Tallinn: Old Town in Depth - Part 17

Town Hall (Raekoda) and Tower

This museum facing Town Hall Square is open to the general public only in the summer. It has exhibits on the town’s administration and history, along with an interesting bit on the story of limestone. The tower, the place to see all of Tallinn, rewards those who climb its 155 steps with a wonderful city view.

Cost and Hours: Museum €5, entrance through cellar, July-Aug Mon-Sat 10:00-16:00, closed Sun and Sept-June. There is an audio guide which is €4. 75. The tower is €3 and open May to mid-Sept daily 11:00-18:00, closed rest of year.

Tallinn City Museum (Tallinna Linnamuuseum)

This small museum which is in a 14th-century townhouse features Tallinn history from 1200 to the 1950s. It displays everyday items through history. There are basic English explanations, but the museum is really a loose collection of artefacts that offers a few close peeks at local lifestyles.

Cost and Hours: €3. 20, March-Oct on Wed to Mon 10:30-18:00, Nov-Feb Wed-Mon 10:00-17:30, closed Tue year-round, last entry 30 minutes before closing. Located at Vene 17, at the corner of Pühavaimu.

Visiting the Museum: You’ll begin on the ground floor, at a model of circa-1825 Tallinn—looking much like it does today. Then you’ll head up through three more floors, exploring exhibits on the port, with model ships, guilds with tools and products, advertising in the 1920s and 30s, showing the rise of modern local industries in pre-Soviet times, Tallinn’s Estonian identity with recreated rooms from the early 20th century, and the Soviet period which displays propaganda, including children’s art that celebrated the regime.

Freedom Square (Vabaduse Väljak)

Once a USSR era parking lot at the southern tip of the Old Town, this fine public zone was recently revamped: The cars were moved underground, and now a gleaming new plaza invites locals but very few tourists to linger. The recommended Wabadus café, with tables out on the square, is a popular hangout. The space, designed to host special events, feels a bit stark and at odds with the cobbles just a few steps away. But it’s an easy opportunity to glimpse a contrast to the tourists’ Tallinn.

The towering cross monument facing the square honours the Estonian War of Independence. Shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution set a new course for Russia, the Estonians took advantage of the post-WWI reshuffling of Europe to rise up and create, for the first time ever, an independent Estonian state. The “cross of liberty” on top of the pillar represents a military decoration from that war and every war since. The hill behind the cross has more monuments, and fragments of past fortifications.

Across the busy street from the square, red-brick building houses the office of Tallinn’s mayor. Edgar Savisaar, a former prime minister, has been mayor of this city twice, Criticized by some for his authoritarian approach and his friendship with Russia, Savisaar is adored by others for his aggressive legislation. In 2013, he made all public transit completely free to anyone living within the city limits. A move designed to cut commuting costs and to lure suburbanites to move into the town centre. Younger locals grumble about what they jokingly term “Homo soveticus”, a different species of Estonian who was raised in Soviet times and is accustomed to a system where everything is free. To this day, governmental giveaways are the easiest way to boost approval ratings.

Continued in part 18.