"Tallinn, Estonia" Tallinn by ranger49

Tallinn Travel Guide: 1,739 reviews and 4,694 photos

Not enough time!

Updated 4 August 2010 to correct typos and other errors!

In 1997 only 6 years after Estonia became an Independent nationit was granted the status of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

We had too little time in Tallinn but were fortunate to have two excellent guides to show us this beautifully preserved, medieval town with its churches, castle and "Hanseatic" architecture.

The first giude was a woman in her 50's and the other in her early 20's. Between them they not only gave us a a wonderful picture and history of their capital city but shared, too something of their own lives with us.

The older woman accompainied us on a short tour by bus of the area around the old town centre. We saw lots of modern new, high rise buildings and some apartment blocks with a distinctly Soviet look. Also some shabby run down areas with poor looking housing.
Our Guide spoke passionately about what it had felt like to become, for the first time, a citizen of a free democracy when she was in her forties. All her life until then, she said had been under an occupying foreign power. It had not all been bad but occupation never equated with freedom.
She was proud of her Estonian heritage and I think a little disappointed, if not shocked, that so few of the visitors she guided had any prior knowledge about her country and its history.

We made a bit of a detour so that she could point out to us the bronze statue of a Soviet soldier - a memorial erected for the Soviets who died fighting the Nazis in 1944.
She explained that since Independence in 1991 the government had removed all outward signs of Sovietisation - the statues of Lenin, Stalin and other Soviet leaders. The Estonian language was restored as the National language, and freedom of religion was guaranteed without government interference.

There was opposition to the Bronze Soldier and the steps to remove it currently being discussed had support from most of the population. . However there was, she said considerable opposition to such a move by members of the minority ethnic Russian population and centuries old wounds were once again being reopened.
She however believed it should be removed and that its continued presence was an affront to the thousands who had died and suffered under Soviet occupation.
Barely 6 months after this we read about and saw TV coverage of the violent clashes in Tallinn when the statue was removed to a military cemetery outside the town.

The younger woman was in her early 20s, a language and history graduate. I suspect this was her first season as a guide she was very quietly spoken and a little shy but well versed in the history and heritage of Tallinn. She was a charming, helpful guide and companion for the visit.

She picked up my husband's correct pronunciation of Russian at one point and they had a long conversation about languages including Welsh - which she was just starting to learn.
This was a a really memorable visit. Because it was guided, with only limited free time to wander, all my Tips relate to the usual attractions.

There did seem to be an endless list of churches to be visited on the tour and after a while my mind when numb so they won't all be shown here!.

Last visit to Tallinn: Sep 2006
Intro Updated Aug 5, 2010
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Reviews (9)

Town Hall and the Square Things to Do (9)

Town Hall Square and the Town Hall are at the heart of Old Town. The late Gothic building dates from 1404 and is said... more travel advice

The ancient gates to the city Things to Do (9)

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St Catherine's Passage Things to Do (9)

This is said to be the most picturesque little alleyway in Tallinn. Some people might say it is also a tourist trap. I... more travel advice

The Original Peeping Tom? Things to Do (9)

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Comments (10)

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Aitana Apr 9, 2012 at 11:03 AM

Nice page, Barbara. We'd like to visit the Baltic Republics and explore Tallin by ourselves.
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MalenaN Nov 10, 2010 at 9:38 AM

Sounds like you had a great tour through Tallinn! I visited for a few days earlier this year and went up twice in St Olav's Spire, because the weather was so much better on may last day.
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Flying.Scotsman Oct 20, 2010 at 3:08 PM

Excellent photos and some very interesting information. We're going to Tallin, Riga and Vilnius in March, so these pages have been a great help. Bruce
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Yaqui Aug 5, 2010 at 9:51 AM

LOL, love that Peeping Tom! How gorgeous is the Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral . That alley way would be fabulous to explore and those traditional dancers are wonderful! Great page!
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Andrew_W_K Aug 5, 2010 at 12:20 AM

Typo in Aleksander Nevsky tip: Orthodox Cathedaal dates I know, I'm a picky bugger!
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balhannah Jul 3, 2010 at 4:09 AM

Nice, interesting page, Barbara! The visit to the Guild sounded interesting, I would like to see the Dancers, look very different to what I have ever seen before.
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HORSCHECK Mar 9, 2010 at 2:01 PM

Barbara, fabulous start about Tallinn. I am looking forward to reading more on your page.
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Durfun Mar 9, 2010 at 10:33 AM

Nice tip. Did you climb Olav's church? It's a bit scary standing on the sloping roof!! Definitely an experience!
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Balam Mar 9, 2010 at 9:17 AM

It sounds nice, i'm looking forward to some more tips.
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BillNJ Jan 24, 2009 at 11:19 AM

Thanks for visiting my Tallinn page. It is a magical place!