Tallinn

Tallinn
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is named after taani linnus, which means Danish castle. The Castle in question was built by King Waldemar of Denmark in the 13th century. The settlement quickly developed itself into a busy port. In 1248 Tallinn became a member of the Hanseatic League, a chain of European trading cities.

At its heydays Tallinn was one of the best fortified cities in Europe, with 66 towers adorning the city wall. Only about 20 of them remain today. Nowadays some are used as restaurants and museums.

Year Decision Comments
1997 Inscribed Reasons for inscription



Visit June 2001

Although I've seen quite a lot of so-called "medieval cities" in Europe, Tallinn came as a surprise. Its whole Old City is without modern buildings or distractions. I had a great time just roaming around without a map, peeking around corners.

Highlight - though not medieval, dating from 1900 - for me was the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It's a wonderful Russian-Orthodox church that looks like a big birthdaycake. You can see a picture of it on the Estonia country page (click on: Go to Estonia).



More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery

Reviews

Christer Sundberg (Sweden):
I first visited Tallinn in 1995 and since then I’ve been here numerous times, not only for leisure but also for business, getting to know loads of nice people over there. The sheer beauty of the medieval town is really one of the major assets of Estonia and, together with its “comfortable” price level, spurred tourism from the neighbouring countries Finland and Sweden. Today, Tallinn is the financial engine of the entire country and business is booming. Skyscrapers are rocketing in the modern city centre but the medieval old town is left untouched and is today a great place for a weekend holiday with loads of nice restaurants, pubs, discos, spa’s and comfortable hotels.

Having seen Tallinn transformed over 10 years from a post-Soviet outpost (though a beautiful one) too a modern city of the European Union is also a witness of a hard-working population who is striving hard to get somewhere. This place is an absolute must and today easy accessible also through a number of low-fare airlines. Go there!
Date posted: February 2006
Susanne (Canada):
Tallinn is a truly exceptional city! I've been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to visit twice....one as part of a tour through the Baltic Republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, in 2004...and again a year later as a starting point for a circle tour through to Moscow, St.Petersburg and Helsinki. Equally charming the second time, I did notice however, that Tallinn is becoming quite popular with the tourists. Go soon before everyone else catches on! After spending a day or two enjoying the old town, venture out of the city and head for some of the smaller coastal towns, like Haapsalu,and you'll discover that Estonia has a lot more to offer. While you're there, be sure to try "Vana Tallinn", a unique Estonian liqueur that tastes great in coffee... and will probably have me going back for a third time!
Date posted: January 2006
Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
Tallinn is one of Europe´s best preserved medieval cities, and although the old town is not very big, it does make for a day or two of exploring and strolling its ancient alleys and streets. Being a former Hanseatic city, its architecture closely resembles its counterparts in northern Germany, but with a Baltic and, yes, Russian, flair. The hill with the parliament building and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is very nice, and there is a church with a huge belfry (St.Olav´s, I believe) that you can climb and that gives you a great view of Tallinn and its port (it was the world´s tallest building in the 16th century, I´ve heard). A very nice destination, but probably not enough for more than a couple of days. It should be combined with Helsinki (very easy), Riga, or maybe St.Petersburg.
Date posted: June 2005
William Barrow (Originally from the USA):
Tallinn's Old Town (note the capital letters) is a jaw dropping experience. If you leave Estonia without walking around the Old Town for at least an hour or two then you should go home with your head bowed in shame. This is World Heritage in its condensed form. The whole of Old Town can been seen in a few hours (or a few decades depending on your schedule). For a focused tour I suggest Pikk tanav (Long street), one of Tallinn's oldest boulevards. Start from the top of Pikk Jalg (Long Leg) in Toompea. Behind you should be the Estonian Parliament building (big and pink) and Nevski Cathedral (big and Russian Orthodox). Head down the Hill to Pikk Jalg Gate. This gate and the wall to your left (know as the Wall of Mistrust) kept the Nobility of the upper town safely separated from the riff-raff downtown. From this gate to the far side of Old Town is less than a kilometer and includes loads of famous buildings as well as enough cafes, restaurants, bars, souvenir shops and museums to satisfy any reasonable cruise ship passenger.

I have lived in Tallinn for ten years now, and yet, every time I visit the Old Town I find myself well amazed at its beauty, cultural significance and incredible luck in having survied as wonderfully as it has. Don't miss it!
 
Gatis (Latvia):
Estonians are our northern neighbours (very good neighbours by the way) and in a way also rivals in healthy competition of two similar countries.
Tallinn Old City is better than that of Riga in two points - 1) it is located on limestone cliff - quite impressive; 2) Estonians have been wise enough and spared the Old City from the nightmare of modern arhitecture. They have construction boom nowadays, but - outside Old City. But Riga has some strong points as well.
Do I like Old Tallinn? Yes, I like it, almost as at home.
 


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