Atlantica - 01.06.2002, Page 48

46 A T L A N T I C A
pendence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the city has catapulted
itself into the modern world of global capitalism, and a steady
stream of tourists has begun trickling in. And Tallinn is ready for
an even larger influx of visitors: it has numerous cafés, chic shops,
streamlined high-rises and fancy hotels, including the newly con-
structed Radisson SAS. The people of Tallinn are technosavvy.
Just about every resident carries a cellphone – one can even pay
for parking via text messages. There are loads of Internet cafés,
and a few years ago the Estonian government stopped the press-
es and went paperless, conducting the lion’s share of its business
over the Internet.
So Tallinn has emerged from the cocoon of communism as a
brightly-coloured butterfly. But is the capital of Estonia really the
fifth coolest place on the planet? That all depends on what you’re
looking for.
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
A visit to Tallinn inevitably starts off with a walking trip through
Old Town, the best preserved medieval centre in Europe. Beware
women: do not wear high heels. The streets and sidewalks of Old
Town are cobbled with gaping gaps between each stone. Thank
goodness for my Nike air max.
Old Town is divided into two parts: Upper Town, or Toompea,
where noblemen once hung their hats in large manor houses, and
the Lower Town, at its base, which was home to free-trading mer-
chants and commoners. The two districts were separated by gates
that were locked at night; the two sides rarely engaged with one
another except in times of war when they joined forces to fight a
common enemy.
I start exploring Old Town at Kiek in de Kök, one of Tallinn’s most
well-known cannon towers. The name means ‘Look into the
Kitchen’ which, according to our friendly guide, was a possibility
during the Middle Ages due to the height of the tower and the
design of chimneys in those times. She tells me that it’s also called
“the Virgins’ Tower” because it once housed “naughty girls”.
Regardless of which story you enjoy, there are six cannon balls
walled into the front of the tower courtesy of Ivan the Terrible, a
reminder of the Livonian War, when the Russians besieged the for-
tification.
We haven’t even made it up Toompea and we’ve already
digressed deep into Tallinn’s history. Such is our fate. Just about
every attraction in Tallinn’s medieval city has a back story.
Take the Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which stands
across from Tallinn’s gaudy parliament building. Erected at the
end of the 19th century, during a period of Russian occupation,
the ornate cathedral is a reminder of Russia’s past power, and
Estonia’s czarist past.
Our walking tour skips past the cathedral, as our guide, who
remembers oh too well the years of Russian occupation, would
rather continue down Toom-Rüütli to Patkuli vaateplatvorm, an
overlook next to parliament that juts out above Lower Town. The
view from this square is where the upper and lower halves of Old
Town are put into perspective. Today, the small square is full of
tourists snapping photos of the red-tiled roofs and stone towers
rising out of Old Town’s lower half, all washed in the purple haze
of twilight. The picturesque square is not just for tourists, as many
young Estonian couples hold hands beneath the cover of
romance.
Patkuli vaateplatvorm has an interesting history. It’s named after
the Estonian nobleman Johann Reinhold von Patkul who formed
an alliance to fight against Sweden’s King Charles XII, leading to
the Northern War. When peace was made with Sweden in 1706,
the King had the young political adventurer quartered. For those
not familiar with the period’s torture methods, this meant that his
The new face of Tallinn; at right, the streets of Old Town.
The lunch crowd in Town Hall Square.
Tallinn
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