Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and is situated about 50km
(30m) south of Helsinki on the Gulf of Finland.
Tallinn has a long list of occupiers starting with the Vikings from the
9th – 11th centuries, followed by the Danes in the 13th
century (Tallinn means Danish Fort and is the birthplace of the current Danish
flag). The Danes sold Tallinn to the
German Teutonic Knights who lost it to the Swedes, who lost it to the Russians. Estonia finally became a country after the
end of WW1 but reluctantly became part of the Soviet Union after WW11. In 1991 Estonia again regained its
independence, was accepted into the EU in 2004 and adopted the Euro currency in
2011.
Tallinn is the best preserved of all the Nordic medieval cities
with its mostly intact city wall (that includes 26 of the original 46 towers),
cobblestone lanes, 15th and 16th century gabled houses
and historic churches.
"Fat Margaret"(so named for its thick walls), part of the old town wall and one of the towers that protected Old Town Tallinn in medieval times
St. Olav's Church has a viewing platform that offers wonderful views of Old Town. To get to the viewing platform you climb 234 very steep and narrow stone steps
The view is worth the climb as you get this view of Old Town and many of its remaining towers and protective wall
The 15th century Town Hall Square was the focal point of Old Town and all cobblestone lanes lead here
Stopped for coffee and cake at Maiasmokk (sweet tooth) coffee shop which has been in operation since 1864 and claims to be Tallinn's first. Here we see Hele hand painting marzipan boys which were made from the original 1864 wooden molds. We stopped and talked to her and she became very emotional when we told her we were from Vancouver as she had visited in 2005
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