Tallinn: Old Town in Depth - Part 25

Kadriorg Park

This vast park surrounding Kadriorg Palace is without a doubt the best place in town for relaxed strolling, pigeon feeding and life pondering.

It was set up in 1718 as part of the palace estate but has always been open to the public.

In spring and summer visitors can see beautiful, manicured gardens and flowerbeds here, but most of the park has retained the look of the natural landscape, with meadows and forest groves.

A good spot for starting a Kadriorg tour is the rectangular Swan Pond on Weizenbergi Street, with its fountain, gazebo and birds. An uphill stroll from here leads past flower beds to another fountain area, closer to the Kumu art museum.

Nearby the Swan Pond are several of the palace' s auxiliary buildings, some of which house cafés and museums. Opposite the palace gates is a small guardhouse, a kitchen building and an ice cellar. The kitchen building is home to the Mikkli Museum, which displays an impressive collection of imported art.

In 2011, Kadriorg Park received an addition in form of the Japanese garden designed by Japan' s renowned landscape designer Masao Sone. The natural landscape of the northeast corner of the park, with its tall trees and heavy rocks, is well suited for it. The plants were chosen specifically to suit Estonia' s colder climate. In spring, cherry trees and rhododendrons blossom; in summer, the garden is filled with irises; while autumn, with its seasonal change, brings reds, oranges, yellows and browns. It is the largest public, rhododendron garden in the region.

Rocks play an important part in the garden. Mr. Sone fell in love with the Tallinn' s cobblestone Old Town and this influence is clearly visible.

Russalka

This striking monument on Kadriorg’s shore is a memorial to those lost when armoured ship Russalka sank in 1893. A storm hit the ship as it was headed from Tallinn to Helsinki, taking the lives of all 177 crewmen. The Russalka sculpture by A. Adamson was completed in 1902 and is considered one of the classics of Estonian art.

Tallinn Song Festival Grounds

It was here in 1988 that Estonia' s massive, musical demonstration against Soviet rule set the nation on its road towards independence. The grounds feature an outdoor concert arena, built in 1959, a number of indoor halls, and host a multitude of large concerts and festivals through the year. Most famously the site is home to the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration, an event that takes place every five years, drawing together up to 34, 000 performers and 200, 000 spectators.

Next to the concert arena is the 42-metre Song Grounds Light Tower. Every Song Celebration starts with the traditional lighting of the flame atop the tower. Its staircase displays a photo exhibition on the history of the song festivals, and from its observation platform at the top, with the help of newly-installed binoculars, you' ll get great views of the Old Town and ships out a sea.

On top of the natural limestone slope sits a bronze monument to Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and ' father of song'. His creations are regarded as part of the Estonian identity and can be heard on nearby standing ' singing bench'.

The Song Festival Grounds is also home to a concrete building called the Cromatico, which is a visual representation of the chromatic scale, i. e. all the white and black notes on a piano. This takes you on a journey through the 12 halftones of the octave, allowing you to touch the art and experience how space relates to musical frequencies.

Continued in Part 26