Tallinn is the capital city and largest city of Estonia. Tallinn’s Old Town is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku, Finland.
Tallinn is the oldest capital city in Northern Europe. The city was known as Reval from the 13th century until the 1920s.
Interesting facts about the Old Town
The oldest capital city in Northern Europe, Tallinn was first put on the world map by an Arab geographer al-Idrisi in 1154. On his map Tallinn was called Kaleweny.
Historians and experts say the true value of Tallinn Old Town lies in its integrity. The medieval city of the Hanseatic League has been preserved in a uniquely authentic way keeping its network of streets almost unchanged from medieval times to today.
This might surprise some people but Tallinn can proudly play host to the only surviving town hall to have been built in its original Gothic style. The hall dates back to the 13th Century and is a fine example of the period’s architecture.
Historians find the building architecturally exceptional, as it is rather similar to Italian town halls – for example Palazzo Vecchio in Florence or Palazzo Pubblico in Siena.
Home of the Christmas tree. A Christmas tree on Tallinn Town Hall Square was first mentioned in 1441. The custom then was to dance around the tree and celebrate, and later burn it. Until now a small French town called Selestat has claimed itself to be the cradle of the Christmas tree, but their documents are almost a century younger (1521).
Tallinn – a city for the sweet tooth. To gain the honour of having the first industrial production of marzipan Tallinn is competing with Lübeck.
The Estonian confectioner Kalev and Niederegger of Lübeck were both founded in 1806. However, medieval records show that marzipan was sold in the pharmacies of both cities.
Interesting facts about Estonian traditional culture
Estonians have one of the biggest needs for personal space in the world – a good example of that being settlement density that is 4 times less compared to Denmark and 12 times less compared to The Netherlands.
Estonia is small, both by area and population, but it has more than a hundred historical parishes, each one with its own traditional clothing.
The joint choir of the General Song Festival has the biggest number of singers in the world.
Juniper berries are believed to help cure 99 diseases, overcome witchcraft and the devil, as there is a cross on top of each berry.
One of the most beautiful buildings in Tallinn is the Kadriorg Palace. After the successful siege of Reval in 1710 Peter the Great of Russia bought a Dutch-style manor house at Lasnamäe for his wife Catherine. The house today is the result of a drastic renovation ordered by Nicholas I of Russia in 1827.
Shopping in Tallinn
There are plenty of opportunities to spend money shopping in Tallinn. Old Town is literally lined with dozens of souvenir, antique and speciality stores.
Within Old Town the main shopping streets are Viru, Müürivahe, Suur-Karja, Väike-Karja and Kullassepa.
All the streets in the Old Town are practically crawling with Baltic Amber jewelry and various other decorative objects made of Baltic Amber.
Baltic amber is used not only in amazing jewelry creations, but also in numerous decoration objects, like amber ships, Lalique style lamps, even paintings, spoons, forks, hair pins and many many more.
You can find pretty much anything in the small shops of the Old Town, in a huge price range.
In the new part of town, the most central shopping centre is Viru Centre home also to the Kaubamaja department store. Kaubamaja and Stockmann offer everything from electronics to cosmetics as well as large clothing sections. Other smaller malls include the Foorum Centre, the unique Rotermanni Kaubamaja and the Solaris Centre.
Tallinn is also the home town of Skype. Skype currently has offices all over Europe and some in America, with one of the largest ones in Tallinn.
You can check what else is hot: www.tallinn.com
Text: Sandra Kemppainen, photos: Sandra Rugina
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