Tallinn

The Danish flag falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise (Tallinn), 15 June 1219. Painted by C. A. Lorentzen in 1809.

In 1154, a town called قلون (Qlwn[15] or Quwri[16][17]) was recorded in the description of the world upon the world map (Tabula Rogeriana) commissioned by the Norman King Roger II of Sicily and compiled by Arab cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, who described it as "a small town like a large castle" among the towns of 'Astlanda'. It has been suggested that one possible transcription, 'Qlwn', may have denoted a predecessor of the modern city[18][19] and may somehow be related to a toponym Kolyvan, which has been discovered from later East Slavic chronicles.[20][21] However, a number of modern historians have considered connecting any of al-Idrisi's placenames with modern Tallinn erroneous, unfounded, or speculative.[22][7][23][24]

Henry of Livonia, in his chronicle (ca. 1229), called the town with the name that is also known to have been used up to the 13th century by Scandinavians: Lindanisa (or Lyndanisse in Danish,[25][26][27] Lindanäs in Swedish and Ledenets in Old East Slavic).

The Icelandic Njal's saga—composed after 1270, but describing events between 960 and 1020—mentions an event that occurred somewhere in the area of Tallinn and calls the place Rafala (probably a derivation of Rävala, Revala, or some other variant of the Estonian name of the adjacent medieval Estonian county). Soon after the Danish conquest in 1219, the town became known in the Scandinavian and German languages as Reval (Latin: Revalia). Reval was in official use in Estonia until 1918.

The name Tallinn(a) is Estonian. It has been widely considered a historical derivation of Taani-linna, meaning "Danish-castle" (Latin: Castrum Danorum), conceivably because the Danish invaders built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold after the 1219 battle of Lyndanisse.[lower-alpha 1] The Finnic element -linna, like Germanic -burg and Slavic -grad /-gorod, originally meant "fortress", but has been used as a suffix in the formation of town names.

In international use, the English and German-language Reval  as well as the Russian analog Revel (Ревель) were all gradually replaced by the Estonian name after the country became independent in 1918. At first, both Estonian forms, Tallinna and Tallinn, were used.[28] Tallinna in Estonian denotes also the genitive case of the name, as in Tallinna Sadam ('the Port of Tallinn').

The first archaeological traces of a small hunter-fisherman community's presence[8] in what is now Tallinn's city centre are about 5,000 years old. The comb ceramic pottery found on the site dates to about 3000 BCE and corded ware pottery around 2500 BCE.[29]

The lesser coat of arms of Tallinn depicts the Dannebrog cross.

Around 1050 AD, a fortress was built in what is now central Tallinn, on the hill of Toompea.[16]

As an important port for trade between Novgorod and Scandinavia, it became a target for the expansion of the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Denmark during the period of Northern Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century when Christianity was forcibly imposed on the local population. Danish rule of Tallinn and northern Estonia started in 1219.

Toompea castle

In 1285, Tallinn, then known more widely as Reval, became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League – a mercantile and military alliance of German-dominated cities in Northern Europe. The king of Denmark sold Reval along with other land possessions in northern Estonia to the Teutonic Knights in 1346. Medieval Reval enjoyed a strategic position at the crossroads of trade between the rest of western Europe and Novgorod and Muscovy in the east. The city, with a population of about 8,000, was very well fortified with city walls and 66 defence towers.

A weather vane, the figure of an old warrior called Old Thomas, was put on top of the spire of the Tallinn Town Hall in 1530. Old Thomas later became a popular symbol of the city.

In the early years of the Protestant Reformation, the city converted to Lutheranism. In 1561, Reval became a dominion of Sweden.

During the Great Northern War, plague-stricken Tallinn along with Swedish Estonia and Livonia capitulated to Tsardom of Russia in 1710, but the local self-government institutions (Magistracy of Reval and Estonian Knighthood) retained their cultural and economical autonomy within Imperial Russia as the Governorate of Estonia. The Magistracy of Reval was abolished in 1889. The 19th century brought industrialisation of the city and the port kept its importance. During the last decades of the century, russification measures became stronger. Off the coast of Reval, in June 1908, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, along with their children, met their mutual uncle and aunt, Britain's King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, an act which was seen as a royal confirmation of the Anglo-Russian Entente of the previous year. This was the first time a reigning British monarch had visited the Russian Empire.

