"tallinn (reval) estonia" Tallinn County by doug48

Tallinn County Travel Guide: 1,499 reviews and 1,904 photos

tallinn (reval) estonia

tallinn, also known as reval is a beautiful medieval city in estonia. around 800 AD the vikings invaded estonia. this was around the time that the vikings established trading settlements in russia to facilitate trade with constantinople. in the 12 th century russia tried to control estonia but their attacks were repelled. in 1211 the german teutonic knights subdued pagan estonia. in 1219 the teutonic knights formed an alliance with the danes and built a fortress on the baltic coast called tallinn (danish castle). estonia was to remain a german colony until the 16 th century. tallinn, (reval), became a member of the german hanseatic trading league. in1558 ivan the terrible invaded estonia, but in 1582 the swedes drove the russians out of the country. under swedish rule the baltic germans were allowed to administer tallinn. peter the great formed an alliance with poland and with poland's help re-conquered estonia during the great northern war. as with the swedes, peter the great allowed the baltic germans to adminster the country.

medieval towers

in the early 20 th century a communist movement began in estonia led by mikhail kalinin. in 1905 many manor houses owned by baltic germans were burned by the communists. in 1918 under the treaty of brest-litovsk between the germans and the russians estonia was granted it's independence. in 1939 under the secret protocols of the ribbentrop-molotov pact estonia, latvia, lithuania, and finland were to become under soviet control while germany was free to invade poland with out soviet intervention.

house of the black heads

on june 22 nd 1941 adolf hitler invaded the soviet union. his army group north surged through latvia and lithuania on their way to leningrad. the german occupation was seen as a liberation by the estonians. after years of soviet rule the germans were considered "cultivated" compared to the bolsheviks. in 1944 after the german defeat in stalingrad the red army re-invaded estonia. over 70,000 estonians fled to sweden and another 30,000 withdrew to germany. from 1944 to 1991 estonia returned to harsh soviet rule. on august 20 th 1991 the estonians regained their independence.
tallinn today remains the best preserved of the great hansa cities.

a good travel guide to estonia and tallinn is, estonia, the bradt travel guide, neil taylor, pub: the globe pequot press.

Last visit to Tallinn County: Jun 2006
Intro Updated Jul 27, 2006
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Reviews (16)

architecture Things to Do (16)

old town tallinn offers a vast collection of gothic, baroque, and renaissance houses and public buildings. old town... more travel advice

carved portals Things to Do (16)

the most famous door in tallinn is the house of the brotherhood of the blackheads. but there are a number of interesting... more travel advice

town hall Things to Do (16)

the town hall is located in the center of old town on old town square (raekoda plats). originally built in the 13th... more travel advice

dome church Things to Do (16)

the dome church also known as the cathedral of st.mary the virgin was originally built after the danish invasion of... more travel advice

Comments (6)

slothtraveller May 19, 2011 at 1:20 PM Report Abuse

Hi Doug, Interesting page on Tallinn. Thanks for sharing your tips!
HORSCHECK Feb 9, 2011 at 2:11 PM Report Abuse

Doug, gorgeous page with brilliant photos of Tallinn. It brings back memories of my visit of the city almost 10 years ago.
hunterV Jul 3, 2008 at 9:06 AM Report Abuse

Hi, Doug! That's a very attracting destination I'm sure! Thanx for sharing!
vesna04 Oct 14, 2007 at 2:14 PM Report Abuse

Lovely pictures and nice tips! Greetings from Montenegro:)
TheWanderingCamel Apr 25, 2007 at 6:00 PM Report Abuse

We visited Tallinn in winter - a fairytale snowy world then, but cold!! - one day I'd like to see it as it is here. leyle
magor65 Nov 2, 2006 at 1:08 PM Report Abuse

This interesting page of yours brings back nice memories of my visit to Tallinn a few years ago.