed as a cultural monument

Põltsamaa Cultural Centre is one of the three cultural centres constructed after a standard design in Jõgeva County. The three municipalities of Jõgeva County – Jõgeva, Mustvee, and Põltsamaa – had their cultural centres constructed after the same building plan, and all of the buildings were completed in the same year. The Põltsamaa Cultural Centre was commissioned by the municipality’s culture department at the time, and the construction itself was funded by the Ministry of Culture. The cultural centre was opened with a celebration on the 1^st of April 1961. Thanks to the zeal of Ellen Olde, who acted as the chairman of the Põltsamaa municipality culture department at the time, the building’s interior was designed after a custom plan.

In summer of 1965, the two-part sgraffito wall pannel Põltsamaa, designed by Nikolai Kormašov was completed in the lobby of the cultural centre as commissioned by the ESSR Ministry of Culture. The black-and-white decorative pannel depicts the flourishing urban and industrial life, diligent agricultural produce collectors, hay workers on a chatting break, a young family enjoying the fruits of an apple tree, and in front of it all, the Põltsamaa Cultural Centre. Prototypes for the people depicted in the artwork were allegedly Senta Bergmann, instructor of the folk dance groups that operated in the cultural centre; Sirje Tuula, the director of the cultural centre; and other Põltsamaa locals.

The Põltsamaa Cultural Centre was renovated in the years 1999–2000, after which it changed its former name – Põltsamaa Culture House – into the new one. The Nikolai Kormašov wall pannels in the lobby were preserved during the renovation works, and the cultural centre was expanded by a gallery, a brass band rehearsal room, and a mirror hall.

Anna-Liiza Izbaš