- Address: Väike-Kloostri 1, 10133 Tallinn, Estonia;
- Built: in the 13th century;
- Height: 20 meters;
- Website: visittallinn.ee;
- Phone: +372 644 9867.
One of the main attractions of Tallinn is the Old Town and the city wall that surrounds it. Significant fragments and towers have survived to this day, but in the 13th century the wall was not a decorative element, but a real defensive structure.
The history of the creation of the city wall of Tallinn
The first built wall was wooden, and only in 1265 the erection of stone fortification began, which lasted about half a century. They passed along such streets as: Lai, Hobusepea, Kullasepa, Van Turg.
Part of the wall, which can see modern tourists, belong to the XIV century. They were built in 1310, and the main master was the Dane Johannes Kanne. The wall covered the entire territory of the city, which by that time had significantly expanded, and stood for at least three centuries.
After Estonia was bought by the Livonian Order, the expansion of the wall continued. Its final appearance was built in the 16th century after intensive construction in the 15th century.
For more reliable protection, tall, thick-walled artillery towers were erected. The main building material was gray laminated limestone - a flagstone, which was mined in local mines.
After the transition of the territory under the administration of Sweden, more attention was paid to the construction of cannon loopholes, earth fortifications around the city. To protect Tallinn, three additional bastions were built. The last strengthening work was carried out when Estonia became part of the Russian Empire. Then around the city a moat was dug, the last Lurenburg tower was built to the southeast of the Karja gate.
But in 1857, the authorities decided that Tallinn should be excluded from the list of fortress cities, so many bastions and gates were demolished. In the opinion of the same authorities, the greatest interest was made by such gates as:
- Great Sea;
- Harju;
- Pikk-Yalg;
- Viru.
At first they decided to keep them intact, but later some parts of the wall interfered with the passage of transport, so most of the sections between the towers and the towers themselves began to touch. The moat was turned into a pond Schnelli, and instead of bastions there were parks Hirve, Toompark. Restoration work on the restoration of the city wall began to be carried out in the second half of the XX century.
What can modern tourists see?
The city wall, or rather, what is left of it, has long been the hallmark of Tallinn. Despite the fact that from the once powerful fortification half the towers and gates were preserved, the construction makes a strong impression. From the old buildings for tourists, the "Tolstaya Margarita" Tower is interesting, in which there is the Maritime Museum and the cafe.
It is interesting not only to walk along the surviving sections of the wall, but also to look into the towers. In many of them, museums are open, such as in the powerful tower Kik-in-de-Keck . Here is a museum dedicated to military affairs , so tourists will see different types of weapons, armor of the 12th century and, of course, secret rooms in the ancient dungeon of the tower.
You can get to the tower from March to October, from 10.30 to 18 pm. The museum works on all days, except Monday and public holidays. The price of tickets should be clarified at the checkout, because it is different for children, adults and pensioners, and there are special family tickets. Entrance to the dungeon is paid separately. There are other interesting towers, for example, Maiden , Nunn , Kuldjal , Epping , which are also available for visiting.
How to get there?
To get to the City Wall of Tallinn, you can walk to the railway station in 10 minutes. Another way will be to take the tram # 1 or # 2. You can also walk from the street Viru, which leads to the same gate of the ancient fortress.