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Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and a unique city in Europe with its preserved medieval center, where you will feel a century-old atmosphere among the many buildings built in not least the 1400s-1500s, where trade brought great wealth to the city.
The district behind Tallinn’s high medieval walls is a magnificent jumble of streets, alleys, passages and squares, where the distances are small and the experiences great. It is this part of Tallinn that most tourists come to see, but the areas around the medieval city also have a lot to offer with architecture from the recent centuries.
Tallinn’s old town hall, St. Olav’s Church, once the tallest building in the world, and the long city walls, fortunately preserved from a bygone era, are some of the many highlights. The Russian Alexander Nevsky Church and the castle area are also must sees in the city.
Modern Tallinn with its parks, pedestrian streets and shopping malls is right next door to the old city center, and the short distances can feel like traveling in time. Modern architecture is spreading in former industrial districts, and grand Soviet urban planning is also clearly present.
Many different cultures have ruled Tallinn and the surrounding area through time, and there is much to see from the various eras. Danish buildings, castles of the German Order and Russian splendor buildings in Baroque are examples of the city and the coastal areas towards the Gulf of Finland.
Kadriorg Castle is an elegant baroque castle that was built in 1718 by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great. It is said that the tsar himself laid the foundation stone for the summer palace, which, together with the palace garden, was laid out by the Italian Niccolo Michetti. The style is clearly inspired by the large buildings the tsar had completed in the capital Saint Petersburg.
Part of the large garden has now been reconstructed in 18th-century style, while the other part has been kept in the original landscape garden style, where Swan Lake is especially worth a trip.
The castle was formerly the residence of the Estonian president, but today houses the Estonian Art Museum’s foreign collection. Here you will find various paintings and works by Russian and other European artists from the 16th-19th centuries.
Tallinn’s late Gothic medieval town hall is one of the city’s landmarks and ranks among the country’s finest buildings. The town hall dates from the 13th century, but in 1402-1404 it was rebuilt into today’s building, which is Northern Europe’s finest monumental town hall construction from that time.
The interior of the town hall has been preserved, and not least the town council hall on the 1st floor is beautiful. The basement vaults are set up for exhibitions, and at certain times of the year you can access the spiral staircase to the top of the tower.
In the Middle Ages, Tallinn was surrounded by defensive walls, which in addition to the wall itself consisted of city gates and as many as 46 towers. The city wall had a length of about 4 kilometers and it was 16 meters high and 3 meters thick. Today, over 2 kilometers of wall and 26 towers have been preserved, and you can thus see it in many places in the city.
At Gümnaasiumi street you can take a closer look at a renovated part of the wall including the three preserved defense towers Nunnatorn, Saunatorn and Kuldjala Torn. When you walk around the facility, you feel transported to the fortified city of the Middle Ages.
A short walk south-west of the three towers is the park Toompark, where a small part of the city’s moat and the bastions, which acted as an extended fortress outside the city wall, have been preserved.
You can of course also choose to follow the preserved wall around the center of Tallinn. It is an affordable tour which gives a good impression of the appearance of a medieval town for outsiders.
Saint Olav Church is mentioned for the first time in 1267, but it is believed to have already been built as a smaller chapel at the beginning of the same century or already in the 12th century. The church was dedicated to Olav the Saint, and it was the center of Tallinn’s Scandinavian environment even before the Danish era in Tallinn from 1219.
According to a legend, the Danes decided to build a large church on the site, and they started a mighty construction. Mysteriously, the work that had been done during the day was demolished the following night, and the church building did not proceed. One day a strong man came to town and said that it was the work of the devil and that only he could build the church.
The city agreed to pay him 10,000 gold pieces for the work or guess his name before the church was the church. The man worked for himself, and the church quickly shot up, but despite a hired spy, no one could guess his name. The night before the completion, however, the spy heard the man’s wife singing to their child: “Sleep now, my child, tomorrow Olav will come home with 10,000 pieces of gold.”
Just when Olav was about to put a cross on the top of the church, the citizens shouted: “Watch out, Olav, the cross is crooked,” and this made Olav so startled that he fell down. A snake and a toad are said to have come out of his mouth and all three turned to stone. The story can be seen on the wall of the Mariakapellet/Maarja kabeli.
Around the year 1500, through several extensions, Sankt Olav Kirke had reached an impressive height of 159 metres, and it was thus the world’s tallest building until 1625, when a lightning strike destroyed the high tower. The height was a symbol of the wealth that was in the city; especially in the 1300s and 1500s. The church is also believed to have been built high on purpose, so that it could act as a landmark and sea mark for the trading town, which could thus be seen from a long distance.
