Tallinn, Estonia
Aug 12, 2025
They may sound like the lead characters of a fairytale, but they are actually the names of a pair of defense towers. Twenty-six towers once studded the encircling wall of Vanalinn old town. Today we know the town as Tallinn. Heavily bombed in March of 1944, much of the walls, towers and the town itself was destroyed. Having undergone extensive restoration, many of the towers stand tall again.
Like most of the other Old Towns in central Europe, Tallinn too has a large cobble-stoned square at its heart, called the Raekoja Plats. At the one end is the Town Hall built in the 14th century, its tower topped by the weathervane named Old Thomas. Along another edge is the Great Guild Hall, now the Estonian history museum.
At another end of the square is the old Apothecary, established in 1422, still functioning as a working pharmacy today. The old building has become a pigeonhole of shops but at one corner, almost hidden under the arrays of souvenirs I see the stove with the glazed tiles. It’s the same kind I saw in Wawel Castle in Krakow and in the Ducal Palace in Vilnius!
There are the requisite multitude of churches but the interior of St. Olav’s is surprising. Instead of paintings or murals, it has a carved stone pulpit and stone coat of arms along the walls. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is all that is ornate and then some.
The random winding narrow streets are those of all old towns with some interesting doorways. From some vantage points I see a lovely palette of architectural styles and colors interleaved together, making for pretty pictures.
Almost two kilometers of the encircling wall remains with many of the towers reconstructed. Names like Fat Margaret, Nun’s Tower, Bremen Tower and Tall Hermann are an irresistible lure and I succumb to exploring each. Maiden Tower, Kiek in de Kok, Sauna Tower beckon as well. Some are round, some square, some squat and some are a hybrid shape defying description.
Some of the gates in the wall were widened over the years to accommodate traffic and some demolished but some still stand. The Great Coastal Gate next to Fat Margaret as well as the Viru Gate are major thoroughfares. So too is the Monastery Gate.
Tallin seems to have exploded on the tourist scene and the crowds are thick on the ground. Presumably to attract even more, the town is going all out on the medieval theme. There are restaurants offering medieval menus and kitschy demonstrations of cookery along some lanes. The wait staff in full regalia though do not all seem to be over the moon with delight. Or perhaps they are excellent actors and are merely portraying the downtrodden peasants of that age.
ITCHY FEET TRAVELS 