Harju Street in Tallinn old town after the Soviet aerial bombing in March 1944

On 24 February 1918, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in Reval (Tallinn). It was followed by Imperial German occupation until the end of World War I in November 1918, after which Tallinn became the capital of independent Estonia. During World War II, Estonia was first occupied by the Red Army and annexed into the USSR in 1940, then occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944. During the German occupation Tallinn suffered from many instances of aerial bombing by the Soviet air force. During the most destructive Soviet bombing raid on 9–10 March 1944, over a thousand incendiary bombs were dropped on the town, causing widespread fires, killing 757 people, and leaving over 20,000 residents of Tallinn without shelter. After the German retreat in September 1944, the city was occupied again by the Soviet Union.

During the 1980 Summer Olympics, the sailing (then known as yachting) events were held at Pirita, north-east of central Tallinn. Many buildings, such as the Tallinn TV Tower, "Olümpia" hotel, the new Main Post Office building, and the Regatta Centre, were built for the Olympics.

In 1991, the independent democratic Estonian nation was re-established and a period of quick development as a modern European capital ensued. Tallinn became the capital of a de facto independent country once again on 20 August 1991. The Old Town became a World Heritage Site in 1997,[30] and the city hosted the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest.[31] Tallinn was the 2011 European Capital of Culture, and will be the 2023 European Green Capital Award.[32] The city has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and takes pride in its biodiversity and high air quality.[33][34]

Panorama of the city centre

Port of Reval in 1853. Painting by Alexey Bogolyubov

Härjapea river, 1889

Tallinn is situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, in north-western Estonia.

The largest lake in Tallinn is Lake Ülemiste (9.44 km² (3.6 sq mi)), which serves as the main source of the city's drinking water. Lake Harku is the second-largest lake within the borders of Tallinn and its area is 1.6 km² (0.6 sq mi). The only significant river in Tallinn nowadays is the Pirita River, in the eponymous Pirita city district. Historically, a smaller river, called Härjapea, flowed from Lake Ülemiste through the town into the sea, but the river was diverted into underground sewerage system in the 1930s and has since completely disappeared from the cityscape. References to it still remain in the street names Jõe (from jõgi, river) and Kivisilla (from kivi sild, stone bridge).

A limestone cliff runs through the city. It can be seen at Toompea, Lasnamäe, and Astangu. However, Toompea is not a part of the cliff, but a separate hill.

The highest point in Tallinn, at 64 m (about 200 ft) above sea level, is situated in Hiiu, Nõmme District, in the south-west of the city.

The length of the coast is 46 km (29 mi). It comprises three bigger peninsulas: Kopli, Paljassaare, and Kakumäe Peninsulas. The city has a number of public beaches, including those at Pirita, Stroomi, Kakumäe, Harku, and Pikakari.[35]

The geology under the city of Tallinn is made up of rocks and sediments of different composition and age. Youngest are the Quaternary deposits. The materials of these deposits are till, varved clay, sand, gravel, and pebbles that are of glacial, marine and lacustrine origin. Some of the Quaternary deposits are valuable as they constitute aquifers, or as in the case of gravels and sands, are used as construction materials. The Quaternary deposits are the fill of valleys that are now buried. The buried valleys of Tallinn are carved into older rock likely by ancient rivers to be later modified by glaciers. While the valley fill is made up of Quaternary sediments the valleys themselves originated from erosion that took place before the Quaternary.[36] The substrate into which the buried valleys were carved is made up of hard sedimentary rock of Ediacaran, Cambrian and Ordovician age. Only the upper layer of Ordovician rocks protrudes from the cover of younger deposits, cropping out in the Baltic Klint at the coast and at a few places inland. The Ordovician rocks are made up from top to bottom of a thick layer of limestone and marlstone, then a first layer of argillite followed by first layer of sandstone and siltstone and then another layer of argillite also followed by sandstone and siltstone. In other places of the city, hard sedimentary rock is only to be found beneath Quaternary sediments at depths reaching as much as 120 m below sea level. Underlying the sedimentary rock are the rocks of the Fennoscandian Craton including gneisses and other metamorphic rocks with volcanic rock protoliths and rapakivi granites. These rocks are much older than the rest (Paleoproterozoic age) and do not crop out anywhere in Estonia.[36]

