Medieval Old Town

| Lower Town | Medieval churches | Latin Quarter| Town wall, towers & gates | Upper Town | Beyond the Old Town |

The unique value of Tallinn’s Old Town lies first and foremost in the well-preserved completeness of its medieval milieu and structure, which has been lost in most of the capitals of northern Europe. Since 1997, the Old Town of Tallinn has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Its powerful defensive structures have protected Tallinn from being destroyed in wars, and its lack of wooden buildings has protected it from burning down. But it is also crucial that Tallinn hasn’t been massively rebuilt in the interest of dispensing with the old and modernising the town.

Tallinn is one of the best retained medieval European towns, with its web of winding cobblestone streets and properties, from the 11th to 15th centuries, preserved nearly in its entirety. All the most important state and church buildings from the Middle Ages have been preserved in their basic original form, as well as many citizens’ and merchants’ residences, along with barns and warehouses from the medieval period.

The golden era in Tallinn’s history lies in the period between the early 15th and mid 16th centuries. Tallinn had attained fame and a powerful role in the Baltic Sea area through its membership in the Hanseatic League. Economic might carried with it both the need to defend the city and the opportunity for a rich period of architectural and artistic creativity.

The Old Town - Lower Town

Town Hall Square

The square in front of Tallinn’s Town Hall functioned as a marketplace for centuries, dating back to times even before the Town Hall itself was built. Through the years this served as a place of celebrations as well as executions...

Tallinn Town Hall is the best-preserved Medieval town hall in Northern Europe.
The Town Hall was first mentioned as early as 1322, when it appears to have been in its present site on the Town Hall square. It was reconstructed and given the external appearance we see today, however, in 1402-1404...

Town Hall Pharmacy is one of the oldest pharmacies still functioning in its original spot in all of Europe. The pharmacy, which stands on the corner of the Town Hall Square, was first mentioned in historical documents in 1422...

Great Guild Hall was the second largest secular building after the Town Hall in Medieval Tallinn.
The Great Guild was an organization uniting the city's wealthy merchants, and intended for protecting its members' common interests. Tallinn's mayor and the city fathers were also chosen from among the members of the Great Guild...

House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads is nearly the only preserved Renaissance building in Tallinn.
The Brotherhood of Black Heads emerged in 1399. The Brotherhood united the young, single merchants before they could be accepted into the Great Guild, as well as foreign merchants who were residing in Tallinn for longer periods but not permanently...

Medieval Churches

St. Olav’s Church was the tallest church in Medieval Europe. The earliest data on St. Olav’s Church come from 1267. Little is known about the building of this Gothic style church and its early years, but there may have been a church on this location as early as the 12th century, alongside the Scandinavian market yard. ...

St. Nicholas’s Church has three of the four most important Medieval works of art in Estonia on display.
German merchants from the island of Gotland built this church to St. Nicholas, the protector of sailors. It was originally built in the early 13th century, when the church was like a fortress...

Church of the Holy Ghost is the only sacred building from the 14th century in Tallinn that has preserved its original form.
The simple, humble Church of Holy Ghost was completed in the 1360's and, but for the exception of the baroque spire, it has retained its original medieval exterior...

Latin Quarter

Dominican Monastery Museum is the oldest cloister in downtown Tallinn.
St. Catherine's monastery was founded in 1246. The structure of the building is that of a typical Catholic cloister. The most powerful building in the cloister complex is the church...

Dominican Monastery Claustrum
The fascinating inner chambers of the Dominican Monastery once included three wings, together called Claustrum, of which the east wing still remains...