Over time, St. Olav’s Church has also been struck by lightning at least eight times and burned down three times. Each time it has been rebuilt, and today it stands with a 123 meter high tower. The oldest surviving parts are the choir from 1425 and the Mariakapellet from 1521.
The church had a special function in the years 1944-1991. Here, the tower was set up as a radio transmission station for the Soviet security organization KGB.
Tallinn Cathedral is Estonia’s most important Protestant church, and it is one of three still-functioning medieval churches in the city. Its full name is Jomfru Maria Domkirke/Neitsi Maarja Piiskoplik Toomkirik.
The original wooden church on the site was built by the Danes in 1219, and ten years later Dominican monks started the construction of the original stone church on the site. It was consecrated to the Virgin Mary in 1240, and in 1433 the church was expanded as a Gothic cathedral. During the fire in the city in 1684, the interior of the Cathedral was destroyed, which also included a number of art and cultural treasures in the church space.
However, the church was rebuilt with a new interior, including Estonian Christian Ackerman’s altarpiece. The church’s baroque spire was also built in the years 1778-1779.
In the church there is a coat of arms, commemorative plaques and tombstones from the 13th-18th centuries. A number of famous people are buried here. This applies, for example, to the German-Russian admiral and explorer Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern/Иван Фёдорович Крузенштерн. Krusenstern was expedition leader on the first Russian circumnavigation, which in the years 1803-1806 was supposed to strengthen ties and trade between European Russia, the Far East and the colony of Russian America.
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral was built from the year 1900 as Tallinn’s largest domed church. It is located high on the Toompea ridge, which makes it highly visible in the Estonian capital’s skyline, where the church’s onion domes are a characteristic feature.
The church was built during the Russian tsarist era by the architect Mikhail Preobrazhenski from the nearby Russian city of millions, St. Petersburg, which at the time was the capital of the empire.
The church is named after the saint Alexander Nevsky, who on April 5, 1242 won the Battle of Lake Peipus, which lies on the border between Estonia and Russia and today is called Peipsi järv/Чудское озеро. The battle was between the Catholic Crusaders of the Teutonic Order, who wanted to conquer pagans and Orthodox Christians around Novgorod.
Both externally and internally, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is richly decorated and a fine example of a church for Estonia’s large Russian congregation. The church is worth a visit, among other things, to experience a number of fine icons and mosaics typical of the style.
With its 314 meters in height, the Tallinn TV Tower is an impressive sight. The tower was built in the years 1975-1980 in connection with the Soviet Union’s holding of the Olympic Games in 1980. Tallinn laid water for sailing competitions, and the TV tower had to distribute the TV and radio signals.
The tower weighs 20,000 tonnes and is founded at a depth of 8.5 metres. There was originally an open restaurant at a height of 170 meters on the platform, which is 38 meters in diameter. It and the viewing platform closed in 2007 for renovation, and in 2012 could be reopened with both a restaurant, observation deck and the possibility to walk on the edge of the tower in the open; it happens at the so-called EdgeWalk.
50 meters above the city lies Tallinn’s castle and castle on the top of the hill Toompea, which according to legend is said to have been built stone by stone by the mythological Linda. In this way, Linda has given the name Lyndanisse, which Tallinn has previously been known as; Lyndanisse refers in Estonian to Linda’s breast.
The castle Toompea itself was built by Danish crusaders under King Valdemar II in 1219 on the foundations of an Estonian fortress from the 9th century; it happened after the Danish king’s successful campaign, where the Danish cross flag is said to have fallen from the sky and turned the fortunes of war.
The castle was formerly called the City of the Danes, Taani Linn, which, in addition to first housing Danes and then Estonians and other peoples, later gave its name to the city of Tallinn. The castle changed owners a few times before the Danes sold it to the Teutonic Order in 1346.
Over the centuries, the facility was expanded and rebuilt several times by the Christian Teutonic Order, which, among other things, established a castle church with a chapter house and a knight’s college.
The castle’s towers were also built during this time. The 46 meter tall Lange Hermann/Pikk Hermann was the largest of the fortified castle’s towers, and it was also used as a prison.
Today, Estonia’s flag flies from Pikk Hermann. Of the other fortress towers, you can also see the slender Pilsticker/Pilstickeri tower and the stronger Landskrone/Landskrone tower, while Stür den Kerl was demolished in the 18th century to make room for the castle’s new residence building.
Russia captured Tallinn from the Swedes in 1710, and with the Russians the castle was developed into an actual residence castle. In the years 1767-1773 Toompea Castle was thus significantly expanded. It happened with the place’s fine buildings in rococo, baroque and classicism.
