2012, SEPTEMBER 14: ESTONIA, TALLINN - CITY TOUR

We started our guided City Tour of Tallinn at Song Festival Grounds. The main feature of the  Ground is a huge stage. Built in 1959, it can hold up to 15,000 individuals. At the space in front of the stage can accommodate up to 75,000 people.

 

Song Festival, Tallinn

 

In June 1988, during what came to be known as the Singing Revolution against the Soviet occupation, a much larger crowd of Estonians attended the Night Song Festival here. Estimates of number on people here on that day vary from 100,000 to 300,000.

 

A large statue of seated Gustav Ernesaks stands on one side of the Grounds, across the stage. Gustav Ernesaks was an Estonian composer and a choir conductor, who had played an important role in the Singing Revolution.

Gustav Ernesaks Statue,  Song Festival Grounds, Tallinn

 

 

The Song Festival was established in 1869. A stone marker of the centennial of the Song Festival stands nearby.

 

 

Song Festival Centennial Marker, Tallinn

 

Not far from there is the Russalka Memorial, a bronze monument to the sinking of the Russian warship Rusalka, (Mermaid) in 1893. It depicts an angel holding a cross, facing in the assumed direction of the shipwreck.

 

Russalka Memorial, Tallinn

Our next destination was the Old Town. It consists of Upper Town and Lower Town.

The Upper Town, called Toompea, started with the Danish stone fort built in the early 13^th century. Later it served as the administrative centre of the country.

The Lower Town was started by German traders and artisans. Later they separated it from the Upper Town with a fortified wall.

                                                                               Lower Town, Tallinn

Our walking tour started from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Built at the end of the 19^th Century, when Estonia was a part of the Russian Empire, it is the city’s largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral.

Listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, Tallinn Old Town is a well-preserved maze of narrow, winding and cobbled medieval streets. Parts of them are lined with churches, homes, restaurants, and souvenir, amber, antique shops.

 

 

A Street, Old Town, Tallinn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

A Street, Old Town, Tallinn
 

 

 

 

 

 

                        Amber Shop, Old Town, Tallinn

                                                                                                                       Restaurant, Old Town, Tallinn

                        Antique Shop, Old Town, Tallinn

 

                                                                                                                              Old Town, Tallinn

                             Graffiti, Old Town, Tallinn

Some of the buildings have history markers. One such building, which we came across, had a relief sculpture of Voldemar Panso, the first leader of the Drama School of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

                                                                              Voldemar Panso Building, Tallinn

We ended our tour at the Town Hall Square, which is a popular venue for festivals and concerts. Also several bars and restaurants are located here.

 

Town Hall Square, Tallinn

Town Hall Square, Tallinn

                          Town Hall Square, Tallinn

                                                                                                                      Town Hall Square, Tallinn

Town Hall Square is believed to be one of the best-preserved historic centers in Europe. With its imposing façade, the Town Hall building dominates the Square.

Town Hall, Tallinn

Next day we were scheduled to leave for Helsinki, Finland, by 9:15 a. m ferry.