1.
Tallinn
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Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland,80 km south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm, from the 13th century until 1918, the city was known as Reval. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 and has a population of 444,591, approximately 33% of Estonias total population lives in Tallinn. Tallinn was founded in 1248, but the earliest human settlements date back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest capital cities of Northern Europe. The initial claim over the land was laid by the Danes in 1219 after a raid of Lyndanisse led by Valdemar II of Denmark. Due to its location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century. Tallinns Old Town is one of the best preserved cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn is the political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe, it has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of international companies. The city is to house the headquarters of the European Unions IT agency, providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. It is ranked as a 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 in Finland and it has been suggested that Quwri may have denoted a predecessor of the modern city. The earliest names of Tallinn include Kolyvan, which is known from East Slavic chronicles, up to the 13th century, the Scandinavians and Henry of Livonia in his chronicle called the town Lindanisa (or Lyndanisse in Danish, Lindanäs in Swedish and Ledenets in Old East Slavic. It has been suggested that the archaic Estonian word linda is similar to the Votic word lidna. According to this suggestion, nisa would have the meaning niemi, producing Kesoniemi, another ancient historical name for Tallinn in Finnish is Rääveli. The Icelandic Njals saga mentions Tallinn and calls it Rafala, which is a variant of the name Raphael, after the Danish conquest in 1219, the town became known in the German, Swedish and Danish languages as Reval. The name originated from Revelia Revala or Rävala, the adjacent ancient name of the surrounding area and it is usually thought to be derived from Taani-linn, after the Danes built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold at Lindanisse. However, it could also have come from tali-linna, or talu-linna, the element -linna, like Germanic -burg and Slavic -grad / -gorod, originally meant fortress, but is used as a suffix in the formation of town names
2.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
3.
Weather vane
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A weather vane, wind vane, or weathercock is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an ornament to the highest point of a building. Although partly functional, weather vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional design with letters indicating the points of the compass. Other common motifs include ships, arrows and horses, not all weather vanes have pointers. The word vane comes from the Old English word fana meaning flag, below this was a frieze adorned with the eight Greek wind deities. The eight-metre-high structure also featured sundials, and a clock inside. It dates from around 50 BCE, the oldest existing weather vane with the shape of a rooster is the Gallo di Ramperto, made in 820 CE and now preserved in the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia, Lombardy. Pope Leo IV had a cock placed on the Old St. Peters Basilica or old Constantinian basilica. As a result of this, the cock gradually began to be used as a weather vane on church steeples, the Bayeux Tapestry of the 1070s depicts a man installing a cock on Westminster Abbey. One alternative theory about the origin of weathercocks on church steeples is that it was an emblem of the vigilance of the calling the people to prayer. Another theory says that the cock was not a Christian symbol, a few churches used weather vanes in the shape of the emblems of their patron saints. The City of London has two surviving examples, the weather vane of St Peter upon Cornhill is not in the shape of a rooster, but a key, while St Lawrence Jewrys weather vane is in the form of a gridiron. Early weather vanes had very ornamental pointers, but modern wind vanes are usually simple arrows that dispense with the directionals because the instrument is connected to a remote reading station, modern aerovanes combine the directional vane with an anemometer. Co-locating both instruments allows them to use the same axis and provides a coordinated readout, according to the Guinness World Records, the worlds largest weather vane is a Tío Pepe sherry advertisement located in Jerez, Spain. The city of Montague, Michigan also claims to have the largest standard-design weather vane, being a ship and arrow which measures 48 feet tall, a challenger for the title of worlds largest weather vane is located in Whitehorse, Yukon. The weather vane is a retired Douglas DC-3 CF-CPY atop a swiveling support, the weather vane only requires a 5 knot wind to rotate. The term weathervane is also a word for a politician who has frequent changes of opinion. The National Assembly of Quebec has banned use of this term as a slur after its use by members of the legislature
4.
