ESTONIA : The capital TALLINN
Tallinn is the capital city and main seaport of Estonia. It is located
on Estonia's north coast to the Baltic Sea, 80 kilometres south of
Helsinki. A limestone cliff runs through the city. It is exposed, for
instance, at Toompea and Lasnamäe. However, Toompea is not a part of the
cliff, but a separate hill. The length of the coastline is 46
kilometers. It comprises 3 bigger peninsulas: Kopli peninsula,
Paljassaare peninsula and Kakumäe peninsula.
Tallinn’s old city has remained much the same, perhaps thanks to Soviet
rule. During the communist period, there was gross neglect of historic
structures and development was of the city’s landscape was kept to a
minimum. One can say the the city of Tallin has changed more in the
past five years than it did in the previous 100 years.
The city was already mentioned in 1154 by an Arabian geographer, but
under a different name, namely “Koyvan”. In 1219, after the conquest by
the Danish, the city was renamed Tallin. Shortly afterwards the town
wall and the fortified towers were constructed. By the end of the 13th
century,
Tallinn had become one of the most important towns in the Baltic area.
The city then joined the Hanseatic League
in 1285. Passing to the Teutonic Order, the Livonian Order and to
Sweden,
Estonia was finally annexed by the Russian Empire in 1710, during the
great Northern War.
Tallinn
has not lost its old town charm : long city walls, cobblestone streets,
churches with beautiful steeples, merchant houses and towers still
dominate the city today. There are 10 theatres, 30 museums and 17
churches. Most tourists stay in this part. The typical building and
construction material is limestone. It has been used since the 13th
century in most public buildings. The overall architectural style looks
very Hanseatic, which can of course be explained by the fact that the
city once belonged to the Hanseatic League.
In Rocca al mare, there is an open air museum with the palace and
park of Kadriorg from the time of Peter the Great of Russia.
