Tallinn’s spectacular Old Town is worthy of two blog posts. In my last one, I covered Toompea, the walled “upper town” that, historically, housed Tallinn’s aristocratic and religious leaders, and its military forces. In the mid-1300s, the city’s mainly German merchants and artisans, wanting a little autonomy from the city’s rulers — at the time, the Teutonic Knights — established their own walled town right next door, below the hill of Toompea. Hence the “Lower Town.”
The Lower Town’s fortifications are very nearly as formidable as Toompea’s, and are equally well preserved.
Even today, there aren’t that many gates that pierce the Lower Town wall. It has the effect of making Tallinn’s Old Town a true maze, in the sense that just as you think you’re heading in the direction of the exit, you find there’s no way out, or the street takes an unexpected 90˚ turn (1 August 2018).
Although when you do come across a gate, it’s often wide enough for automobile traffic to pass through. While the inner layers of the Lower Town are too saturated with tourists on foot for cars to move through at anything except a crawl, there are a surprising number of vehicles on the outer streets, along the inside of the walls (2 August 2018).
It’s amazing how well-preserved (or well-reconstructed) Tallinn’s city wall, gates, and, especially, guard towers are. Again, it puts Brașov to shame, although, to be fair, if you like your towers in a more authentic, crumbling state, Brașov is your better bet (2 August 2018).
The squat tower there, nicknamed “Fat Margaret,” dates from the 16th century. Its cannons protected the Lower Town’s main gate leading to the harbor a half mile away (2 August 2018).
Nowadays, those walls enclose hordes of tourists. Not since Prague have I been in a more touristy place than Tallinn (3 August 2018).
And as you move away from the walls and deeper into the Lower Town, the crowds become even denser. Besides Prague, the only other city on my itinerary this clogged with tourists was Split. Which makes sense. Both Split and Tallinn are cruise ship ports, and cruise ships are gargantuan (2 August 2018).
The Lower Town is full of all sorts of interesting structures, more so than Toompea, I think.
That spire in the background of the previous photo? It belongs to Holy Spirit Lutheran Church here. And the cool clock on the side of the church is the oldest in Tallinn, dating to 1684 (2 August 2018).
The winner of the “tallest steeple” contest among the Old Town’s forest of spires is St. Olaf’s Church (Baptist). Incredibly, its 16th-17th century steeple was 35 meters (over 100 feet!) taller than this one, making St. Olaf’s one of the tallest buildings in the world at the time. The taller steeple was struck by lightning and burned down in 1625 (2 August 2018).
These old rowhouses are called the “Three Sisters.” Not to be outdone, Riga, Latvia, christened a similar cluster of charming old houses the “Three Brothers” (2 August 2018).
Speaking of rivalry with Riga, Tallinn has its own, more modest structure that once housed the Brotherhood of the Blackheads, a fraternity of unmarried German merchants. Tallinn claims that it was its Blackheads, not Riga’s, who drunkenly invented the Christmas tree, setting the very first one ablaze in Tallinn’s Town Hall Square in 1441 (2 August 2018).
Another German merchants’ association was St. Canute’s Guild. Its guild hall here features statues of its patron saint and Martin Luther out front (2 August 2018).
Back in the Soviet days, this building was KGB Headquarters for Tallinn. Note the bricked-up basement windows. That was to prevent the screams of the tortured from being heard on the street outside (2 August 2018).
On a lighter note, I recognize this style of building from my time in Riga. It seems a little Art Nouveau crept into Tallinn’s Lower Town. I love the dragons, sunning themselves over the doorway like crocodiles (2 August 2018).
Of course, not all of Tallinn’s Old Town is postcard-perfect. There are definitely some shabby buildings too (2 August 2018).
And the contemporary world creeps into the Old Town here and there. These protesters are not very numerous, but they’re very vocal. They are not fans of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they want all the tourists to know it! (2 August 2018).
And did I mention the throngs of tourists? Yes, I believe I did (3 August 2018).
And like any European Old Town worth its salt, Tallinn’s Lower Town has a picturesque square at its center, dominated by a building with a tall steeple (Town Hall, in this case).
The Town Hall tower is visible a long way off, even here outside the Lower Town’s busiest entrance, Viru Gate (3 August 2018).
As you approach Town Hall Square, you can’t help but notice the unusual, narrow shape of the tower. According to local legend, the architect modeled it on an explorer’s sketch of a Middle Eastern minaret. I can kind of see that (3 August 2018).
OK Tallinn. Your old town square upholds the high standards of historic charm I’ve come to expect from Europe. Well done (3 August 2018).
The other tourists seem to approve of Town Hall Square as well (3 August 2018).
Looks like a great place to eat (moderately) overpriced food and enjoy some excellent people-watching (2 August 2018).