Tallinn has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with mild, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters.[37] Winters are cold, but mild for its latitude, owing to its coastal location. The average temperature in February, the coldest month, is −3.6 °C (25.5 °F). During the winters, temperatures tend to hover close to freezing, but mild spells of weather can push temperatures above 0 °C (32 °F), occasionally reaching above 5 °C (41 °F) while cold air masses can push temperatures below −18 °C (0 °F) an average of 6 days a year. Snowfall is common during the winters, which are cloudy[38] and characterised by low amounts of sunshine, ranging from only 20.7 hours of sunshine per month in December to 58.8 hours in February.[39]

Spring starts out cool, with freezing temperatures common in March and April, but gradually becomes warmer in May, when daytime temperatures average 15.4 °C (59.7 °F), although nighttime temperatures still remain cool, averaging −3.7 to 5.2 °C (25.3 to 41.4 °F) from March to May.[40] Snowfall is common in March and can occur in April.[38]

Summers are mild with daytime temperatures hovering around 19.2 to 22.2 °C (66.6 to 72.0 °F) and nighttime temperatures averaging between 9.8 to 13.1 °C (49.6 to 55.6 °F) from June to August.[40] The warmest month is usually July, with an average of 17.6 °C (63.7 °F).[40] During summer, partly cloudy or clear days are common[38] and it is the sunniest season, ranging from 255.6 hours of sunshine in August to 312.1 hours in July although precipitation is higher during these months.[41][39] As a consequence of its high latitude, at the summer solstice, daylight lasts for more than 18 hours and 30 minutes.[42]

Fall starts out mild, with a September average daily mean of 12.0 °C (53.6 °F) and increasingly becomes cooler and cloudier towards the end of November.[38] In the early parts of fall, temperatures commonly reach 16.1 °C (61.0 °F) and at least one day above 21 °C (70 °F) in September. In late fall, freezing temperatures become more common and snowfall can occur.

Tallinn receives 700 mm (28 in) of precipitation annually, which is evenly distributed throughout the year although March, April and May are the driest months, averaging about 35 to 37 mm (1.4 to 1.5 in), while July and August are the wettest months with 82 to 85 mm (3.2 to 3.3 in) of precipitation.[41] The average humidity is 81%, ranging from a high of 89% to a low of 69% in May.[43] Tallinn has an average windspeed of 3.3 m/s (11 ft/s) with winters being the windiest (around 3.7 m/s (12 ft/s) in January) and summers being the least windy at around 2.7 m/s (8.9 ft/s) in August.[38] Extremes range from −31.4 °C (−24.5 °F) on 10 January 1987 to 34.3 °C (93.7 °F) on 30 July 1994.[44]

According to a 2021 study commissioned by the British price comparison site Uswitch.com, Tallinn is the most unpredictable of European capitals in terms of weather conditions, with a total score of 69/100; the high score is mainly due to the high number of rainy days in the city and the variation in the duration of sunshine. Riga and Helsinki took second and third places.[45][46][47]

