From the time that Peter the Great captured Tallinn in 1710 until just after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, Tallinn was under Russian Tsarist rule. Though the Baltic Germans still played a dominant role in town life, the Russian empire brought its own customs, architecture, and the Russian Orthodox religion, all of which heavily influenced the development of Tallinn through the 18th and 19th centuries. The most lasting remnants of that era are symbols of the Tsar’s power and extravagance, such as the magnificent Kadriorg palace and surrounding parks, and the symbols of the empire itself, such as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Kadriorg

The emergence and development of Kadriorg was influenced first and foremost by the high society of the tsar’s empire. The streets of Kadriorg are as good as a unique architectural museum, weaving together various centuries and cultures. Noble villas and summer estates, functionalist apartment buildings with stately flats are interspersed with cheaper Estonian rented wooden houses. Kadriorg is one of the more dignified areas even today, and one of the best loved residential regions of Tallinn. The Estonian resident’s residence and many foreign embassies are located here. The park is one of the favourite spots for walking of Tallinners young and old. But Kadriorg is famed mostly for its baroque palace and park ensemble, begun in 1718 as the summer palace for the family of Russian tsar Peter I. In February 2006 the Estonian Art Museum opened in Kadriorg. Kumu is the first purpose-built museum in Estonia – KUMU – where both classical and contemporary Estonian art are displayed and exhibitions on international contemporary art are held.

Kadriorg Palace – The Kadriorg Art Museum

Peter I began building the palace in 1718, and it was called Ekaterinenthal, or Catherinenthal, in honour of Catherine I. It is said that the tsar himself laid the first foundation stones for the palace...

Kadriorg Palace Ensemble

Surrounding the Palace are several interesting palace side buildings. For example the restored kitchen building is now occupied by a cosy art museum called the Mikkel Museum, and the humble summer estate is the Peter I House Museum...

Peter the Great’s Cottage, also known as “the old palace” (the current Kadriorg Palace being “the new palace”), has a long and fascinating history. This humble structure is where Peter the Great and Catherine I stayed during visits to Tallinn in the early 18th century. Alexander I and several tsars’ courtiers have also frequented the cottage...

Russalka located on Kadriorg’s beach, is a monument to the armoured ship Russalka, which headed out from Tallinn to Helsinki in 1893. A storm prevented it from ever reaching its destination, and it took all 177 crewmen to the bottom of the sea. The Russalka sculpture, by A. Adamson, is one of the classics of Estonian art...

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinn's largest and grandest cupola cathedral.
The large, richly decorated Orthodox church, in mixed historicist style, was built on Toompea Hill in 1900, when Estonia was part of the Russian tsarist empire. The architect of the church was Mikhail Preobrazhenski from St. Petersburg...

St.Nicholas’ Orthodox Church
The marketplace of medieval Russian merchants was located in the Sulevimäe and Vene St. area of Tallinn from at least the12th century. The center of the market was the church, which is still functioning today and the church contains a treasured iconostasis...