Tallinn, Estonia a Perfect Day

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Tallinn, Estonia is the best preserved medieval town in Northern Europe, according to UNESCO, which declared the Old Town a World Heritage Site.
00:00 introduction
:25 Town Hall Square
1:42 small town, popular
2:28 historic preservation
4:52 upper and lower towns
5:38 getting here on ship
7:05 arrive main gate
7:58 Pikk street
9:04 Brotherhood of Black Heads
10:37 St Olav
11:31 wall walk
12:25 upper town
14:38 viewpoint
15:16 walk down
17:07 Katariina käik
18:38 St. Catherine's Monastery
19:18 walk in lanes
20:53 Great Guild Hall
21:04 Estonian History Museum
22:56 economy
25:21 Town Hall
27:00 Holy Spirit Church
27:35 Viru tänav street
28:10 Viru shopping mall
28:32 music festival
The number one site to enjoy in Tallinn is the Town Hall square, where the market has always been located, and it is still the busiest place in town. Surrounded by some of the finest architecture, housing shops and outdoor restaurants and beer halls and the great collection of market kiosks in the center of the square.
The excellent preservation of this medieval architecture is a result of three major factors: during the 13th and 14th centuries it became a very important trading center part of the Huns the Arctic league and therefore these buildings were constructed and built up in a grand style befitting the wealth of this community.
But after a few hundred years of trade and expansion the prosperity tapered off the trade moved to other places and Tallinn was sort of left behind in the wake of history.
In the 20th century it was occupied by Russia and was left alone because there was no money to pay for any modern development creating this unique situation of a well-preserved ensemble with medieval and Renaissance buildings in this extremely beautiful setting.
Tallinn has a few gentle hills, creating an interesting topography where you get some intersections of streets going high and low. One of the first of the impressive historic sites you come upon on Pikk Street is three connected houses called The Three Sisters. These are typical examples of what the dwellings of wealthy merchants would look like in the Middle Ages.
Tallinn has always depended on merchants for its prosperity, and in this street we find many of the guild houses. They were the headquarters of the various merchant organizations.
This elaborate facade and beautiful doorway leads to one of the most interesting of the guild houses. We're in the house of the Brotherhood of Blackheads, and you see here a gothic guild hall. This would have been the principal meeting room inside the Guild Hall.
St Olav's Church is claimed to have been the highest church in Europe, and there are some who claim it was the world's tallest building in the late 16th century. They say its height was 200 meters, but lightning has struck at numerous times and the height's been reduced now to 125 meters.
Wander through the nearby little lanes, and you will soon come upon a section of the wall that you can actually walk on for free.
The oldest sections of Tallinn's city wall were built in the 13th-century. During the next 300 years, it became one of the largest and strongest defense systems in all of northern Europe. More than half of the magnificent defense system has been preserved, which includes nearly two kilometers of the wall, 26 defensive towers and two major gates. It would be very easy to miss this wall-climbing adventure, so be sure to look for it.
One way to reach the Upper Town is walking through that fortified gateway that was part of the barrier between the upper and lower towns, on an extension of Long Leg street, the main street of town.
There are a couple of lookout points up here where you get splendid views looking down at the Lower Town, especially at the city wall, and the watchtowers, and the clay tile roofs of the old buildings. There are 26 of these medieval towers still standing.
When finished with the Upper Town, it's quite easy to get back to the Lower Town. It's all downhill, perhaps returning the same way you came up along the Long Leg street where you're going to find more of those paintings and crafts on display.
Katerina Käik, or St Catherine's Lane, is one of the nicest streets in town because it's a quiet respite with this ancient architecture. And it's lined with open studios that function as everyday work rooms for the artists.
The Great Guild was the most important of the merchant societies, and the impressive Gothic headquarters was converted into the Estonian History Museum with a fascinating collection.
The main building on the town hall square is the city hall itself. It's the best-preserved town hall in the Baltic and Scandinavian states, dating back to 1402. The Town Hall has a small museum inside with costume attendants to explain the history. The magnificent building celebrated recently its 700th anniversary.

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