Map of the districts of Tallinn

District	Flag	Arms	Population (November 2017)[50]	Area[51]	Density
Haabersti			45,339	22.26 km2 (8.6 sq mi)	2,036.8/km2 (5,275.3/sq mi)
Kesklinn (centre)			63,406	30.56 km2 (11.8 sq mi)	2,074.8/km2 (5,373.7/sq mi)
Kristiine			33,202	7.84 km2 (3.0 sq mi)	4,234.9/km2 (10,968.5/sq mi)
Lasnamäe			119,542	27.47 km2 (10.6 sq mi)	4,351.7/km2 (11,270.9/sq mi)
Mustamäe			68,211	8.09 km2 (3.1 sq mi)	8,431.5/km2 (21,837.5/sq mi)
Nõmme			39,540	29.17 km2 (11.3 sq mi)	1,355.5/km2 (3,510.7/sq mi)
Pirita			18,606	18.73 km2 (7.2 sq mi)	993.4/km2 (2,572.8/sq mi)
Põhja-Tallinn			60,203	15.9 km2 (6.1 sq mi)	3,786.4/km2 (9,806.6/sq mi)

Tallinn is subdivided into eight administrative districts (Estonian: linnaosad, singular linnaosa). The district governments are city institutions that fulfill, in the territory of their district, the functions assigned to them by Tallinn legislation and statutes.

Each district government is managed by an elder (Estonian: linnaosavanem). They are appointed by the city government on the nomination of the mayor and after having heard the opinion of the administrative councils. The function of the administrative councils is to recommend to the city government and commissions of the city council how the districts should be administered.

The administrative districts are further divided into subdistricts or neighbourhoods (Estonian: asum). Their names and borders are officially defined. There are 84 subdistricts in Tallinn.[52]

The population of Tallinn on 1 January 2021 was 438,341.[1] It is the 59th most populated city in the European Union.

According to Eurostat, in 2004, Tallinn had one of the largest number of non-EU nationals of all EU member states' capital cities with Russians forming a significant minority — about a third of Tallinn's residents are first or second generation immigrants of Russian ethnic origin, a majority of whom now hold Estonian citizenship.[54] As of 2020, ethnic Estonians made up over 52% of the population.

Tallinn was one of the urban areas with industrial and military significance in northern Estonia that during the period of Soviet occupation (1944–1991) underwent extensive russification of its ethnic composition due to large influx of immigrants from Russia and other parts of the former USSR. Whole new city districts were built where the main intent of the then Soviet authorities was to accommodate Russian-speaking immigrants: Mustamäe, Väike-Õismäe, Pelguranna, and most notably, Lasnamäe, which in 1980s became, and is to this day, the most populous district of Tallinn.

Indigenous ethnic Estonians made up over 80% of Tallinn's population before World War II, but make up only 52% in 2020. Tallinners made up about 30% of Estonia's population in 2009.

The official language of Tallinn is Estonian. In 2011, 206,490 (50.1%) spoke Estonian as their native language and 192,199 (46.7%) spoke Russian as their native language. Other spoken languages include Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Finnish.[55]

Rotermann business district

Tallinn is the financial and business capital of Estonia. The city has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in information technology, tourism and logistics. Over half of the Estonian GDP is created in Tallinn.[56] In 2008, the GDP per capita of Tallinn stood at 172% of the Estonian average.[57] In addition to longtime functions as seaport and capital city, Tallinn has seen development of an information technology sector; in its 13 December 2005, edition, The New York Times characterised Estonia as "a sort of Silicon Valley on the Baltic Sea".[58] One of Tallinn's sister cities is the Silicon Valley town of Los Gatos, California. Skype is one of the best-known of several Estonian start-ups originating from Tallinn. Many start-ups have originated from the Institute of Cybernetics. In recent years, Tallinn has gradually been becoming one of the main IT centres of Europe, with the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD COE) of NATO, eu-LISA, the EU Digital Agency and the IT development centres of large corporations, such as TeliaSonera and Kuehne + Nagel being based in the city. Smaller start-up incubators like Garage48 and Game Founders have helped to provide support to teams from Estonia and around the world looking for support, development and networking opportunities.[59]

Tallinn receives 4.3 million visitors annually,[60] a figure that has grown steadily over the past decade. The Finns are especially a common sight in Tallinn;[61] on average, about 20,000–40,000 Finnish tourists visit the city between June and October.[62] The cheaper price of alcohol products in particular is one of the main reasons for Finns to visit Tallinn.[62] Tallinn's Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a major tourist attraction; others include the Seaplane Harbour of Estonian Maritime Museum, the Tallinn Zoo, Kadriorg Park, and the Estonian Open Air Museum. Most of the visitors come from Europe, though Tallinn has also become increasingly visited by tourists from Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.[63] Tallinn Passenger Port is one of the busiest cruise destinations on the Baltic Sea, serving more than 520,000 cruise passengers in 2013.[64] From year 2011 regular cruise turnarounds in cooperation with Tallinn Airport are organised.

