Tallinn, Estonia

The wind whips through my hair as we walk along the pier to our first glimpses of Estonia.  There’s not much by way of sign posts to the Old Town but I know Tallinn is going to be special.  Luckily it’s only a short walk and we follow our noses to enter into under the stone city gate.

Tallinn is a UNESCO listed medieval town with almost completely intact city walls.  Within these is Tallinn’s vana-linn, (old town) which is a picture perfect escape from the modern everyday into the narrow cobbled streets of the 15th Century (except for the tourists, souvenir shops and restaurants and certain other modern day comforts!).

This Hanseatic town was part of the Hanseatic League from approximately the 13th to the 17th Centuries.  The League being a collection of merchant guilds and market towns in Northwestern and Central Europe, operated for commercial and defensive purposes.

We start at the lower end of town at Fat Margaret’s Tower (which also houses the Estonian Maritime Museum).  From here we cross under the stone gates of the city.  They are flanked by red roofed towers and decorated with stone carved family crests.  I pause to contemplate their age and significance.  This particular gate, the Great Coastal Gate, was the main seaward gate and barbican between the port and the town’s market square as far back as 1359.  Between 1518 and 1529 with fear of Danish invasion, construction was undertaken and an artillery tower (with a diameter of 25m and a wall thickness of a whopping 5m (approx)) was built to further fortify the town.  After the Great Northern War (1700-1712) the artillery tower was used alternately as a warehouse, barracks and prison.  We observe the gate from the outside but give the military museum a miss for now.

Turning from Pikk where the gate is situated, we turn into the town and away from the gate, following the city wall a little way and then turn onto Lai for a short time until we come to Oleviste Kogudus (St. Olav’s Church).

St Olav’s Church dates from the 12th Century and the light, whitewashed interiors helps to highlight the woodwork of the high Gothic vaulted ceilings.  There is a tower that can be climbed but there is already a long line and I am keen to get to Toompea Hill before the rest of the crowds really set in for the day.  We continue up Lai and turn left an Nunne for a little until crossing under Pika jala väravatorn (the Long Leg Gate Tower).  The road itself, known as Pikk Jalg (the long leg) was built to connect Toompea Hill to the low town and harbor for riders and horse drawn carts.  The steeper, stepped, Lühikese jala värav  (short leg gate) was purely for pedestrian traffic.

A licence was originally issued in 1380 by the town’s feudal lord (Wilhelm von Friemarsheim) to erect a stone tower, rather than the wooden gate that existed.  The tower and gateway which consisted of a portcullis which could be closed to protect the town, with openings to attack enemies.  Later, when the tower was no longer used for defensive purposes it had various other uses including that of accommodation for soldiers.  Later still it housed artists and students.

The Short Leg Gate is a steeply ascending set of stairs intended as a short cut between the lower town and Toompea Hill.  The stone gate tower, along with that of the Long Leg, was built around 1455.  Fortifications built agains the Toompea area (upper town) meant that the lower town could be successfully defended, even after Toompea had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

We’ve now reached Toompea proper and can see the domed top of the pink and white Aleksander Nevski Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox cathedral built in the last decade of the 19th Century whilst part of the Russian Empire.  Inside it is large and fairly typical of the style and time with a beautifully decorated iconostasis.

Back out into the bright sunshine we pass Tall Hermann’s Tower and Toompea Castle which today houses the Parliament of Estonia.  It doesn’t appear that we can visit so we continue on to another church nearby, the Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, known as the Dome Church.  The area is starting to get busy and a couple of tours appear to have arrived so I (somewhat reluctantly) give this one a miss, pressing on until the sweeping view from a scenic lookout is upon us.

From here at the top of Toompea Hill, the red roofed city huddles below us.  We can’t see all of it from here but the section of the wall with its towers that sit like jewels set onto a necklace, albeit a slightly broken one, prettily accent the curve of the ramparts that protect the rest of the town.

After a suitable pause to appreciate the breathtaking view, made even more so by the bright blue sky and sun shining on the red topped towers, despite the wind that blows.

We double back before we get swept away by the wind (as opposed to the views) with a pause in the Bishop’s Garden for a little rest stop and views over the park below.  St Mary’s is still too busy so we give the Dome Church a miss and round Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral again on the way to Kiek in de Kök a restored 15th Century canon tower.  Now a fortifications museum consisting of a fascinating four towers and the wall walk ramparts that join them.