With Estonia’s independence in 1918, the then and current Estonian parliament building was built on the site where a monastery had previously stood during the time of the Teutonic Order. The exterior style is mainly late baroque, while the interior is done in the expressionism of the time. The parliament was completed in 1922, and during the Soviet era the building was the seat of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Republic.
Raekoja Plats is Tallinn’s Town Hall Square and the center of the Lower Old Town. Already since the first town hall buildings from the 13th and 13th centuries, there has been a square on the site. Over time, it has been Tallinn’s marketplace, and it was also here that the city’s executioners used to carry out their deed.
The very cozy square is full of life, and in season there are many events and plenty of sidewalk cafes. Around the square you can also see some of the city’s sights, such as the late Gothic medieval town hall and the town hall pharmacy.
The cozy medieval Katarina Passage runs through a craft and residential area with houses from the 15th-17th centuries. Craftsmen are also working here during the season. The name Katariina Käik comes from the Dominican monastery that bore the name Saint Katarina.
Püha Vaimu Kirik is Tallinn’s only preserved original medieval church in its form. It was built as early as the 1400s and was completed in its simple style in the 1360s. Only the sprout is not from this time.
Inside the church room, a very beautiful interior has been preserved; among others Berndt Notke’s famous altar from 1483 and several Gothic joinery works. The church bell dates from 1433 and is the oldest in Estonia, while the tower clock was the first public clock in Tallinn.
In 1531, the church also entered Estonian cultural history, as the first sermon in Estonian was held right here.
The so-called Great Guild was, after the town hall, the largest secular building in Tallinn’s medieval city. The house was built in the years 1407-1417 as a meeting hall for the influential merchant guild, the house was named Great Guild.
Today, the house is preserved in original condition both outside and inside, and it houses the Estonian History Museum, which depicts the country’s history from the oldest finds to today’s Estonia. The building also forms the setting for and description of Great Guild and its members, who for centuries belonged to the city’s political and economic elite.
Kiek in de Kök was in the 16th century the strongest cannon tower in Northern Europe. The 38 meter high tower was built in the 15th century with a diameter of 17 meters and with 4 meter thick walls. From the tower, you could reportedly see into the kitchens of the neighboring buildings, from which the tower’s somewhat special name comes.
The tower was damaged in the 16th century, but rebuilt and used as a gunpowder tower until the 20th century. Today, the tower has been restored so that it stands as it did in the 17th century. In the walls you can see some cannonballs, and inside there is an exhibition about Tallinn’s history and the most important military events in the period from the 13th to the 19th century.
Freedom Square in Tallinn is one of the city’s largest and most central squares. It is named after the Estonian freedom struggle in the years 1918-1920, which led to the first Estonian independence.
In Freedom Square you can see the Independence Column/Vabadussõja võidusammas, which is a large cross on a glass-covered column. The cross is a reproduction of the Estonian Freedom Cross, which was established in 1919. The monument was already thought of in the 1930s, but was only inaugurated in 2009.
To the east of the square is Sankt Johannes Kirke/Jaani kirik, which was built 1862-1867. The church is a parish church in the Lutheran Church of Estonia. To the south (Vabaduse väljak7) you can see the Tallinn City Council’s administration building, built as one of the city’s early high-rises in 1877.
In Soviet times, Vabaduse väljak was named after the Soviet victory in World War II and was called Võidu väljak. This name is known from countless other cities in the former Soviet Union.
The Bronze Soldier is a two-meter tall statue in front of a stone wall and is a Soviet memorial from 1947. The monument was erected to commemorate the Soviet liberation of Tallinn during World War II, and it was dedicated on September 22, 1947, which was the third anniversary of the Red Army march into the city.
Originally it was called the Monument to the Liberators of Tallinn/Tallinn Vabastajate Monument and was located in a more central location in the city; in Tõnismägi square. In 2007, the monument was moved to its current location in the Tallinn War Cemetery, and it has been renamed the Monument to the Fallen of World War II.
Hotel Viru is Tallinn’s first skyscraper. It was built 1969-1972 as the city’s leading hotel, not least to attract Finnish tourists to Tallinn. As something unusual in the Soviet Union, the hotel was built by foreign companies; they were from Finland.
Officially, the hotel had 22 floors, which was also the number the elevator buttons went to. However, it was an open secret that the security organization KGB had offices on the 23rd floor.
The offices consisted of both an ordinary office and a listening center from which, among other things, a large part of the hotel’s rooms were monitored. The KGB’s facilities only became known in detail after Estonia’s independence in 1991, and they have chosen to preserve the rooms as a museum.
