A sea fort built in the classicist style in 1840 as part of the defences of the Russian Empire, Patarei was subsequently used as a prison by the Estonian Republic, the Nazis and the Soviets. Peeling, dank and grim, its unrestored halls and cells are home to the unsettling exhibition 'Communism is Prison'. Adorned by explanatory panels, the courtyard walkways, solitary cells, washroom administrative rooms and execution chamber are open to explore.
Patarei
Kalamaja & Telliskivi
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.98 MILES
Dating from the 13th century, the imposing St Nicholas' Church (Niguliste kirik) was badly damaged by Soviet bombers in 1944 and a fire in the 1980s, but…
3.93 MILES
This sprawling ethnographic and architectural complex comprises 80 historic Estonian buildings, plucked from across the country and resurrected in…
2.12 MILES
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0.9 MILES
Completed in 1404, this is the only surviving Gothic town hall in northern Europe. Inside, you can visit the Trade Hall (whose visitor book drips with…
0.81 MILES
The Great Guild Hall (1410) is a wonderfully complete testament to the power of Tallinn's medieval trade guilds. Now a branch of the Estonian History…
1.87 MILES
Kadriorg Palace, a baroque beauty built by Peter the Great between 1718 and 1736, houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia devoted to Dutch, German…
0.19 MILES
When this cavernous, triple-domed building was completed in 1917, its reinforced-concrete shell-frame construction was unique in the world. Resembling a…
0.84 MILES
Once literally on the wrong side of the tracks, this set of abandoned factory buildings is now Tallinn's most alternative shopping and entertainment…
Nearby Kalamaja & Telliskivi attractions
0.19 MILES
When this cavernous, triple-domed building was completed in 1917, its reinforced-concrete shell-frame construction was unique in the world. Resembling a…
2. Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art
0.44 MILES
Despite its highfalutin name, this grungy old warehouse space is more slapped together than slick. It started as a squat collective in 2006, and…
0.44 MILES
Resembling a cross between a nuclear bunker, a WWII sea-fort and some inscrutable temple to a vanished god, the Linnahall is in fact a covered concrete…
0.56 MILES
Attached to the Great Coast Gate, this rotund 16th-century cannon tower once protected a major entrance to Old Town. It's now one half of the Estonian…
0.62 MILES
From 1549 until 1625, when its 159m steeple was struck by lightning and burnt down, this (now Baptist) church was one of the tallest buildings in the…
6. Estonian Museum of Natural History
0.64 MILES
Beginning as the collections of Estonian naturalists in the 19th century, the holdings at this natural history museum exceed 300,000 examples of the…
0.67 MILES
Running along the northwestern border of Old Town, the most photogenic stretch of Tallinn's remaining 1.9km of medieval walls connects nine towers,…
0.67 MILES
Formerly producing hushed dread in Tallinn's Soviet-era citizens, the KGB headquarters at Pagari 1 is now a historical site, and the Museum of Occupations…