Eesti Energia, a large oil shale to energy company,[65] has its headquarters in Tallinn. The city also hosts the headquarters of Elering, a national electric power transmission system operator and member of ENTSO-E, the Estonian natural gas company Eesti Gaas and energy holding company Alexela Energia, part of Alexela Group. Nord Pool Spot, the largest market for electrical energy in the world, established its local office in Tallinn. Tallinn is the financial centre of Estonia and also a strong economic centre in the Scandinavian-Baltic region. Many major banks, such as SEB, Swedbank, and Nordea, have their local offices in Tallinn. LHV Pank, an Estonian investment bank, has its corporate headquarters in Tallinn. Two crypto-currencies exchanges officially recognized by the Estonian government, CoinMetro[66] and DX.Exchange[67] have their headquarters in Tallinn. Tallinn Stock Exchange, part of NASDAQ OMX Group, is the only regulated exchange in Estonia. Port of Tallinn is one of the biggest ports in the Baltic sea region,[68] and the largest cargo port of Estonia, the Port of Muuga, which belongs to the same entity, is located in the neighboring town of Maardu.[69] Old City Harbour has been known as a convenient harbour since the medieval times, but nowadays the cargo operations are shifted to Muuga Cargo Port and Paldiski Southern Port. There is a small fleet of oceangoing trawlers that operate out of Tallinn.[70] Tallinn's industries include shipbuilding, machine building, metal processing, electronics, textile manufacturing. BLRT Grupp has its headquarters and some subsidiaries in Tallinn. Air Maintenance Estonia and AS Panaviatic Maintenance, both based in Tallinn Airport, provide MRO services for aircraft, largely expanding their operations in recent years. Liviko, the maker of Vana Tallinn liqueur, strongly associated with the city, is based in Tallinn. The headquarters of Kalev, a confectionery company and part of the industrial conglomerate Orkla Group, is located in Lehmja, southeast of Tallinn. Estonia is ranked third in Europe in terms of shopping centre space per inhabitant, ahead of Sweden and being surpassed only by Norway and Luxembourg.[71]

Notable headquarters

The Fahle House accommodates many corporate headquarters

Among others:

• NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE)
• eu-LISA, the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice[72][73][12] is based in Tallinn.
• Skype has its software development centre located in Tallinn.[74]
• Telia Company has its IT development centre located in Tallinn.[75]
• Kuehne + Nagel has its IT centre located in Tallinn.[76]
• Arvato Financial Solutions has its global IT development and innovation centre located in Tallinn.[77]
• Ericsson has one of its biggest production facilities in Europe located in Tallinn, focusing on the production of 4G communication devices.[78]
• Equinor has announced moving the group's financial centre to Tallinn.[79]
• Bolt
• Alexela
• LHV

The buildings of Tallinn University of Technology

Institutions of higher education and science include:

• Baltic Film and Media School
• Estonian Academy of Arts
• Estonian Academy of Security Sciences
• Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
• Estonian Business School
• Estonian Maritime Academy
• Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics
• Tallinn University
• Tallinn University of Technology
• Tallinn University of Applied Sciences

Tallinn was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku, Finland.

Museums

Estonian Art Museum in Kadriorg Palace

Tallinn is home to more than 60 museums and galleries.[80] Most of them are located in Kesklinn, the central district of the city, and cover Tallinn's rich history.