Tallinn Town Hall
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The Tallinn Town Hall is a building in the Tallinn Old Town, Estonia, next to the Town Hall Square. It is the oldest town hall in the whole of the Baltic region, the building is located in the south side of the ancient market square and is 36.8 metres long. The west wall is 14.5 metres in length, and it is a two-storey building with a spacious basement. The vane Old Thomas on the top of the Town Halls tower, the height of the tower is 64 metres. Tallinn Town Hall is located on the Town Hall Square, where the streets Kullassepa street, Dunkri street, one of the shortest streets of Tallinn is Raekoja tänav, which is located behind the Town Hall. The town hall was built by what was then the market square, the town hall square got its current length in the 1370s. Covered with a roof in 1374, the town hall was probably a single-decked stone building with a basement. The attic was used as a storeroom, the facade of this long and narrow building is now a rear wall of the arcade, where you can still see some of the simple statuary framed windows from this time. A Town Hall with a meeting room was firstly mentioned in a Real Estate book in 1322 as a consistorium. Some walls in the part of the modern town hall and seven windows in the basement. In 1364, it was called a playhouse and in 1372 a town hall, the Town council controlled the towns political, economic and partly even parlour action. The Town Hall was often a courthouse and a place to introduce goods, sometimes it was used as a room for theatre. Therefore, it was important to be placed in the heart of the town. In conjunction with the Tallinn Old Town, the Town Hall has been on the UNESCO world Heritage Sites list since 1997, in 2004, Tallinn Town Hall celebrated its 600th birthday. Europa Nostra medal was presented to Tallinn Town Hall at the ceremony on 15 September 2006 by Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission, the Town Hall was initially a building where urban citizens held meetings. It was later used as a government building, a court, the building process of representational town halls started in the 12th century. Usually they were built in the centre of the town, near the market square, the Lübeck Town Hall, the Venetian Doge’s Palace, in Estonia the Town Hall of Narva and of course the Tallinn Town Hall are the most famous ones. The town hall is built out of limestone and the roof out of clay roof tiles
5.
Popinjay (sport)
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Popinjay or Papingo, also called pole archery, is a shooting sport that can be performed with either rifles or archery equipment. The rifle form is a diversion in Denmark, a Scottish variant is also known. The archery form is popular in Belgium and is occasionally in the United Kingdom under the governance of the Grand National Archery Society. In Germany a traditional shooting at wooden birds placed on a pole is called Vogelschießen. These are carried out either with small bore rifles or crossbows, the archery form of popinjay dates back to at least the fifteenth century. The event is believed to have been running since 1483, though the records are only reliable from 1688 when some archers left The Irvine Archers to form kilwinning archers the year previous. In a tradition dating back to 1488, the winner is awarded the Captains Benn, a ribbon worn over the shoulder and across the chest. The prize of an arrow was introduced in 1724, and following that became a perpetual trophy, with a medallion attached each year by the winner commemorating his name. It is officially known as the Papingo Arrow, Popinjay archery is popular in Belgium, but is less common elsewhere. Many Belgian clubs have permanently erected popinjay masts, Popinjay can also be shot horizontally rather than vertically, though this form is even less common. There are no standard rules of popinjay. The definition of rules is left to national archery organisations, the format and rules of popinjay given below are drawn from those defined for the United Kingdom by the Grand National Archery Society. The specific rules are given in the GNAS Rules of Shooting 2006, the object of popinjay is to knock artificial birds off their perches. The perches are cross-pieces on top of a 90-foot mast, the cock is set on the top cross piece. Four smaller hens are set on the next crosspiece down, two dozen or so chicks are set on the lower cross pieces. The archer stands near the base of the mast and shoots arrows upwards at the birds, the arrows are tipped with rubber blunts rather than sharp points. The blunts are between 0.75 inches and 1-inch in diameter, points are scored for each bird knocked off. Typically, the archer scores 5 points for the cock,3 points for a hen and 1 point for a chick, in Manitoba, Canada, the sport is called Pole Archery & there are currently 3 clubs shooting Vertical
6.
