Tallinn: City of Amber For travelers and jewelry addicts

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

All you wanted to know - Natural Amber

Amber is an organic substance created by the dripping of resin from certain pine trees (conifers of the family Sciadopityaceae) which was fossilized over a period of millions of years.

There are many different varieties, and the amber differs per location, for instance Baltic amber, where 80 % of the world’s amber comes from, is generally over 40 million years old, whereas Dominican amber dates back ‘only’ 20 million years.

If the resin is relatively young we speak of copal rather than of amber, which is softer and more susceptible to solvents and heat.
Because Baltic amber contains about 8% succinic acid, it is also termed succinite.

History

The Greek name for amber was ηλεκτρον (elektron), “formed by the sun”, and it was connected to the sun god (Helios). According to the myth, when Helios’ son was killed, his mourning sisters became poplars, and their tears became the origin of elektron, amber.

Amber is a soft material and it is very easy to work with, a material in high demand for jewelry due to being warm to the touch and relatively light besides being just beautiful.

Every piece is unique, and due to the fossilized nature in some cases contains fossilized life which is amazingly well preserved thanks to the dehydrating quality of amber.

Sometimes, you can find complete bugs and beetles contained in the amber pieces, which have been dried and mummified perfectly, providing us with an unique glimpse into the prehistoric life.

Baltic amber has the most preserved species of plant and animal life to this date.

The most famous inclusion is a little salamander caught in a piece of amber which is on display in the Amber museum in Gdansk, it is priceless.

Healing properties

Amber contains up to 8% of succinic acid. Succinic acid is also termed ‘Spirit of amber’, which in history was used for rheumatic aches and pains.

Nowadays amber is very popular as teething bracelets, as it is believed to slowly give off the acid by wearing the bracelet, and numb the pain of the small kids.

If you put little bits of amber in strong alcohol the amber will lose all color, and the alcohol will get that beautiful golden amber glow. You have then created rubbing oil, very good for muscle pains and very soothing to rub on the chest and back when having coughing spells.

Amber is electro-static, but will load negatively, so if you are sensitive to getting little shocks when touching metal wearing the amber will surely avoid some of these.
Succinic acid is also created as a byproduct of the fermentation of sugar, lending us the typical bitter-salty taste in beers and wines.

Jewelry

Amber is very popular as jewelry, it is very light to wear, and has different colors, ranging from nearly white (butterscotch) to nearly black (dark cherry). Most popular is the cognac, transparent form.

It can easily be shaped using sanding paper, a fine saw, and other instruments. When it is heated amber goes soft. It is also combustible, and will burn by itself, giving off a resinous smell.

There is quite a difference between the natural amber and the modified amber.

Amber can be soaked in a hot oil-bath, where all cracks and pits are filled and merged. Amber is sometimes bonded, using bonding material to put different pieces together, or heated and put together under high pressure. It will change color and consistency, and will no longer be deemed natural amber, but is much cheaper to get.

Jagna Birecka & Heyme Langbroek.

Jagna Birecka Contemporary Jewelry

Heyme's Baltic Amber

Text & photos Jagna & Heyme design

Looking for natural Baltic Amber?

I always like to highlight the natural aspect of amber.

That, and the fact that it is light (so comfortable to wear, even the big pieces), feels and looks wonderfully warm, and is 40 million years old.

I always work with sterling silver and natural materials (leather & hemp) only.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeymesBalticAmber

We have lots of amber jewelry from impressive hand knotted earrings and necklaces to stunning hand polished amber nuggets. They are real treasures from the past when the dinosaurs were roaming the Earth.