There are fixed tour times for the visit on the 23rd floor, where you also get the history of the building, anecdotes about Hotel Viru and fantastic views from the outdoor terraces that are at the height.
When Moscow and the Soviet Union were to hold the Olympic Games in 1980, Tallinn was chosen as the home of the sailing competitions, as Moscow is not located by the sea. The sailings were held in the district of Pirita, but a number of other facilities were also built in connection with the holding of the games.
In the center of Tallinn by the harbor, for example, a culture and sports palace was built in Lenin’s name. It was later renamed Byens Hal. It is interesting as a facility with the surrounding squares, as it is a fine example of large-scale Soviet construction in the 1970s. Today, the hall is used for, among other things, concerts.
Vabaõhumuuseum is Estonia’s open-air museum, which was established in 1964 and spreads over about 80 hectares. Since its establishment, a number of old buildings from all over Estonia have been brought here. Here you can experience, among other things, farms, a church, a mill and an original Estonian sauna. Environments have been recreated back to 18th century Estonia.
As early as 1933, an architectural competition was announced for a newly built national art museum in Estonia. It didn’t come to anything then, and 60 years later a new competition was issued. It was won by Finnish Pekka Vapaavuori, whose building, after four years of construction, opened its doors to the public in 2006.
The name KUMU is a contraction of the word KUnstiMUuseum, which is Estonian for art museum. At the museum you can partly see a permanent exhibition of Estonian art from the 18th century to the present day and partly various ongoing exhibitions.
Rotermann Kvartal is a district in Tallinn that arose in the area where a bread factory was established from 1912. Throughout both the Russian, Estonian and Soviet times, the factory was of considerable size, but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the factory closed.
The many factory buildings then fell into disrepair, and they were considered ripe for renovation. However, first the Estonian Architecture Museum and later a number of other buildings were renovated and often used as parts of new constructions, which overall have given life to a new and architecturally very interesting building.
Here are shops and office buildings, each of which contributes to the special experience of mixing 1900s industry with today’s play with new materials, design and surfaces.
Haapsalu is a favorite holiday destination on the Estonian west coast. Warm water in the sea and mud baths are some of the things that for centuries have drawn people to the town, which also has a nice cozy atmosphere in the streets.
If you take the train, you can already see on arrival that the city is something special. The station is one of Haapsalu’s attractions, and it is known for its long and beautiful platform building.
Paldiski is a port city that was founded during the Swedish era under the name Rågervik. In the 18th century it became a Russian naval base, and from 1762 it went under the name Den Baltiske Havn/Балтийский Порт, which in Estonian became Paldiski, which is a transliteration of the Russian pronunciation. Paldiski became the official name in 1933.
Paldiski became a large nuclear Soviet submarine base in 1962, and the city was closed to the outside world for security reasons; it was not reopened until 1994.
Today, Paldiski is somewhat smaller than before, as many Russian specialists and military personnel have moved away. However, you can clearly see the outlines of the many installations that were previously active here, and the city’s neighborhoods are mainly in the typical Soviet style of its time.
Pärnu is a famous seaside resort located on the Gulf of Pärnu, which forms part of the Gulf of Riga. The city’s beaches attract many tourists every summer who enjoy holidays here. Pärnu has a lot to offer, and the city’s history goes back to its foundation in the middle of the 13th century. Throughout the Hanseatic period, Pärnu was a member of the successful trading confederation, and it was an important port city for Livonia.
Modern seaside resort tourism started in 1837, when an inn close to the beach in Pärnu established warm saltwater baths in the summer and a sauna in the winter. It attracted more and more tourists to the town, and the bathhouse developed. However, the original wooden building burned during the First World War but was built on the same site in beautiful neoclassicism in 1926-1927. The bath house can still be visited.
The town of Rakvere was officially granted market town rights in 1783 and was thus a town. The estates that owned the land were contacted and large parts of the area were purchased in 1797 and laid out according to the town planning principles of the time.
The pleasant main street, Pikk, was laid immediately east of the city’s castle, and at its northern end the new city’s administration building was erected. It was done with the help of Empress Catherine II, and the style is early classicism with baroque elements. The town’s magistrate, courthouse and other institutions were located here. Today, the house is designed as the Rakvere Näitustemaja exhibition building. It is a central place to start a walking tour of the city.
Helsinki is the capital of Finland and is beautifully located with water to three sides and with an archipelago just outside the city center. The natural beauty is complemented by 19th-century Helsinki and modern Finnish architecture, and these things are part of what gives loads of interesting things to see and do while visiting the city.