Baltic Germans
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The Baltic Germans are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their resettling from Estonia and Latvia during the upheavals and aftermath of the Second World War, the largest groups of present-day descendants of the Baltic Germans are found in Germany and Canada. It is estimated that several thousand still reside in Latvia and Estonia, for centuries Baltic Germans and the Baltic nobility were a ruling class over native “Undeutsche” serfs. The emerging Baltic-German middle class was mostly urban and professional, in the 12th and 13th centuries Germans, both traders and crusaders, began settling in the eastern Baltics. After the Livonian Crusade they assumed control of government, politics, economics, education, with the decline of Latin, German became the language of all official documents, commerce, education and government. After 1710 many of these increasingly took high positions in the military, political and civilian life of the Russian Empire, Baltic Germans held citizenship of the Russian Empire until 1918 and Estonian or Latvian citizenship until 1939–40. The Baltic German population never surpassed more than 10% of the total population, in 1881 there were 180,000 Baltic Germans in Russias Baltic provinces, but by 1914 this number had declined to 162,000. In 1881 there were approximately 46,700 Germans in Estonia, according to the Russian Empire Census of 1897, there were 120,191 Germans in Latvia, or 6. 2% of the population. Baltic German history and presence in the Baltics came to an end in late 1939, following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, almost all the Baltic Germans were resettled by Nazi Germany under the Heim ins Reich program into the newly formed Reichsgaue Wartheland and Danzig-West Prussia. In 1945, most were expelled from these lands by the Soviet army, ethnic Germans from East Prussia and Lithuania are sometimes incorrectly considered Baltic Germans for reasons of cultural, linguistic, and historical affinities. However, the Germans of East Prussia held Prussian, and after 1871, Baltic Germans were not a purely German ethnic group. The early crusaders, tradesmen and craftsmen often married local females, some noble families, like Lievens, even claimed descent from native chieftains. Many of the German Livonian Order soldiers died during the Livonian war, during this time the Low German of the original settlers was replaced by the High German. In those cases where intermarriage occurred, the ethnic group frequently assimilated into German culture, adopting language, customs. They were then considered Germans, leading to the ethnogenesis of the Baltic Germans, barclay de Tolly and George Armitstead, who arrived from the British Isles, became part of the Baltic-German community. Livland, roughly the half of present-day Estonia and the northern and eastern part of todays Latvia, major towns, Riga, Wenden, Wolmar, Walk, Dorpat, Pernau. Kurland, roughly the half of present-day Latvia, major towns. Ösel belonging to present-day Estonia, major town, Arensburg, after the heavy defeat in the 1236 Battle of Saule the Livonian Brothers of the Sword became a part of the Teutonic Order
7.
St Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn
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St Marys Cathedral, Tallinn is a cathedral church located on Toompea Hill in Tallinn, Estonia. Originally established by Danes in the 13th century, it is the oldest church in Tallinn and it is also the only building in Toompea which survived a 17th-century fire. Originally a Roman Catholic cathedral, it became Lutheran in 1561 and it is the seat of the Archbishop of Tallinn, the spiritual leader of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and chairman of that churchs governing synod. The first church was made of wood most likely already and built by 1219, in 1229, when the Dominican monks arrived, they started building a stone church replacing the old wooden one. The monks were killed in a conflict between the Knights of the Sword and vassals supporting the Pope’s legate in 1233 and the church was thus desecrated. A letter asking permission to consecrate it anew was sent to Rome in 1233, the Dominicans couldn’t finish the building. Actually, they built only the base walls, the building was completed in 1240 and it was a one-aisled building with a rectangular chancel. In 1240, it was also named cathedral and consecrated in honour of Virgin Mary, in the beginning of the 14th century, reconstruction of the church began. The reconstruction began with building a new chancel, at about the same time, the new vestry was built. The enlargement of the building to a three-aisled building began in the 1330s. The construction work, however, lasted almost 100 years, the new longitudinal part of the church,29 meters long, built by following the principles of basilica, was completed in the 1430s. The nave’s rectangular pillars had been completed in the half of the 14th century. The church suffered damage in the great fire of 1684 when the entire wooden furnishings were destroyed. Some vaults collapsed and many stone-carved details were severely damaged- especially in the chancel, in 1686, after the fire, the church was practically rebuilt to restore it to its previous state. The new pulpit with figures of the apostles and the altarpiece were made by the Estonian sculptor, the Dome Church’s exterior dates from the 15th century, the spire dates from the 18th century. Most of the church’s furnishings go back to the 17th and 18th centuries, from 1778 to 1779, a new baroque spire was built in the western part of the nave. Two of the four bells date back to 17th century. The organ was made in 1914
8.
