Tallinn: An overview - Part 1

Tallinn has been a well-kept secret of the Baltic for many years. This has now changed because of the advent of the many cruise lines that are now using Tallinn as a stop off point for their Baltic cruises.

Tallinn is a city that is rich in history, it' s easy to reach and has an almost fairytale like charm.

In the last few years, the Estonian capital has become renowned for its fascinating old town which is one of the most intact mediaeval town centres in the whole of Europe. Many of Europe’s mediaeval towns have been rebuilt to the point that it is almost impossible to tell the original from the renovated. Tallinn, on the other hand, is almost a hundred percent original with many parts of the town dating back over 800 years.

The cobblestone alleyways, slender steeples and barrel-shaped bastions of the Old Town have made this a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, almost any part of the Old Town could have jumped straight out of the pages of a medieval illustrated manuscript. Despite this Tallinn is no historical theme park, but is both the commercial and political heart of a rapidly changing country. Also, one that boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union.

Tallinn is a great detour for those who want to add some extra colour to their Scandinavian travels. Among Nordic medieval cities, there are none that are as well preserved as Tallinn. Its mostly intact city wall includes 26 watchtowers, each topped by a pointy red roof. Baroque and choral music can often be heard from its old Lutheran churches. It is probably safe to say that Tallinn has more restaurants, cafés, and sights per Sq Km then most places in Europe. Tallinn’s Nordic Lutheran culture and language tends to connect it with Scandinavia. However, 200 years of Czarist rule followed by another 45 years as part of the Soviet Union have altered the country to add a noticeable Russian sense. Superimposed on all of that, however, is the enthusiasm of a young and free nation that is only 25 years old.

As a member of the Hanseatic League, the city of Tallinn was a medieval stronghold of the Baltic trading world. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Tallinn industrialized and expanded beyond its walls. Architects encircled the Old Town, putting up broad streets of public buildings, low Scandinavian-style apartment buildings, and single-family wooden houses. Estonia’s brief period of independence ended in World War II, and after 1945, Soviet planners ringed the city with stands of now-crumbling concrete high-rises where many of Tallinn’s Russian immigrants settled. The city still struggles to more effectively incorporate its large Russian minority.

Continued in part 2