The city’s two most famous churches are top sights; the Classicist Protestant Cathedral and the Russian Orthodox Uspensky Cathedral. The churches both date from Finland during the era of the Russian Empire, and the well planned 19th century town is located with the protestant cathedral as center point.
Narva mnt 5
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Gonsiori 2
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Endla 45
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Sõpruse pst 201/203
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Paldiski mnt 102
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Tartu mnt 87
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Liivalaia 53
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Suur-Sõjamäe 4
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Viru Kiesak 4
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Viru Kiesak, Vabaduse Kiesak, Pikk, Viru, Harju, Raekoja Location
Eesti Loodusmuuseum
Lai 29
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Eesti Meremuuseum
Pikk 70
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Lastemuuseum Miiamilla
Kotzebue 16
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Rocca al Mare
Paldiski mnt 100
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Energia Avastuskeskus
Põhja pst. 29
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Tallinna Loomaaed
Paldiski mnt 145
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Through the results of archaeological excavations, it is estimated that human activity in the Tallinn area began about 5,000 years ago. This is due to finds of different types of pottery dating back to the time around the year 3000 BC.
It is believed that a castle was built in the area of present-day Tallinn Toompea about 1050. It provided a breeding ground for further activity and was thus the beginning of the future Estonian capital.
With the 13th century, interest in the area increased from both Danish and German. The Christian German Order conducted northern crusades during this time, and Danish King Valdemar II also sought expansion and sailed with a fleet against the province of Revalia in the early summer of 1219.
The Danish cross army consisted of the king and, among others, Bishop Anders Sunesen of Lund, Bishop Theoderik of Estonia and leaders of vassal states such as Rügen. After their departure, they established camp and fort Castrum Danorum at Lyndanisse. The Esters called the site the Danes’ Borg / Taani linen, which later became Tallinn.
The Estonians negotiated with the Danes while gathering an army of attack striking from five different directions on June 15, 1219. The Danish army had to flee and Bishop Theoderik was killed, which the Estonians believed had killed King Valdemar II.
The Danish army was pressured by the attackers, but led by Vitslav I of Rügen, a swift counter-attack was carried out, giving the king’s cross army the necessary time to regroup.
Now it was the Danes who attacked, and according to legend, Bishop Anders Sunesen knelt in prayer on a hilltop. When he stretched his arms toward the sky, the Danes moved forward, and with fatigue he had to lower his arms and thereby stop the advance.
Helpers came and they held the bishop’s arms. Underneath the crucial and most intense signs came another sign. God sent a red flag with a white cross down from the sky, and it gave renewed hope, fighting spirit and victory over the Esters, and the king decided that the fan should be the flag of the Danes, which it has been ever since; with the name Dannebrog.
The Danes then built a castle on Toompea, and Bishop Andreas Sunesen became the first Danish regent in Tallinn. The king gave permission for the city to use the royal coat of arms, thereby also carrying today’s city arms the three blue lions on a golden background.
In 1248, King Erik IV Plovpenning granted Tallinn commercial city rights with Lübeck as an example. It linked the city commercially to the German Baltic Sea cities, and the growing trade also led Tallinn to become a member of the German-dominated Hanseatic League in 1285.
The marketplace rights also meant the establishment of a city government in the small town that was strategically good for trade between the German Hanseatic cities and Russia, where the dominant city in the area was nearby Novgorod. Tallinn was thus a growing city, and it was also in a strategically good place.
Tallinn was, despite Danish rule, a German-dominated city, where mainly German was spoken, which was also the official language. Estonian culture thrived, but it was in the areas outside Tallinn.
In 1346, the Danish king sold Tallinn and northern Estonia to the German Order, whose governor moved into the Toompea hill as a representative of the livelihood portion of the order. However, the city government continued its work, the members here being elected among the most affluent, often merchants.
Tallinn’s commercial and urban development was from this time German influenced over several centuries. The city was booming and had quickly gained department store rights making it a transit point and. It brought new growth and more jobs; partly because of the merchants’ obligation to offer goods in either Tallinn, Riga or Pärnu in order to trade with Russia.
One of Tallinn’s competitors in the area was Visby on Gotland. When it was destroyed by the Danes in 1361, it meant a further dominant position for the city on the Estonian north coast.
Population was increasing. It grew from around 1,000 in the year 1300 to 6,000-7,000 later in the Middle Ages, and the new citizens came mainly from the rural population who moved to the city due to the good job opportunities of merchants and workshops.
The old 13th-century town had walls that only went around a small area at the town hall, growing. With a new city wall and many institutional buildings such as the town hall and low-rise buildings, the area of the city was greatly increased, which was in line with the economic and population development.
