Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is located in the northern part of the country on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Across the Gulf of Finland, 80 km north lies Helsinki, nearly 300 km to the east, St. Petersburg, and Riga is about the same distance to the south.
Due to its auspicious geographical location Tallinn
has been a meeting point of the trading routes between east and west throughout
the history. Finno-Ugric people settled in the Tallinn area more than 3500
years ago. In 1154 Arabian geographer al-Idrisi marked Tallinn on his world
map.
In the beginning of 13th century Danish king Waldemar II conquered Tallinn and was followed by Swedish, German and Russian rulers. All of them influenced Tallinn’s architectural history that can be seen today in Tallinn’s compact and well preserved Old Town.
It is unique in Northern Europe and has been inscribed
on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Romantic network of crooked cobblestone streets,
two km of the old city wall an d twenty-six defence towers, churches and
convents, the oldest apothecary still running in the worlds, passages and
courtyards imposing merchants’ dwellings give a true medieval spirit underlying
the Old Town to this day.
But not only is the Old Town worth visiting. The simple, sleek designs of recent buildings of the Tallinn “City” are represent the modern face of the town – up to date office buildings, banks, high quality hotels, conference centres, etc. The success of innovative applications of information and communication technology in daily life in Tallinn has drawn world-wide attention.
The population of Tallinn is around 400 000.
Local language is Estonian that is a Finno-Ugric language and closely related
to Finnish language. Foreign languages Russian, English and Finnish are widely
spoken.
Tallinn’s culture has most in common with the European
way of life, with affinities to both Scandinavian and German aesthetics and
customs, but also drawing influences from the Slavic world.
Many annual events have become traditions such as Old
Town days, jazz, film and theatre festivals, beerfests and others, bringing
visitors from near and far. Tallinn’s cultural life is young, lively, open and
innovative. Small wonder, then, that a modern dance group considered only
yesterday to be too radical in New York can perform today to a full house in
Tallinn. Or a DJ just discovered to be making waves in London week ago can be
playing tomorrow evening in one of the Tallinn’s clubs.
If not interested in special events one can spend hours and hours exploring the numerous galleries and museums of Tallinn.
In addition, Estonia and Tallinn are one of the most
wired-up – and wireless – places on the planet. Free Wi-Fi is widely available,
everywhere from the airport to the beach.
Fans of folklore and traditional culture will not be disappointed either. Folk holidays are celebrated in traditional style, and folk dance and music can be enjoyed at Rocca- al Mare Open Air Museum. The most impressive of all folk traditions in Tallinn are the National Song and Dance Festivals held every five years.
