Sights in Tallinn
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Toomkirik
Estonia's oldest church, Dome Church (Toomkirik) was founded in the early 13th century by the earliest Danish conquerors of the region. It stands on Toompea hill which, with its fine views over the town and harbour, became the birthplace of Tallinn when the German Knights of the Sword built a fortress here around 1230.
Incidentally, the hill is also sacred to native Estonians, who consider it the legendary burial mound of Kalev, the heroic first leader of the Estonians. Although the site of the church was first consecrated in 1240, the edifice of this magnificent Lutheran cathedral church dates from the 15th and 17th centuries, with the tower added in 1779.
Among other th…
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Oleviste Church
Near the end of Pikk tänav stands a chief Tallinn landmark, the Oleviste Church . This is a great place to start any Tallinn expedition as there's a superb observation deck, halfway up its 124m structure offering the city's best views of the Old Town (it's a long and narrow climb up, though).
The Church is dedicated to the 11th century King Olav II of Norway but linked in local lore with another Olav (Olaf), the church's architect who fell to his death from its tower. First built in the early 13th century, it was once the world's tallest building (it used to be 159m high).
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Kiek-in-de-Kök
One of Tallinn's most formidable cannon towers is the tall, stout Kiek-in-de-Kök. Its name is Low German for 'Peep into the Kitchen'; from the upper floors lonely soldiers could peer into the houses of the Lower Town.
Built in about 1475, Kiek-in-de-Kök was badly damaged during the Livonian war, but it never collapsed (nine of Ivan the Terrible's cannon balls remain imbedded in the walls). Today it houses a museum tracing the birth and development of Tallinn with several floors of maps, weapons and models of the old city.
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Raekoja plats
Raekoja plats , the Town Hall Square, has been the centre of Tallinn life since markets began here probably in the 11th century. It's dominated by the only surviving Gothic town hall in northern Europe, and faced by pretty, pastel buildings from the 15th to the 17th centuries. Usually lasting four days, the Old Town Days festival in early June sees Raekoja plats come alive with market stalls, concerts, dancing and medieval-themed merry-making.
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Dominican Monastery
From Vene tänav, an arched doorway leads into a cosy courtyard and the world of the Dominican Monastery , founded in 1246 as a base for Scandinavian monks. Today the monastery complex houses Estonia's largest collection of very impressive stone carvings, which leave an impression on visitors eager to catch a glimpse of Medieval-looking life; there are often concerts and mysterious activities taking place there.
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Architecture & Arts Centre of Estonia
East of the Old Town, lies this beautifully restored limestone warehouse that once served as the city's saltcellar. Today, the Rotterman Salt Storage as it is known, houses in its massive space the Estonian Museum of Architecture, with its permanent architecture exhibitions.
More interesting for sure is the incredible array of temporary exhibitions - often the city's best - held here throughout the year.
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Town Hall
Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) is dominated by the only surviving Gothic town hall in northern Europe (constructed in the early 14th century, reconstruction 1402-04). Old Thomas, Tallinn's symbol and guardsman, has been keeping watch from his perch on the weathervane atop Town Hall since 1530. You can also climb the building's tower (11:00-18:00 Jun-Sep; adult/student around KR25/EEK15).
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Toompea Castle
Toompea Castle is Estonia's traditional seat of power. The parliament (riigikogu) meets in the pink, baroque-style building out front, an 18th-century addition. The state flag flies from the Pikk Herman bastion. A path leads down from Lossi plats through an opening in the wall to the Danish King's Courtyard where, in summer, artists set up their easels.
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Niguliste Church
The majestic Niguliste Church , a minute's walk south of Raekoja plats(Town Hall Square), is now used to stage concerts and serves as a museum of religious art. At the foot of the slope below the Niguliste Church is the carefully exposed wreckage of the buildings that stood here before the Soviet bombing of Tallinn on the night of 9 March 1944.
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Pikk tänav
Pikk tänav , running north from Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) to the Great Coast Gate and the Paks Margareeta (Fat Margaret Bastion) - the medieval exit to Tallinn port - is lined with many 15th-century houses of medieval merchants and gentry. Also here are the buildings of several old Tallinn guilds and some museums.
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Peter the Great Home Museum
In Kadriorg Park, behind the Kadriorg Palace is the cottage Peter the Great occupied on visits to Tallinn while the palace was being built. Today it houses the Peter the Great Home Museum where you may examine his clothes and the boots he made. There's also a small collection of 18th-century furnishings.
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Pühavaimu Kirik
An arch beside the Raeapteek on Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) leads into narrow Saia käik (White Bread Passage), at the far end of which is the lovely, 14th-century Gothic Pühavaimu Kirik , with carvings from 1684 and a tower bell cast in 1433. There are free concerts here at 18:00 Monday.
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KUMU
Close to the Kadriorg Palace is the new KUMU , the country's largest museum by far. A spectacular, massive structure of limestone and green glass, it contains a large amount of Estonian art as well as constantly changing contemporary exhibits.
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Raeapteek
The Raeapteek , or Town Council Pharmacy, on the north side of Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square), is another ancient Tallinn institution; there's been a pharmacy or apothecary's shop here since at least 1422.
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Linnamuuseum
A medieval merchant's home at Vene tänav 17, on the corner of Pühavaimu tänav, houses Tallinn's most interesting museum - the Linnamuuseum , which traces Tallinn's development through to 1940.
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Foreign Art Museum
The Foreign Art Museum , housed in the magnificent Kadriorg Palace, makes for a dreamy hour or so - the 17th- and 18th-century foreign art is mainly unabashedly romantic, and the palace unabashedly splendid.
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Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
The still-active 19th-century Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral dominates Lossi plats at the top of Pikk jalg, sited strategically across from Toompea Castle, Estonia's traditional seat of power.
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Museum of Occupation and Fight for Freedom
The Museum of Occupation and Fight for Freedom , just down the hill from Toompea, is a new and worthwhile exhibit on Estonia's history of occupation, focusing on the most recent Soviet one.
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Kadriorg Palace
The Kadriorg Palace, built in 1718-36, and its surrounding park, were designed for Peter the Great for his wife Catherine I. It's home to the Foreign Art Museum.
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Former KGB Headquarters
Near the Oleviste Church on Pikk tänav is the former KGB headquarters ; the basement windows were sealed to conceal the sounds of cruel interrogations.
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