After a major fire in 1433, another major expansion started. The 15th century was also the highlight of Tallinn as a Hanseatic city, where, among other things, the 159-meter high spire at St. Olav’s Church was erected. After this the town gradually lost its importance; just as the power of the Hanseatic League was steadily diminishing.
In the 1520s, the thoughts of the Reformation came to Tallinn and Estonia, which were still under the rule of the German Order. The order was Catholic and it was not sustainable with a Catholic rule in a Protestant country.
With the Livelian War in the years 1558-1583, the Baltic Sea powers fought to and fro in the Estonian territory. German Gotthard von Kettler asked both Gustav Vasa and the subsequent King Erik XIV for help, but his demands were too high. However, Erik XIV promised Tallinn protection against the fact that the city would become Swedish after the war.
Von Kettler had established a Polish garrison on the castle of Reval, which Tallinn was called at this time. The Swedes forced the Poles to capitulate, and in 1561 Tallinn became Swedish; a status that lasted for more than 150 years.
Swedish Estonia was ratified by the Peace of Stettin in 1570; a peace where Denmark returned to Estonia with the areas Wiek and Ösel.
In the beginning, battles continued over the area; For example, Tallinn and the Swedes had to defend themselves against sieges from the Russian side in 1570-1571 and again in 1577.
During the period, the Swedes established Estonia in the country Sweden as a new administrative unit with Tallinn as the capital. Thus, there was marked self-government, and trade rights continued as in the German era. One difference, of course, was the formal rule in which the Swedish Governor-General as King’s representative was the supreme authority.
Tallinn’s Old Town had been well preserved through the Livelian War, but the plague epidemic in 1602-1603 and the great fire in 1684 at Toompea put the city’s development back on track. The 16th century, however, also offered such positive things; for example, a high school was established and books were printed in Estonian.
The Swedish kings were successful in reforms in Sweden. An example was the abolition of the life trait, which was also tried in Swedish Estonia. Here, however, the nobility was strong and opposed the will of reform.
The Great Northern War of 1700-1721 hit Tallinn hard with famine and disease epidemics. In 1708-1710 the population decreased from 10,000 to 2,000.
In 1710, the city was taken by Russia with Peter I at the head. The Russian army won the fighting, and with the end of the war on Nysted, Tallinn was formally made a Russian possession as part of the three Swedish-Baltic provinces of Svenska Estonia, Svenska Livland and Svenska Ingermanland. The present Estonia was later formed by Svenska Estonia and the northern part of Svenska Livland.
Russia’s takeover of Tallinn led to new investments; for example, Peter let the Great Tallinn harbor expand in the years 1714-1722, and a shipyard was quickly established. In addition, the city government and city rights were once again upheld. This lasted until the 19th century, when greater integration into the Russian Empire began. Tallinn’s magistrate was deposed in 1889.
In the 19th century, factories were built in the city, and in 1870 the Baltic Railway was built; it connected Tallinn with the empire of St. Petersburg. The economy and culture flourished. Among other things, several theaters were erected, and towards the end of the century the population increased from 44,000 to 160,000 in 1881-1917.
The Estonian local government movement began in earnest with the election of the first Estonian mayor of Tallinn in 1906. In early 1918, when the Russian revolution had also shaken political structures in Tallinn, Estonia proclaimed its independence on February 24 and subsequently became invaded by Germany. After the end of World War I, the war instead became a war for Estonian independence from the Soviet Union, and with the Tartu peace treaty on February 2, 1920, the independent republic of Estonia was proclaimed with Tallinn as its capital.
The lack of access to the Russian market had negative consequences for the economy. Only in the late 1930s did growth return, and a few years later World War II broke out. In 1940, the Soviet Union annexed the young republic, thus becoming the Estonian Soviet Republic. When the war spread to the Soviet Union in 1941, the country was occupied by Germany in the years 1941-1944. During the bombing, many buildings were lost; however, there was only relatively minor destruction in the Old Town.
When the Germans were retiring in 1944, the Soviet Union annexed again Estonia, which the following decades integrated into the great union. Once again, it was Tallinn as the capital.
Throughout the Soviet era, the Baltic countries were relatively prosperous, as were Estonia and Tallinn. For example, there was an industrial boom in the city during this period, which led to a sharp increase in the population to about 500,000.
Culturally, Tallinn became part of the world event that the 1980 Olympic Games were. The games were held in Moscow while the Olympic sailing competitions took place on the water from the Pirita area of Tallinn. Large facilities and buildings were completed for the apartment.
In August 1991, an independent Estonia was once again proclaimed, making Tallinn once again the capital of its own country. That status provided new opportunities, and over the past decades large amounts of money have again been invested in the development of the city, which has acquired countless modern glass and steel buildings.
