Tallinn is a beautiful old city, the capital of Estonia, located in the northern part of the country. The population of this city is 413 thousand people. If you are thinking about where you can best celebrate Christmas, Estonia in this regard is ready to offer tourists a whole host of pleasant opportunities for a memorable cultural holiday and a variety of interesting entertainment.
The city of Tallinn is considered to be one of the most ancient Estonian cities. In particular, the first historical mention of it dates back to 1154. Then it was called Kolyvan, and under this name it was marked on the famous map by the famous Arab geographer and cartographer Al-Idrisi. He described it as a small town spread around a powerful fortified castle. However, some modern scholars believe that Al-Idrisi did not describe Tallinn itself in this way, but its predecessor city, which has not survived to this day.
As you know, originally Tallinn was called Kolyvan, this name is known to us from the chronicles of the Eastern Slavs. It is believed that the city received this name from the name of Kalev, who is a famous mythical hero of the Estonian epic. By the beginning of the 13th century, the Scandinavians called this city Lindanise. This name also has a mythological basis, since Linda was the name of the wife of this same Kalev.
As for the further history of Tallinn, in the late Middle Ages it became a very large trading port, through which trade was mainly carried out between Russia and Scandinavia. In 1285, the city became the northernmost trading center that joined the Hanseatic League. Initially, this economically attractive center of transit trade was occupied by the Danes, who subsequently sold it to the Teutonic Knights.
In those days, Tallinn was a lively trading city with a population of about 8,000 people. In addition, it was well fortified - it had high and strong city walls, as well as 66 defensive towers. Shortly after the start of the Reformation in Europe, the inhabitants of Tallinn supported these revolutionary trends and converted en masse to Lutheranism. In 1561, Tallinn officially became a Swedish dominion.
During the Northern War, all of Estonia, together with Tallinn, was captured by Russian troops, and after the signing of a peace treaty with Sweden, this territory became part of the Russian Empire. During this period of history, Tallinn also changed its name - now it became known as Revel. Modern Tallinn is actively growing and developing, gradually turning into a vibrant and multifaceted European capital. Beautiful architectural monuments and ancient streets border here with high-rise office skyscrapers and bright shopping centers.
The architectural sights of Tallinn are famous for their diversity. Most of the beautiful old buildings are concentrated in the old town, the so-called Vyshgorod quarter. This area of Tallinn is the oldest, here you can see a large number of buildings from the 11th-15th centuries. Moreover, Vyshgorod is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a well-preserved complex of European medieval architecture.
Also in Tallinn you will find beautiful cathedrals and churches. For example, among them one can note the Cathedral (Domsky) Cathedral, which is the most ancient church in the city. Of considerable interest is the Dominican monastery.
Still in doubt? Take a sightseeing tour of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
And a video about what Tallinn offers tourists for Christmas:
As you know, Tallinn is located in Northern Europe, not far from Scandinavia. Check out neighboring countries! If you want to spend a wonderful Christmas, Norway , Sweden or Denmark will always be happy to host Russian tourists.
The article was prepared for the site shop-ultra.ru.