One of the most visited historical museums in Tallinn is the Estonian History Museum, located in Great Guild Hall at Vanalinn, the old part of the city.[81] It covers Estonia's history from prehistoric times up until the end of the 20th century.[82] It features film and hands-on displays that show how Estonian dwellers lived and survived.[82]

Mikkel Museum

The Estonian Maritime Museum provides a detailed overview of nation's seafaring past. This museum in also located in city's Old Town, where it occupies one of Tallinn's former defensive structures – Fat Margaret's Tower.[83] Another historical museum that can be found at city's Old Town, just behind the Town Hall, is Tallinn City Museum. It covers Tallinn's history from pre-history until 1991, when Estonia regained its independence.[84] Tallinn City Museum owns nine more departments and museums around the city,[84] one of which is Tallinn's Museum of Photography, also located just behind the Town Hall. It features permanent exhibition that covers 100 years of photography in Estonia.[85]

Estonia's Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom is yet another historical museum located in Tallinn's central district. It covers the 52 years when Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.[86] Not far away is another museum related to the Soviet occupation of Estonia, the KGB Museum, which occupies the 23rd floor of Sokos Hotel Viru. It features equipment, uniforms, and documents of Russian Secret Service agents.[87]

Tallinn is also home to two major natural science museums – Estonian Museum of Natural History and Estonian Health Care Museum, both located in Old Town. The Estonian Museum of Natural Science features several seasonal and temporary themed exhibitions that provide an overview of wildlife in Estonia and around the world.[88] The Estonian Health Care Museum features permanent exhibitions on anatomy and health care; its collections and displays cover the history of medicine in Estonia.[89]

Tallinn is home to several art and design museums. The Estonian Art Museum, the largest art museum in Estonia, consists of four branches – Kumu Art Museum, Kadriorg Art Museum, Mikkel Museum, and Niguliste Museum. Kumu Art Museum features the country's largest collection of contemporary and modern art. It also displays Estonian art starting from the early 18th century.[90] Those who are interested in Western European and Russian art may enjoy Kadriorg Art Museum collections, located in Kadriorg Palace, a beautiful Baroque building erected by Peter the Great. It stores and displays about 9,000 works of art from the 16th to 20th centuries.[91] The Mikkel Museum, in Kadriorg Park, displays a collection of mainly Western art – ceramics and Chinese porcelain donated by Johannes Mikkel in 1994. The Niguliste Museum occupies former St. Nicholas' Church; it displays collections of historical ecclesiastical art spanning nearly seven centuries from the Middle Ages to post-Reformation art.

Those that are interested in design and applied art may enjoy the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design collection of Estonian contemporary designs. It displays up to 15.000 pieces of work made of textile art, ceramics, porcelain, leather, glass, jewellery, metalwork, furniture, and product design.[92] To experience more relaxed, culture-oriented exhibits, one may turn to Museum of Estonian Drinking Culture. This museum showcases the historic Luscher & Matiesen Distillery as well as the history of Estonian alcohol production.[93]

Danse Macabre by Bernt Notke on display at St. Nicholas' Church

Lauluväljak

The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak)

The Estonian Song Festival (in Estonian: Laulupidu) is one of the largest choral events in the world, listed by the UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It is held every five years in July on the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak) simultaneously with the Estonian Dance Festival.[94] The joint choir has comprised more than 30,000 singers performing to an audience of 80,000.[94][95]

Estonians have one of the biggest collections of folk songs in the world, with written records of about 133,000 folk songs.[96] From 1987, a cycle of mass demonstrations featuring spontaneous singing of national songs and hymns that were strictly forbidden during the years of the Soviet occupation to peacefully resist the oppression. In September 1988, a record 300,000 people, more than a quarter of all Estonians, gathered in Tallinn for a song festival.[97]

Cuisine

World's largest kiluvõileib, some 20 m in length, created at Tallinn Town Hall Square on 15 May 2014[98]

The traditional cuisine of Tallinn reflects culinary traditions of north Estonia, the role of the city as a fishing port, and historical German influences. Numerous cafés have played a major role in a social life of the city since the 19th century, as have bars, especially in the Kesklinn district.