Large areas have been developed with new business centers, shops, hotels and other buildings, which provide a sharp and exciting contrast to the old town, which stands as it has almost done since the Middle Ages.
Tallinn, Estonia[/caption]
Overview of Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and a unique city in Europe with its preserved medieval center, where you will feel a century-old atmosphere among the many buildings built in not least the 1400s-1500s, where trade brought great wealth to the city.
The district behind Tallinn’s high medieval walls is a magnificent jumble of streets, alleys, passages and squares, where the distances are small and the experiences great. It is this part of Tallinn that most tourists come to see, but the areas around the medieval city also have a lot to offer with architecture from the recent centuries.
Tallinn’s old town hall, St. Olav’s Church, once the tallest building in the world, and the long city walls, fortunately preserved from a bygone era, are some of the many highlights. The Russian Alexander Nevsky Church and the castle area are also must sees in the city.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
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Author: Stig Albeck
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Language: English
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50 meters above the city lies Tallinn’s castle and castle on the top of the hill Toompea, which according to legend is said to have been built stone by stone by the mythological Linda. In this way, Linda has given the name Lyndanisse, which Tallinn has previously been known as; Lyndanisse refers in Estonian to Linda’s breast.
The castle Toompea itself was built by Danish crusaders under King Valdemar II in 1219 on the foundations of an Estonian fortress from the 9th century; it happened after the Danish king’s successful campaign, where the Danish cross flag is said to have fallen from the sky and turned the fortunes of war.
The castle was formerly called the City of the Danes, Taani Linn, which, in addition to first housing Danes and then Estonians and other peoples, later gave its name to the city of Tallinn. The castle changed owners a few times before the Danes sold it to the Teutonic Order in 1346.
Over the centuries, the facility was expanded and rebuilt several times by the Christian Teutonic Order, which, among other things, established a castle church with a chapter house and a knight’s college.
The castle’s towers were also built during this time. The 46 meter tall Lange Hermann/Pikk Hermann was the largest of the fortified castle’s towers, and it was also used as a prison.
Today, Estonia’s flag flies from Pikk Hermann. Of the other fortress towers, you can also see the slender Pilsticker/Pilstickeri tower and the stronger Landskrone/Landskrone tower, while Stür den Kerl was demolished in the 18th century to make room for the castle’s new residence building.
Russia captured Tallinn from the Swedes in 1710, and with the Russians the castle was developed into an actual residence castle. In the years 1767-1773 Toompea Castle was thus significantly expanded. It happened with the place’s fine buildings in rococo, baroque and classicism.
With Estonia’s independence in 1918, the then and current Estonian parliament building was built on the site where a monastery had previously stood during the time of the Teutonic Order. The exterior style is mainly late baroque, while the interior is done in the expressionism of the time. The parliament was completed in 1922, and during the Soviet era the building was the seat of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Republic.
Raekoja Plats is Tallinn’s Town Hall Square and the center of the Lower Old Town. Already since the first town hall buildings from the 13th and 13th centuries, there has been a square on the site. Over time, it has been Tallinn’s marketplace, and it was also here that the city’s executioners used to carry out their deed.
The very cozy square is full of life, and in season there are many events and plenty of sidewalk cafes. Around the square you can also see some of the city’s sights, such as the late Gothic medieval town hall and the town hall pharmacy.
The cozy medieval Katarina Passage runs through a craft and residential area with houses from the 15th-17th centuries. Craftsmen are also working here during the season. The name Katariina Käik comes from the Dominican monastery that bore the name Saint Katarina.
Püha Vaimu Kirik is Tallinn’s only preserved original medieval church in its form. It was built as early as the 1400s and was completed in its simple style in the 1360s. Only the sprout is not from this time.
Inside the church room, a very beautiful interior has been preserved; among others Berndt Notke’s famous altar from 1483 and several Gothic joinery works. The church bell dates from 1433 and is the oldest in Estonia, while the tower clock was the first public clock in Tallinn.
In 1531, the church also entered Estonian cultural history, as the first sermon in Estonian was held right here.
The so-called Great Guild was, after the town hall, the largest secular building in Tallinn’s medieval city. The house was built in the years 1407-1417 as a meeting hall for the influential merchant guild, the house was named Great Guild.
Today, the house is preserved in original condition both outside and inside, and it houses the Estonian History Museum, which depicts the country’s history from the oldest finds to today’s Estonia. The building also forms the setting for and description of Great Guild and its members, who for centuries belonged to the city’s political and economic elite.
