Tallinn, Estonia Photo Gallery

My first sight of Estonia from the ship. One cannot help but be awed by the sight of this old city, with church steeples towering overhead. The most prominent is St Olaf's whose tower has been struck by lightning 10 times. It is 406 ft tall.

Statue of Anton Malatinský who was a Slovak futbol (soccer) player and coach. He was a technically adept playmaking midfielder and, as a coach, he was regarded as a good strategist. Soccer was pretty big everywhere we went around the world.

This is an unique bench!

The cute road we walked on going to the bakery.

The rolls at PullaBakery look so delicious. Brian found this spot through Google which was rated very high. It was being run by only 1 woman from what we could see and was very busy.

Coffee, hot chocolate and yummy cinnamon rolls!

Raekoja plats (English: Town Hall Square) has been a marketplace and the center of this old Hanseatic town since the Middle Ages.

Another view of Town Hall Square. The tradition of celebrating Christmas festivities here dates back to 1441 when the Brotherhood of the Blackheads are thought to have erected the world's very first Christmas tree. (The 1st decorated tree was in Riga.)

Tallinn Town Hall-The construction of the town hall took place in several different stages, which is why the layout of the building finally got a curved shape, tapering by half a meter, resembling a trapezoid.

Another angle of Town Hall-The oldest surviving town hall in Northern Europe. In 2022, Town Hall celebrated the 700th anniversary of its first mention in 1322.

The Town Hall-In 1627, the blacksmith Daniel Pöppel made two gargoyles in the form of dragon heads.

A weather vane, the figure of an old warrior called Old Thomas was put on top of the spire of Tallinn Town Hall in 1530. He used to give candy to all the children and when he died the children kept asking, "Where is Old Thomas?" They now say he's up above watching how they behave and will leave candy under their pillow.

The Raeapteek is the oldest pharmacy in Europe that has continuously been in business in the same building since 1422.

Some of the old bottles and chemicals.

Plague mask in the medieval age with a bird-like beak to hold dried flowers, herbs, spices. camphor or a vinegar sponge to counter the "evil"smells of the plague.

The beautiful old pharmacy cases in the museum and current pharmacy.

Entrance to Meistrite Hoovi Keraamikakoda (Master's Courtyard).

Master's Courtyard, to keep the historic tradition of craftmenship alive. We visited several different shops here to look at their products.

Such a unique door to go into this glass studio. We loved so much here, but thought they would be hard to get home in the luggage, so bought a piece of metal work in a different shop.

Mayer's Staircase was built in 1864-65 at the initiative and with the funds of Carl August Mayer, a grand merchant and mayor, to help access the park on Harju Hill.

Monument to the War of Independence, which was fought 1918-1920.

St. Mary’s Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, or the Dome Church, is the oldest church in mainland Estonia.

Kiek in de Kök is an artillery tower built in 1475. It gained the name Kiek in de Kök from the ability of tower occupants to see into kitchens of nearby houses. The tower is 125ft high and has walls 13ft thick. Cannon balls dating back to 1577 are still embedded in its outer walls.

Originally built as a defensive wall in the 14th century, Neitsitorn (Maiden's Tower) has been rebuilt many times over the centuries. The tower has amazing views of the Danish King's Garden and the lower town.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral-This richly decorated Orthodox church was completed in 1900 when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire. The church dates back to the Russification policy in the 19th century and was erected directly opposite Toompea Castle to demonstrate Russian supremacy.

A full view of the cathedral-It is richly decorated and has eleven bells cast in Saint Petersburg, the largest of which weighs about 16 tons, more than the other ten combined.

Faceless monk statue in the Danish King's Garden.

Danish King's Garden-The park is the place where the flag of Denmark, according to tradition, is said to have been born. the Danish reign lasted in Tallinn and northern Estonia for over a hundred years, mainly during the 13th century.

A cute passageway we saw as we explored this city.

An interesting shop sign.

St. Nicholas Church is a medieval church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron of the fishermen and sailors. Originally built in the 13th century, it was partially destroyed in the Soviet bombing of Tallinn in World War II. At present it houses the Niguliste Museum.

A mummy of Duke Charles Eugène de Croÿ, the commander of the Russian army, taken prisoner was held here. Charles died in 1702 and was left unburied, as nobody was willing to pay for the funeral. The air conditions in the chapel protected the corpse from decaying and it became an attraction, remaining on display until 1897, when finally buried.

Jaan Koort's beautiful sculpture "Metskits" in the green area of Nunne Street is reminiscent of the Reval (Deer Fall) legend, which gave Tallinn its first name.

We took a tour by a local who had a couple in our group act out the story of the Reval Legend.

Interesting architecture.

Tallinn has managed to wholly preserve its structure of medieval and Hanseatic origin. Old Town represents an exceptionally intact 13th century city plan. Since 1997, the area has been registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Kaupo, our guide dressed in medieval clothing, was such a great storyteller! He brought the history of Estonia alive for us.

The Reichmann House is a house in the Old Town at 23/25 Pikk Street .The three-story Art Nouveau building was built between 1908 and 1909.

The horse and carriage takes you back in time just how this old town felt.

Tallinn City Theatre is a repertory theatre located in the medieval old town of Tallinn, Estonia.

Lai 17, the street where the merchants lived. They showed their wealth in several ways, one of which was having many windows, some which are fake.

Embassy of Sweden, in one of the old merchant houses.

Embassy of Lithuania

House of the Blackheads is one of the oldest and most renowned building complexes in Tallinn’s Old Town.

A symbol of Saint Maurice, the patron saint of the Brotherhood, sculpted in stone above the door of the House of the Blackheads.

The painted door of the House of the Blackheads dates from the 1640s.

Another original detail on the House of the Blackheads.

The Great Guild Hall is one of the most distinguished public buildings of medieval Tallinn. The Gothic-style building, completed in 1410, was built on what was then the main street. This is also a history museum.

On the outside wall of Church of the Holy Spirit facing Pikk Street is the oldest clock in Tallinn, decorated with paintings by a famous Tallinn master, Christian Ackerman.

The nyckelharpa, meaning "keyed fiddle" or "key harp", is a bowed chordophone from Sweden, similar in appearance to a fiddle or violin but larger, which employs key-actuated tangents along the neck to change the pitch during play, much like a hurdy-gurdy.

There were protest signs here against Russia.

The diapers were to protest the killing of babies.

More protest signs. I may or may not agree with these signs, but I did find it interesting what people think in other countries.

Brian and I with our excellent tour guide, Kaupo.

Great Coastal Gate (The most important gate and the main route for traffic between the port and market-square) & Fat Margaret (the tower's name derives from the fact that it was the largest part of the city's fortifications).

St. Olaf’s Church is believed to have been built in the 12th century. The citizens wanted it to be the tallest church in the world when it was built, with an interesting legend surrounding its construction. Its dedication relates to King Olaf II of Norway.

A fun fountain with Mare Mikof's sculpture "Boys with umbrella" that was built in 2008 in Kanuti Garden.

The Soviet Union invested over 200 million rubles into the city of Tallinn in the years leading up to the 1980 Olympics. (Estonia was part of Russia then.) The TV tower, and other structures, as well as the Tallinn Olympic Yachting Center in Pirita where the event would be held.