St. Olaf's Church, Tallinn
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Its dedication relates to King Olaf II of Norway. The first known written records referring to the date back to 1267. In origin, St Olafs was part of the western tradition of Christianity. However, from the time of the Reformation the church has part of the Lutheran tradition. Eventually proving surplus to the requirements of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tallinn, the Baptist congregation continues to meet at St Olafs today. From 1944 until 1991, the Soviet KGB used Olevistes spire as a radio tower, in 1590, the total height of the church tower was 115. 35–125 m. The tower has been hit by lightning around 10 times, after several rebuildings, its spire is now 123.8 meters tall. List of tallest churches Tourist Sights in Estonia
9.
St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn
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Not to be confused with St Nicholas Church, Tallinn. St. Nicholas Church is a former church in Tallinn. It was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron of the fishermen, originally built in the 13th century, it was partially destroyed in Soviet Bombing of Tallinn in World War II. It has since restored and today houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia. The former church is used as a concert hall. The church was founded and built around 1230–1275 by Westphalian merchants, while the city was still unfortified, the church had heavy bars for closing the entrances, loopholes and hiding places for refugees. When the fortifications around Tallinn were finished in the 14th century, there are only a few parts of the original church that have been preserved through the present. In 1405–1420 St. Nicholas church obtained its current appearance, when the central aisle received a clerestory above the aisles in the form known in architecture as a basilica. In 1515 the tower was higher and covered with late-Gothic spire. In late 17th century the tower was strengthened and secured, the spire was replaced with a Baroque spire with airy galleries, which was raised higher stage by stage through several centuries. The tower is now 105 metres high, Saint Nicholas was the only church in Tallinn which remained untouched by iconoclasm brought by the Protestant Reformation in 1523. The head of the congregation poured molten lead into the locks of the church, on March 9,1944, the church was severely damaged by Soviet Bombing of Tallinn in World War II. The resulting fire turned the church ruins and destroyed most of its interior, including baroque pews, lofts. The tower continued to smoke for about a month, most precious art treasures survived thanks to their timely evacuation from the church. The renovation of the started in 1953 and was completely finished in 1981. The church tower was damaged by a fire on October 12,1982. The tower was burnt out and spire destroyed, roofs of the nave, due to its excellent acoustics, the church is very popular concert hall. Danse Macabre or The Dance of Death was a medieval motif in art
10.