Kiek in de Kök was in the 16th century the strongest cannon tower in Northern Europe. The 38 meter high tower was built in the 15th century with a diameter of 17 meters and with 4 meter thick walls. From the tower, you could reportedly see into the kitchens of the neighboring buildings, from which the tower’s somewhat special name comes.
The tower was damaged in the 16th century, but rebuilt and used as a gunpowder tower until the 20th century. Today, the tower has been restored so that it stands as it did in the 17th century. In the walls you can see some cannonballs, and inside there is an exhibition about Tallinn’s history and the most important military events in the period from the 13th to the 19th century.
Freedom Square in Tallinn is one of the city’s largest and most central squares. It is named after the Estonian freedom struggle in the years 1918-1920, which led to the first Estonian independence.
In Freedom Square you can see the Independence Column/Vabadussõja võidusammas, which is a large cross on a glass-covered column. The cross is a reproduction of the Estonian Freedom Cross, which was established in 1919. The monument was already thought of in the 1930s, but was only inaugurated in 2009.
To the east of the square is Sankt Johannes Kirke/Jaani kirik, which was built 1862-1867. The church is a parish church in the Lutheran Church of Estonia. To the south (Vabaduse väljak7) you can see the Tallinn City Council’s administration building, built as one of the city’s early high-rises in 1877.
In Soviet times, Vabaduse väljak was named after the Soviet victory in World War II and was called Võidu väljak. This name is known from countless other cities in the former Soviet Union.
The Bronze Soldier is a two-meter tall statue in front of a stone wall and is a Soviet memorial from 1947. The monument was erected to commemorate the Soviet liberation of Tallinn during World War II, and it was dedicated on September 22, 1947, which was the third anniversary of the Red Army march into the city.
Originally it was called the Monument to the Liberators of Tallinn/Tallinn Vabastajate Monument and was located in a more central location in the city; in Tõnismägi square. In 2007, the monument was moved to its current location in the Tallinn War Cemetery, and it has been renamed the Monument to the Fallen of World War II.
Hotel Viru is Tallinn’s first skyscraper. It was built 1969-1972 as the city’s leading hotel, not least to attract Finnish tourists to Tallinn. As something unusual in the Soviet Union, the hotel was built by foreign companies; they were from Finland.
Officially, the hotel had 22 floors, which was also the number the elevator buttons went to. However, it was an open secret that the security organization KGB had offices on the 23rd floor.
The offices consisted of both an ordinary office and a listening center from which, among other things, a large part of the hotel’s rooms were monitored. The KGB’s facilities only became known in detail after Estonia’s independence in 1991, and they have chosen to preserve the rooms as a museum.
There are fixed tour times for the visit on the 23rd floor, where you also get the history of the building, anecdotes about Hotel Viru and fantastic views from the outdoor terraces that are at the height.
When Moscow and the Soviet Union were to hold the Olympic Games in 1980, Tallinn was chosen as the home of the sailing competitions, as Moscow is not located by the sea. The sailings were held in the district of Pirita, but a number of other facilities were also built in connection with the holding of the games.
In the center of Tallinn by the harbor, for example, a culture and sports palace was built in Lenin’s name. It was later renamed Byens Hal. It is interesting as a facility with the surrounding squares, as it is a fine example of large-scale Soviet construction in the 1970s. Today, the hall is used for, among other things, concerts.
Vabaõhumuuseum is Estonia’s open-air museum, which was established in 1964 and spreads over about 80 hectares. Since its establishment, a number of old buildings from all over Estonia have been brought here. Here you can experience, among other things, farms, a church, a mill and an original Estonian sauna. Environments have been recreated back to 18th century Estonia.
As early as 1933, an architectural competition was announced for a newly built national art museum in Estonia. It didn’t come to anything then, and 60 years later a new competition was issued. It was won by Finnish Pekka Vapaavuori, whose building, after four years of construction, opened its doors to the public in 2006.
The name KUMU is a contraction of the word KUnstiMUuseum, which is Estonian for art museum. At the museum you can partly see a permanent exhibition of Estonian art from the 18th century to the present day and partly various ongoing exhibitions.
Rotermann Kvartal is a district in Tallinn that arose in the area where a bread factory was established from 1912. Throughout both the Russian, Estonian and Soviet times, the factory was of considerable size, but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the factory closed.
The many factory buildings then fell into disrepair, and they were considered ripe for renovation. However, first the Estonian Architecture Museum and later a number of other buildings were renovated and often used as parts of new constructions, which overall have given life to a new and architecturally very interesting building.
Here are shops and office buildings, each of which contributes to the special experience of mixing 1900s industry with today’s play with new materials, design and surfaces.
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