The marzipan industry in Tallinn has a very long history. The production of marzipan started in the Middle Ages, almost simultaneously in Tallinn and Lübeck, both member cities of the Hanseatic League. In 1695, marzipan was mentioned as a medicine, under the designation of Panis Martius, in the price lists of the Tallinn Town Hall Pharmacy.[99] The modern era of marzipan in Tallinn began in 1806, when the Swiss confectioner Lorenz Caviezel set up his confectionery on Pikk Street. In 1864 it was bought and expanded by Georg Stude and now is known as the Maiasmokk café. In the late 19th century marzipan figurines made by Reval confectioners were supplied to the Russian imperial family.[100] Today, along with mass production, unique projects are made, such as a 12 kg scale model of the Estonia Theatre.[101]

The most symbolic seafood dish of Tallinn is "Vürtsikilu" – spicy sprats, pickled with a distinctive set of spices including black pepper, allspice and cloves. Making vürtsikilu presumably originated from the city outskirts, beginning in the late 18th or the early 19th century. In 1826 Tallinn merchants exported nearly 40,000 cans of vürtsikilu to Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the Russian Empire.[102] A closely associated dish is a "Kiluvõileib" – a traditional rye bread open sandwich with a thin layer of butter and a layer of vürtsikilu as a topping. Boiled egg slices, mayonnaise and culinary herbs are optional extra toppings. Alcoholic beverages produced in the city include beers, vodkas, and liqueurs, the latter (such as Vana Tallinn) being the most characteristic. Also, the number of craft beer breweries has expanded sharply in Tallinn over the last decade, entering local and regional markets.

A Christmas market at the Town Hall square

What can arguably be considered to be Tallinn's main attractions are located in the Tallinn Old Town (divided into a "lower town" and Toompea hill) which is easily explored on foot. The eastern parts of the city, notably Pirita (with Pirita Convent) and Kadriorg (with Kadriorg Palace) districts, are also popular destinations, and the Estonian Open Air Museum in Rocca al Mare, west of the city, preserves aspects of Estonian rural culture and architecture. The historical wooden suburbs like Kalamaja, Pelgulinn, Kassisaba and Kelmiküla and revitalized industrial areas like Rotermanni Quarter, Noblessner and Dvigatel are also unique places to visit.

Toompea – Upper Town

Stenbock House on Toompea hill is the official seat of the Government of Estonia

This area was once an almost separate town, heavily fortified, and has always been the seat of whatever power that has ruled Estonia. The hill occupies an easily defensible site overlooking the surrounding districts. The major attractions are the medieval Toompea Castle (today housing the Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu), the Lutheran St Mary's Cathedral, also known as the Dome Church (Estonian: Toomkirik), and the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Tallinn is twinned with:[111]

• 
  Seal of Reval, 1340
• 
  Old Thomas weather vane on top of Tallinn Town Hall since 1530 is the city's symbolic guardian
• 
  Night view of Tallinn's city center in August 2012
• 
  St. Nicholas' Church, built 1230–1275
• 
  Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built in 1894–1900
• 
  House of the Brotherhood of Blackheads
• 
  Viru Gate, entrance to the Old Town. Two remaining towers that were part of a larger 14th-century gate system
• 
  The Raeapteek, built in 1422, is one of the oldest continuously running pharmacies in Europe
• 
  Kiek in de Kök defence tower
• 
  City wall with temporary garden exhibition
• 
  Pikk Hermann (Toompea)
• 
  Kadriorg Palace
• 
  The ruins of Pirita Convent
• 
  A Nordica aircraft landing at Tallinn Airport
• 
  Tornimäe business area
• 
  Estonian Open Air Museum
• 
  Glehn Castle

• Legends of Tallinn
• Revaltoppe
• Tallinn Marathon
• Walls of Tallinn

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tallinn.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tallinn.

• "Reval" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 211–212.
• The Website of the City of Tallinn (official)
• Visit Tallinn official city guide
• Panoramas of Tallinn Old Town Archived 1 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• 3D model of Tallinn Old Town
• Historical footage of Tallinn, 1920 (archive), filmportal.de
• Tallinn at Curlie