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Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia, an ancient city with a very storied past of takeovers from various countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Czarist Russia. Today, Tallinn has kept much of this history intact to a surprising extent, and UNESCO has bestowed Tallinn with a position on the World Heritage List. Everywhere you look, there’s bound to be some history, be it from a old town, a verdant park, or the coast. Tallinn is a progressive city in terms of the services it provides. An active nightlife, festivals, and premier concerts attest to the culture in the city.
A minute of History:
The first mention of a settlement on the site of Tallinn dates from 1154. In 1219 Waldemar II of Denmark established a fortress on the site. The town joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 and soon attained considerable commercial importance. In 1346 Tallinn was sold by Denmark to the Teutonic Knights. It was acquired by Sweden in 1561 and was annexed by Russia in 1710. The city then became a naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet. Tallinn was the capital of independent Estonia from 1919 to 1940, when the republic was annexed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The city was occupied by German forces in 1941. Retaken by the USSR in 1944, the city then served as the capital of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) until 1991, when Estonia again became an independent republic.
General Information:
The city consists of three sections: an upper town on a steep hill topped by a citadel (13th-14th century), a lower walled town built during medieval times (14th-16th century), and a new district. Tallinn is the home of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and a polytechnic college and has several theaters, a symphony orchestra, and an opera company.
Attractions:
Rocca al mare Tivoli, Estonia's largest amusement park provides plenty of family fun with 18 different rides and more than 100 video and carnival games. Different shows are scheduled daily with performances in the main tent. The park is located on the sandstone banks of the southwestern coast of Tallinn's Kopli Bay, near the zoo.
Places to visit:
The winding, cobbled streets of Tallinn's historic centre are the focus for most visitors to the city and the hub of the major tourist attractions, which can all be enjoyed on a walking tour. The walled old town is divided into two parts: Toompea Hill was the residential area of the aristocracy and gentry in days of yore, while the Lower Town operated independently. The Old Town, much of it dating from the 11th century, is extremely well preserved and complete, its powerful defensive stone buildings having ensured that it was not destroyed despite frequent invasions over the centuries. Visitors revel in Town Hall Square, ringed by the beautiful Town Hall and its adjacent pharmacy, which is still operating on the site it has occupied since 1422. The Old Town is also full of churches, like St Olav's, which was the tallest church in Medieval Europe, dating from the early 13th century. The old town walls and its many fortresses made up one of the strongest defence systems in northern Europe by the 16th century. The dominating landmark on Toompea is the magnificent Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
Museums:
Estonian Open Air Museum :
On a picturesque expanse of forest parkland on Kopli Bay is preserved a collection of historic Estonian buildings, transplanted from around the country to represent rural life through the centuries. Exhibits consist of various farm buildings, windmills, watermills and other country clutter offering pleasant and informative escape from the hubbub of the nearby city.
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