Day 6 ~ Tallinn, Estonia

This morning, we arrived in Tallinn to a beautiful warm, sunny day. During our tour of the Old Town, we had a challenging walk on cobbled streets in this picturesque city. Our guide was excellent at explaining the history, politics and people of this country. Below is a view of the Old Town from our ship.

Tallinn (population 450,000) is the capitol of Estonia (population 1.3 million) making it the third smallest country in the EU by population. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 9000 BC. Ancient Estonians were some of the last European pagans and were Christianized during a crusade in the 13th century. After centuries of  successive German,  Danish, Swedish, and Russian rule, Estonians experienced what has been described as a "national awakening" in the 19th and early 20th centuries. On 24 February. 1918, independence was declared and later secured through a War of Independence. During World War II, Estonia suffered successive occupations by the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union again, resulting in its incorporation into the USSR.  The Singing Revolution began June 1988 at a music festival in Tallinn where 300,000 citizens linked arms singing patriotic songs. Estonia finally regained its independence without any bloodshed on August 20, 1991. Since independence, the country has rapidly developed its IT sector, becoming one of the world's most digitally advanced societies. It also ranks very high in the Human Development Index of the United Nations.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Russian orthodox cathedral in the Old Town. St. Alexander Nevsky, of Russian nobility, rose to legendary status because of his military victories over German and Swedish invaders in the 13^th century.  The cathedral was built during the period of late 19th century Russification and was so disliked by many Estonians as a symbol of oppression that the Estonian authorities scheduled the cathedral for demolition in 1924; but the decision was never implemented. The church has been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

St. Mary’s Cathedral was originally established by Danes in the 13th century and is the oldest church in Tallinn. Originally a Roman Catholic cathedral, it became Lutheran in 1561.

St. Olaf’s Church is believed to have been built in the 12th century and was the center for old Tallinn's Scandinavian community before Denmark conquered it in 1219. Dedicated to King Olaf II of Norway (995–1030), it controversially claims to have been the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625.

The first City Wall around Tallinn was ordered to be constructed in 1265. During the next three centuries, it became one of the largest and strongest defense systems in all of  Northern Europe. The walls and the many gates are still largely extant today. This is one of the reasons that Tallinn's Old Town became a World Heritage Site.

The Tallinn Town Hall is the oldest town hall in the whole of the Baltic  region  and  Scandinavia, celebrating its 600^th birthday in 2004.

Tallinn has been a favorite for several of us.  We knew so little about it and found it interesting as well as very charming. We get to sleep in tomorrow since we will be at sea all day.