I’ve always loved the architectural style of these Eastern Orthodox churches and even though this one has a relatively short history it still looked great in the winter sunshine. It was built between 1894 and 1900 when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire and dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, a Russian Orthodox saint and grand prince of Kiev.

It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not though because a large number of Estonians don’t. They see it as a symbol of Russian oppression, and after the country became independent in 1918 there were calls to raze it to the ground. During the post-WWII occupation, even the Soviets (who were officially non-religious) seemed quite happy to let the building fall into disrepair, but for whatever reason, the cathedral was faithfully restored after Estonia regained independence in 1991. It’s still possible for the building to disappear though because in 2023 proposals were put forward to replace it with a park, and its demolition is apparently still under discussion.

Just across the road from the cathedral is one place that the Estonian people will never want to see knocked down – Toompea Castle. From this angle, it doesn’t immediately look like a castle, and that’s mainly because for more than 800 years it’s been occupied by a succession of different rulers.

The early history of Toompea Hill is a bit vague, but it seems that a wooden fortress was constructed here sometime during the 10^th or 11^th century, and was built in order to protect the people and their harbour  below. This Estonian clan were still pagan, and their life must have been turned upside down when the Danes arrived in 1219: The first thing the invaders did was to reconstruct the fortress to repel any threat of attack, from either their predecessors or anyone else who fancied their chances – and there would have been no shortage of contenders.

Under Danish control the town prospered as a thriving member of the Hanseatic League, but in 1346 they sold it to the Livonian Order. I expect you now want to know who the Livonian Order were don’t you? – ok, you don’t, but anyone who comes to this part of the world will find the name Livonia cropping up all over the place, and that’s because both Estonia and Latvia were once called Livonia. Don’t worry, I’m not going into detail about the Livonian Order here, but to keep it simple, they were a branch of the Teutonic Knights, and if you’re not sure who they were, they were basically a Catholic military organization in Northern Europe with a similar ambition to the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller crusaders of Western and Southern Europe. During the time the Livonians were at Toompea they turned the citadel into a fortified convent and it’s them we can thank for building the original Tall Hermann tower which can best be seen from Linda’s Hill.

The religious warriors were eventually oiked out of Tallin after defeat to Sweden in the Livonian War of 1567, but in 1710 the Swedes themselves were sent packing after losing the Great Northern War to Russia, which meant that Estonia was now part of the great Russian Empire. It was during the period of Catherine the Great that the castle took on its Baroque and Classical appearance, but it changed again in 1917 when Russian Revolutionaries burnt down the former Convent Building, but at least it gave the new independent Estonian government the opportunity to demolish what was left and construct a new parliament for itself.

For whatever reason I’m not sure, but at the time I was here it wasn’t possible to visit the castle, but I do believe that free guided tours are available now. I would imagine that even if visiting a parliament building and not a castle isn’t quite your thing, the history would be worth visiting for alone – after all, this is probably the most important building in the whole country.

Below is an official Estonian parliament photo which gives a better view of the medieval layout as well as the later changes that show how it looks today.

The name ‘Toompea’ actually derives its name from Toomkirik meaning ‘Dome Church’, and believe it or not the church is still here and only a short distance away. It’s the oldest church in Tallinn, but don’t let that fool you. The original was, like the castle, probably made of wood and established when the Danes were around. It has to be said that much of Toompea’s early history dates from archaeological evidence, but there can’t be much doubt that it would have originally been a Catholic church to begin with.

The Protestant Reformation brought about a break from Rome, and in 1561 the Dome Church became Lutheran. Today it’s known as St Mary’s Cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Tallinn. It may be the most important Lutheran church in Estonia but I still didn’t bother to go in – mainly because the weather was far too good to be spending much time indoors.

To get a better idea of why Toompea became such an important location I decided to put my time to better use by seeking out a couple of viewpoints. The first one, the Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform, was just down the road from St Mary’s and had some great views down to what used to be the Old City Harbour, but now a major passenger port.

To get to the second viewing platform I walked the short distance to Rahukohtu street which connects St Mary’s Cathedral to Stenbock House, the Prime Minister’s office. The street is reputed to be the narrowest in Tallinn, and after passing Stenbock House, the street takes a steep turn to the right where it’s said to be so narrow that ladies with fashionable wide dresses weren’t able to get past each other. I can believe it too; I found it awkward enough in my wide trousers.

Patkuli Viewing Platform might have only been a short distance from Kohtuotsa but the views were very different. Here, the city’s medieval walls and towers show why Tallinn is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and the reason that it’s a World Heritage Site.

The Patkuli viewpoint brought me to the end of my look around Toompea, and pretty well much the end of my first day’s tour around Tallinn, and so it was time to head back downhill. After a brief pit stop at a pleasant art ceramic café called Bogapott (which is still here by the way), I walked down Pikk Jalg between the high walls on either side of the street that separated the low life of the lower town from the high life of the higher town, and through the Gate Tower at the bottom.

On my way back to Old Town Square I took a slight detour to a travel agent that was recommended to me by the tourist office as I wanted to find out about the practicalities of taking a day trip to Helsinki by ferry. It was nothing like a travel agent that I was used to as it was just like walking into an office building, and although I was made to feel very welcome, I left with plenty of information but no tickets.

The other side of Old Town Square leads into Viru Street and the shortest way to get back to the hotel. It’s Tallin’s main shopping street, and outside of Olde Hansa (which I’ll be describing in another post) I thought my luck was in when this beautiful young blonde girl in traditional costume handed me what I thought was a sweet (so Old Thomas knew that I’d been a good boy today after all). In actual fact, it wasn’t a sweet but a few glazed roasted almonds which were so delicious I bought some off her stall. It had nothing to do with the fact of course that these Estonian girls are the prettiest I’ve seen anywhere.

The same couldn’t be said about the next female I encountered – a big Babushka woman who tried to usher me into the Karu Bar. What she didn’t realise, was that I was desperately looking for somewhere to sit down anyway as my walking tour today was beginning to give me some real grief and I only had a couple of painkillers left. Babushkas are not known for their smiles but I’m sure I detected one starting to appear as she helped me through the door.

I didn’t notice any such expression on the bar lady’s face though –  in fact it looked almost hostile, and I could already see why I was the only one in here now. The Karu Bar means ‘Bear Bar’ in English which I should have guessed with all the bear stuff hanging around. Sitting at a table with a ‘cold’ beer gave me the chance to sort my haversack out, and checking out my In Your Pocket Guide, the place was described as “ A long time pinnacle of Russia-style tackiness, the Bear Bar spoils its customers with fake woody décor, coin operated toilets and a massive bouncer. The oozing lack of taste would make it fun to visit if the drinks weren’t so overpriced” Unsurprisingly, the Karu Bar is no longer here, but I’m glad the Babushka enticed me in all the same.

I should have taken a picture of the interior really but they might have thought I was a spy, so I took one of the nearby Viru Gate instead, before traipsing through Tammsaare Park’s snow again back to the hotel.

Today’s been a cracking day weatherwise, but as I looked out of my hotel room towards a different side of Tallinn I was already wondering if yesterday’s taxi driver was going to be proved right when he told me that one day was bright and cold and the next one the opposite. He was right – the following day was going to be grim.

For now though I would just like to wish friends, followers and fellow bloggers a very merry Christmas and a healthy, safe and peaceful year ahead. Also a big thank you to all who have supported me over the year. It really is very much appreciated.

POSTED – DECEMBER 2024