The unique value of Tallinn’s Old Town lies first and foremost in the
well-preserved completeness of its medieval milieu and structure, which has
been lost in most of the capitals of northern Europe. Since 1997, the Old Town
of Tallinn has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Its powerful defensive structures have protected Tallinn from being destroyed
in wars, and its lack of wooden buildings has protected it from burning down.
But it is also crucial that Tallinn hasn’t been massively rebuilt in the
interest of dispensing with the old and modernising the town.
Tallinn is one of the best retained medieval European towns, with its web of
winding cobblestone streets and properties, from the 11th to 15th centuries,
preserved nearly in its entirety. All the most important state and church buildings
from the Middle Ages have been preserved in their basic original form, as well
as many citizens’ and merchants’ residences, along with barns and
warehouses from the medieval period.
The golden era in Tallinn’s history lies in the period between the early
15th and mid 16th centuries. Tallinn had attained fame and a powerful role in
the Baltic Sea area through its membership in the Hanseatic League. Economic
might carried with it both the need to defend the city and the opportunity for
a rich period of architectural and artistic creativity
Town Hall Square has been a marketplace, fairground and meeting
place for centuries.
The square in front of the Town Hall functioned as a marketplace even before
the Town Hall itself was built. The square was used for celebrations, but also
for executions...
Town Hall Pharmacy is one of the oldest pharmacies still functioning
in its original spot in all of Europe. The pharmacy, which stands on the corner
of the Town Hall Square, was first mentioned in historical documents in 1422..
Town Wall with its defence towers had become one of the most
powerful and strongest defense systems in Northern Europe by the 16th century.
Medieval fortresses, which emerged during the development of the medieval town
at the end of the 13th century, surrounded the city centre as a closed defense
zone...
Kiek in de Kök was the most powerful cannon tower in
16th-century Northern Europe.
It is written in the chronicles that Kiek in de Kök was once the most powerful
tower along the Baltic shores.
The round cannon tower, built in the latter part of the 15th century, had a
diameter of 17 meters...
Maiden Tower (Neitsitorn) was used in the Middle Ages as a
prison for prostitutes.
The “Maiden Tower” was built in the second half of the 14th century,
together with the city wall. It has suffered under attacks many times through
its history, and has been rebuilt several times...
Great Coastal Gate (Suur Rannavärav) and Fat Margaret's
Tower (Paks Margareeta) were built as a defense on the seaward side of town,
but also for impressing visitors coming in from the sea.
The Great Coastal Gate, built along with the city wall, is situated on the northern
side of the Old Town, near the harbour...
Viru Gates were built in the 14th century, but the towers that
now remain are only part of what was originally here.
The Viru Gates are in the eastern section of the city wall. The main tower of
the gates was originally built in the years 1345-55..
Today, Viru gate is one of the main entryways in the Town Wall, leading into
the Old Town to Viru Street..
Toompea Castle is one of Estonia’s oldest and grandest
architectural groupings.
Built in the 13th to the 14th centuries, the castle is situated on the steep
limestone coast, 50 meters above sea level. It is one of the most potent symbols
of reigning power, conquered over the centuries by various nations. Today, the
Estonian Parliament is housed here...
Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin is the main Lutheran church
in Estonia and one of three functioning medieval churches.
The present appearance of the Cathedral is the result of much rebuilding. The
original temporary wooden church is thought to have been built on Toompea Hill
in 1219, and was first mentioned in 1233...
Alexander Nevski Cathedral is Tallinn’s largest and grandest
cupola cathedral.
The large, richly decorated Orthodox church, in mixed historicist style, was
built on Toompea Hill in 1900, when Estonia was part of the Russian tsarist
empire. The architect of the church was Mikhail Preobrazhenski from St. Petersburg...
Dominican Monastery Museum is the oldest cloister in downtown
Tallinn.
St. Catherine’s monastery was founded in 1246. The structure of the building
is that of a typical Catholic cloister. The most powerful building in the cloister
complex is the church...
Dominican Monastery Claustrum.
The fascinating inner chambers of the Dominican Monastery once included three
wings, together called Claustrum, of which the east wing still remains...
St. Catherine’s Passage is a landmark combining master
craftsmen’s workshops with a medieval atmosphere.
Catherine’s Passage (Katariina käik) connects Vene and Müürivahe
streets. You can see the remaining portions of St. Catherine’s Church
in the northern part of the passage...
Niguliste Museum-Concert Hall has three of the four most important
Medieval works of art in Estonia on display.
German merchants from the island of Gotland built this church to St. Nicholas,
the protector of sailors. It was originally built in the early 13th century,
when the church was like a fortress...
Church of the Holy Ghost is the only sacred building from the
14th century in Tallinn that has preserved its original form.
The simple, humble Church of Holy Ghost was completed in the 1360’s and,
but for the exception of the baroque spire, it has retained its original medieval
exterior...
Danish King's Garden is situated next to Toompea Hill.
Old legends tell us the Danes received their national flag in Tallinn. On the
brink of losing the battle on the 15th of July, 1219, the flag was handed down
to them from the skies, and the battle tide turned...
Great Guild Hall was the second largest secular building after
the Town Hall in Medieval Tallinn.
The Great Guild was an organization uniting the city’s wealthy merchants,
and intended for protecting its members’ common interests. Tallinn’s
mayor and the city fathers were also chosen from among the members of the Great
Guild...
House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads is nearly the only
preserved Renaissance building in Tallinn.
The Brotherhood of Black Heads emerged in 1399. The Brotherhood united the young,
single merchants before they could be accepted into the Great Guild, as well
as foreign merchants who were residing in Tallinn for longer periods but not
permanently...
Oleviste Guild Hall united craftsmen from simpler fields:
tanners, butchers, carpenters, boatmakers, watchmakers, and gravediggers, who
were, by and large, Estonians. At the end of the 17th century, the Guild was
merged with the Kanut Guild. The Olav Guild owned its own house as a gathering
place as early as the 14th century,...
Kanut Guild Hall was founded in the 13th century. Originally
a religious brotherhood, it evolved into a union of craftsmen, whose members
represented the more complex fields of handicrafts, such as goldsmiths, mitten-makers,
watchmakers, milliners, bakers, cobblers, and painters, who were mostly German.
The high point in the guild’s history was in the 16th century...
Nearly two thirds of Tallinn's Medieval Residental Houses
have been preserved, with more or less rebuilding. The best preserved examples
are the Matkamaja (Raekoja plats 18), the Tallinn City Theatre (Linnateatri)
building (Lai 23), and the buildings at Vana turg 6, Kuninga 1, Pikk 71, Lai
29, Lai 40, Vene 17 and 23, Rüütli 12, and Suur-Karja 8.
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