Church of the Holy Spirit, Tallinn
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The Church of the Holy Ghost or Church of the Holy Spirit is a medieval Lutheran church in the old town district of Tallinn, Estonia. It is located behind Raekoja plats, and lies opposite the Great Guild and Maiasmokk, building of the church probably started sometime during the first half of the 13th century, and the church is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1319. The fact that the church does not face due east may suggest that it was erected in an already built-up area and had to adapt to the street layout. The oldest part of the church is the choir, to which the aisle was added sometime in the late 13th century or early 14th century, the original wooden ceiling was replaced in 1360, when the present vaulting, tower and large gothic windows were added. In 1630, the received its current appearance, which however is a reconstruction as the tower was ravaged by fire in both 1684 and 2002. The church was the first church in Estonia to hold services in Estonian, chronicler Balthasar Russow was a pastor of the church. The stained glass windows are late 20th century, most noteworthy in the exterior is the finely carved clock, a work by Christian Ackermann. The layout of the interior is unusual, with the choir located asymmetrically to the north. Of the interior decoration, especially the main altar, a work by Bernt Notke, is noteworthy. It dates from 1483 and depicts, on the central panel, the galleries in the church are richly decorated with scenes from the Bible, painted in the mid-17th century and probably by different artists. Of more recent origin is the organ, dating from 1929, media related to Church of Holy Spirit in Tallinn at Wikimedia Commons
11.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn
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The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an orthodox cathedral in the Tallinn Old Town, Estonia. It was built to a design by Mikhail Preobrazhensky in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinns largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, the late Russian patriarch, Alexis II, started his priestly ministry in the church. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral crowns the hill of Toompea which is one of places where according to legend the Estonian folk hero Kalevipoegs father Kalev is said to have been buried. As the USSR was officially non-religious, many churches including this cathedral were left to decline, the church has been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The cathedral is decorated and has eleven bells cast in Saint Petersburg. It has three altars, with the altar dedicated to Vladimir I and the southern to St. Sergius of Radonezh. The base of the building is Finnish granite, in the five onion domes, gilded iron crosses are seen. Inside are three gilded, carved wooden iconostases, along with four icon boxes, the icons of the iconostasis and icon boxes were painted in St. Petersburg on copper and zinc plates. The windows are decorated with stained glass, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Warsaw, demolished after the restoration of Polish independence
12.
Kadriorg Palace
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Kadriorg Palace is a Petrine Baroque palace built for Catherine I of Russia by Peter the Great in Tallinn, Estonia. Both the Estonian and the German name for the palace means Catherines valley and it was built after the Great Northern War to Nicola Michettis designs by Gaetano Chiaveri and Mikhail Zemtsov. The palace currently houses the Kadriorg Art Museum, a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia, the KUMU branch of the museum, showing Estonian art from the 18th century onwards is furthermore situated in the park. The house today is the result of a drastic renovation ordered by Nicholas I of Russia in 1827, however, plans for a larger palace in the area soon developed and construction of a new palace, Kadriorg, was started on 25 July 1718. Peter and Catherine visited the residence on several occasions. The great hall with Catherines initials and profuse stucco decor survives, the gardener Ilya Surmin was responsible for the flower garden with two fountains and the so-called mirage garden on several levels. The layout of the park shares similarities with that of Strelna, after the death of Peter the Great, the palace received little attention from the Russian royal family. It was sporadically visited, by the empress Elisabeth and Catherine the Great, in 1828-1830 extensive restoration works of the palace and grounds took place. Between 1741 and 1917, the palace housed the civilian governor of the Governorate of Estonia. After the declaration of independence of Estonia in 1919, the palace became state property, for a time, one of the wings housed the studio of sculptor August Weizenberg while the palace was used for art exhibitions. From this era, the library in elaborate so-called Danzig baroque style, a purpose-built presidential palace on the grounds was designed by Alar Kotli. The palace became the site for the Art Museum of Estonia in 1921. The museum was re-housed in temporary locations from 1929 while the palace was being converted into the Estonian presidents residence, during the German occupation of Estonia during World War II, the palace was the residence of the civilian governor of occupied Estonia, Karl-Siegmund Litzmann. Restoration works, supported by the government of Sweden, began in 1991 and it was also decided that a new building would be established nearby for the section of the museum devoted to Estonian art. From 1993 until 2005 a part of the collection could be visited at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn’s city centre. The restored palace was reopened in the summer of 2000, but it no longer serves as the building of the museum. Culture of Estonia List of palaces and manor houses in Estonia Media related to Kadriorg palace at Wikimedia Commons Kadriorg virtual tour