We enter via Neitsitorn (the Maiden’s Tower) which was erected in 1370.  This square defense tower now houses the museum cafe and has great city views but beware of ghosts!  The largest tower is Kiek in de Kök, built in 1483.  This  is the largest medieval artillery tower in the Baltic states with false ceilings and secret tunnels making it so much larger than it first appears.  The many false ceilings make it seem like you’re at the top until another secret passageway is climbed and you find yourself on another level altogether.

The stable tower (1380) houses a watchtower and dungeon and finally connects to the Gate Tower of the Short Leg (1454) which is the historical connection between Toompea and the lower town.

The Danish King’s Garden connects them all at ground level and is the city’s courtyard where cannons and church bells were cast while bastion passages (1710) connect them all with outer passages along the walls as well as secret inner passages.

Inside there are various displays from historic battles and the establishment of the medieval town and its defenses right through to the cafe culture of Tallinn in the early 20th Century and it’s excellent confectionery industry.

We can’t resist an afternoon coffee, paused at the cafe on the ramparts overlooking the town.  After our refreshments and another pause to contemplate the black monks of the Danish King’s garden, we take the path down past the Short Leg Gate towards the town hall square.

The square is absolutely buzzing.  There are people everywhere – sitting outside enjoying lunch with beer, taking coffee and cake and many, many more making photos.  I love the European expressions (interpretations) that one ‘makes’ a photo (rather than takes) and ‘takes’ a coffee (rather than has).

We make our own photos in the square and then split up.  Jason is keen to pause to take in the atmosphere and a beer and mum and I are keen to explore the walls and towers a little more and there is a monastery that I would like to find.

More time is spent exploring the pretty cobbled streets and surprising nooks whilst I am ultimately on a mission to find the Dominican monastery of St. Catherine’s.  We check out the St Catherine’s passage whilst on the hunt, with tombstones hung on walls and the charm of the surrounding cafes, shops, arts and crafts.

Failing to find the monastery we stumble across the entrance to the  Hellemann Tower and town wall walkway.  No wanting to regret the opportunity of another great find, we pay our few Euros and climb to the top to take in more wooden walkways and views of roof times and alleyways.

After our descent I want one more chance to find the monastery and finally, after another series of false turns, we stumble upon the entrance.  ‘Aite’, the friendly ticket seller writes it down for us and I finally learn how to say ‘thank you’ in Estonian.  If I don’t see it written down, I’ll never remember.

This monastery of the Dominican order was founded on the site in 1246 with a view of spreading Christianity and consolidating the power of the Catholic Church.  Like all good monasteries, the buildings inter connect with ambulations to form an open quadrangle.  The design here is somewhat differentiated by the church forming one side of the inevitable quadrangle and the cloisters are enclosed, rather than the usual open design with covered porticoes (see Santa Chiara).

After the Reformation, the monastery closed (circa 1525) and was later used as a school, a hospital, an arsenal and was owned privately for a number of years.  Today the church is operational and the monastery is open as a living museum with excavated archaeological finds within the courtyard.

It’s only a small area but we spend some time reading about the history and enjoying the peacefulness of the hushed courtyard space with grass growing and wild summer flowers in bloom.

There are several other historic buildings dotted around the town.  As well as several well preserved arms of the city walls and towers to explore there are dwellings (from 1346; Lai 23 (1551); and Toom-Kooli I (1776)), Stenbock House, a medieval merchant’s house (Vene 12), a terrace building (at Olevinnagi 11, 1825) and the house of architect Rudolf von Bernhard (Pikk 62).

Snaking our way back through the narrow cobbled streets and passing under the gate to the port, the wind gusts as we make our way towards the dark Baltic Sea.  I glance back and can still see the red topped towers through my wind whipped hair and know that Tallinn would make a wonderful, romantic weekend escape.  As so many of these small old towns, there is more here than meets the eye.

Would I Return?

Yes.  Tallinn is an enchanting town to explore.  Much less affected by WWII than many other places along the Baltic Sea, it retains its medieval charm whilst being well versed in welcoming tourists to its shores.  Thankfully, this does nothing to alter the utter charm of Tallinn.