Tallinn, Estonia - World Heritage Site
Created | Updated Nov 15, 2004
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia. Population of the town is about 400,000, all those people live on 158km² area. Closest bigger centres to tallinn are Helsinki (82km), Riga (280km), St.Petersburg (315km),
Stockholm (380km).
History I – Denmark, Germany
It’s quite impossible to determine the beginning of Tallinn history as there are no written records on the early settlements. The first reliable records about Tallinn date back to the Chronicle of Latvian Henrik. The Chronicle describes the Danish fleet led by King Valdemar II which landed near Lindanise Castle in June 1219. It was the year when the legend says that in one battle luck turned its face to the Danes after a red flag with a white cross fell from the sky—the Dannebrog, the state flag of Denmark today.
Tallinn is named after ‘taani linnus’, which means Danish castle. The Castle in question was built by King Valdemar. The settlement quickly developed itself into a busy port.
From 1227 to 1238 Tallinn and Northern Estonia were governed by the Order of the Brotherhood of the Swords who had temporarily gained power from the Danes. Around 1230 German merchants invited by the Brotherhood of the Swords arrived in Tallinn from Gotland. This group is considered an important addition to residents of the city. Tallinn together with the Northern part of Estonia was returned to the Danish crown by the Stensby Treaty. Ten years later, on 15 May, 1248, King of Denmark Erik IV gave Tallinn the Lübeck Rights that bound Tallinn to common legal space with medieval German merchant towns. In 1248 Tallinn became a member of the Hanseatic League, a chain of European trading cities. Those days Tallinn was one of the best fortified cities in Europe, with 66 towers adorning the city wall. Only about 20 of them remain today.
Tallinn land master changed in the middle of the 14th century. Forced by difficulties in internal policy and lack of money, the King of Denmark decided to sell his Northern Estonian lands together with Tallinn to the German Order.
Merchants and representatives of the most profitable crafts were mostly Germans, generally from Westfahl and Rheinland, and at least half of the townsfolk were Estonian, who are sometimes mentioned as town residents in the 14-15th century. In the end of the middle ages town residency was restricted for Estonians, mainly because of the high resident fee.
Architecture
The town wall circle in its later form was established in the 14th century and the major boom of town construction (that gave the main buildings their medieval exteriors that are partly preserved even today) spread in Tallinn only in the 15th century. The new Town Hall was completed in 1404, the Great Guild building in 1410 and the Olavi Guild building in 1422. The Great Fire burst out in the lower town in 1433, and this meant a new wave of construction. The establishment of hill fortifications in front of the town wall was begun in the 16th century.
All the most significant places of worship were built in the 13th century: Niguliste Church was established in 1230, Oleviste Church is mentioned for the first time in 1267, the Dominicans moved to the lower town from Toompea in the end of 1240s and started to build St.Catherine's Convent. The Cistercian Mihkli Nunnery was established in the middle of the century. The Bishop of Tallinn, residing at Toompea, governed the whole Northern Estonia; clerically he was under the reign of Lund Head Bishop.
Outside the Old Town some significant places have to be mentioned, too. The Leprosorium or Jaani Hospital, close to the town centre, is first mentioned in 1237. In the beginning of the 15th century St. Brigit's Nunnery was established East of the town (Pirita Nunnery); today its ruins are known as a magnificent example of Tallinn medieval architecture.
History II – Russia, Sweden, Poland, Denmark
Russia, Sweden, Poland and Denmark battled for superiority in the Northern part of the Baltic Sea in the Livonian War of 1558-1583. Estonia was one of the main battle grounds. Fearing the Russian troops Tallinn town and Harju-Viru knightage1 surrendered to the Swedish Crown in 1561; this subordinance lasted for the following century and a half. Russian troops tried to siege Tallinn twice— 1570-1571 and 1577—but were forced to retreat without conquering the town.
It was during the Swedish era that Tallinn became the centre of a new administrative unit—the Estonian government. The crown validated the historic privileges of Tallinn, which continued to use the Lübeck Rights. Compared to the middle ages the importance of Tallinn was decreasing. The general decline of Hansa trade decreased the wealth and independence of the town, the centralized power in Sweden tried to curtail the independence of the Town Council.
The part of the town surrounded by the Town Wall was not significantly damaged in the war, it was mostly the outskirts that were destroyed, and even that under the orders of the Town Council to defend the town.
The big plague epidemic ravaged the town in 1602-1603, the Great Fire of 1684 destroyed most of the buildings at Toompea. Only Dome Church and a small stone house nearby were more or less unharmed.
The Northern War devastated the Baltic Sea area from 1700 to 1721. The main adversaries were Sweden and Russia who battled for superiority in the territory. In 1710 Tallinn capitulated without fight to the Russian troops.
Since then the Old Town hasn’t changed much. Of course Russians, Estonians, wars and such have left their trails, nowadays the most (or worst) is done by market economy.
The UNESCO Committee decided to add the Old Town of Tallinn to the World Heritage List considering that Tallinn is an outstanding and exceptionally complete and well preserved example of a medieval northern European trading city that retains the salient features of this unique form of economic and social community to a remarkable degree. The historic centre (Old Town) of Tallinn was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1997.
Tallinn Today
Old Town is the face that Tallinn turns to the tourists. It’s a place for spending time, eating, drinking, shopping and first of all sightseeing. As Estonia is not the best situated place on Earth weather-wise, most of the events take place in summer. The best months to enjoy Tallinn are June, July and August. Then some time Old Town Days take place. They recall the medieval past and allow one and all to revel in and enjoy the colourful history that has shaped Tallinn.
In the middle of the summer for four days, the Town Hall Square is turned into a Medieval Market. Within the old walls of the Old Town, the skills and traditions of ancient masters are brought to life, and noble citizens, buffoons and musicians wander the streets.
Old Town is rich in concert venues. The Medieval Town Hall, the House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads, the acoustically superb St. Nicholas’s Museum-Concert Hall, the Gate Tower, the Dominican Monastery, and the Kanuti Guild Hall are only a few examples.
Some Useful Links
Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
How to travel to Tallinn
You can come to Tallinn by aeroplane, then we'll meet you at Tallinn Airport.
Also you can use a boat and land in the Port of Tallinn.
Another possible way could be travelling by bus of Eurolines or by train from Russia (sorry, no English translation there).
And you can travel by car, by bicycle and hitchhiking, of course.
