Tallinn Old Town is cited as “among the most remote and powerful outposts of the colonizing activities of the Hanseatic League in the north-eastern part of Europe in the 13th-16th centuries, provided a crucible within which an international secular-ecclesiastical culture resulting from the interchange of Cistercians, Dominicans, the Teutonic Order and the traditions of the Hanseatic League, formed and was itself exported throughout northern Europe” and as a Medieval City that constitutes “a remarkable reflection of the coexistence of the seat of feudal overlords and a Hanseatic trading centre within the shelter of a common system of walls and fortifications.” Inscribed Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn, has “demonstrated in its existence as an outstanding, exceptionally complete and well preserved example of a medieval northern European trading city that retains the salient features of this unique form of economic and social community to a remarkable degree.”

We started our exploration of the Old Town in the Toompea (Upper Town), the stronghold of the former Tallinn nobility. We passed by two cathedrals: the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Lutheran St. Mary’s Cathedral. The former is magnificent and reminiscent of Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral (based on materials available online, I've never been to Moscow). We did not have a chance to enter the former – but its exterior is a massive rectangular structure, which reminded me of small churches or the kapilya in the Philippines. We also had a good view of the Estonian Parliament building inside Toompea Castle, just opposite the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. 

After a few minutes of walking, we had a quick coffee break inside a retrofitted old Medieval house. We enjoyed a panorama of the well-preserved Old Town from the Kohtuotsa viewing platform. My immediate thought was simply amazement. It was as if I was looking at a mega-diorama depicting one of the Grimm Brother’s folk stories.

We continued our walk to the Lower Town where we encountered the medieval merchant’s houses and learned why Tallinn was founded on this particular spot, how it developed, reasons for ti to have many churches, and the reasons for these churches to be so tall. Katarina (our excellent tour guide) told us that the location was very strategic because it was so central and not far from the coast. The hill where the Old Town stands provided a natural fortress from invaders. The stones surrounding the town are both insulators during the winter and coolants during the summer. Going down along Long Leg Street, Katarina showed us St. Olaf’s Church, the highest building in the world during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Long Leg Street was the "neutral-ground" between the nobility and the commoners during the medieval period.

Our tour ended at the Town Hall Square in Reval (Lower Town). The Lower Town is the more significant part of Medieval Tallinn. Goods from around the world came in through the Baltic Sea and were traded on the market on Town Hall Square. Some sites of interest in Reval include the Gothic Town Hall, the Holy Spirit Church's wooden clock, and the world's oldest functioning pharmacy, Town Hall Pharmacy. The wooden clock is a favorite site. According to culturetrekking.com, the clock has been measuring time since 1684. Located on Pikk Street, it is the oldest clock in Tallinn. The paintings and ornate carvings were created by the famous Tallinn master, Christian Ackerman. If you look closely at it, an inscription reads “I strike time correctly for all, for the maidservant, for the master, and for the mistress of the house. No one can reproach me.”

If you get to visit Tallinn in the near future, I recommend that you imagine yourself as a character in any of the Grimm Brothers’ tales or any fairy tale. Or maybe you have to imagine yourself as one of the characters in Shrek, which for me, is the most Medieval tale among all fairy tales, a not so popular opinion but Shrek decentred the fairy tale narratives. At the same time, it is, for me, the most post-modern narrative, considering the happy ever after in Shrek is deconstructed. From the usual boy meets girl during the time the girl was in distress, and because the boy saved the girl, they are married and live happily ever after. Happily ever after is posited as an ideology, perhaps even an illusion. But why am I engaging Shrek when this is not Duloc! This is Tallinn - a very, very magical heritage site.