Published by Vinayak Hegde on 24th March 2010
Tallinn – The Capital of Estonia is where the old meets the new and the new celebrates the old. The Old Town is still very well preserved and has been restored after independence. The Old Town is enclosed on all sides by medieval towers that give it fairytale castle look. The Old Town of Tallinn is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Old Town is more than 1000 years old and traces of settlement more than 5000 years old have been found in the archaeological digs. Tallinn has a rich history ranging from being the northernmost member of the Hanseatic league to the origins of present day Tallinn which was built by the Knights of the Teutonic Order. The Old Town has lots of small delightful restaurants in what seems like a labyrinth of small lanes. I had a shrimp pancake at a one-such small family-run restaurant aptly named “The Kompressor”. There are lot of people catering to the tourists especially from Helsinki and Germany selling everything from Almonds to Cold Drinks.
Walking through the Old Town, you notice the unusual names of streets and landmarks such as Long leg (Pikk jalg), Short leg (Lühike jalg) and Fat Margaret’s Tower. The best views of the Tallinn can be seen from St Olaf’s Church (which was once the world’s tallest church) and Toompea Hill on which the Old Town stands.
Another beautiful attraction in the Old Town in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral – A Russian Orthodox Church built during the Russification of the country when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire (early 20th century). Ironically, after the Bolshevik Revolution, the USSR became officially non-religious and the church was left to decline. The Church was restored back to it’s former glory after Estonia became independent.
