TOOMPEA CASTLE
Tallinn, Estonia
Toompea Hill dominates the
beautiful city of Tallinn and has been a
stronghold since at least the 9th
Century!
As ever, myths surrounding the
creation of the Hill in the otherwise flat
landscape of Estonia are worth mentioning. It is said that Linda,
mother-in-law
of Kalev (the founder of Estonia) built the hill boulder-by-boulder
(for
reasons which are not very clear). Tallinn was once known as Lyndanisse
(‘The
Nipple of Linda’) in Estonian. Less romantically, the Hill as
a natural
strongpoint was occupied in prehistoric times and is certainly the site
of the
first occupation around Tallinn.
History remains murky until
1219 when the Danish under Valdemar II arrived
in Estonia and took the Castle. One of the great legends of Denmark
actually
occurred here in Estonia, when the very first flag of Denmark fell from
the sky
during the Battle of Lyndanisse. This flag is the oldest flag in
continuous
use, as the Danes are keen to tell you. The Danish rebuilt the Castle
and it
became known as the ‘Castle of the Danes’
– in Estonia ‘Taanilinnus’ which is
thought to be the origin of the name Tallinn, although the city has
been known
as Reval for most of its existence.
In 1227 work
began to
rebuild the
Castle under the aegis of the Brethren of the Sword. The Castle they
built is
the basis of the structure which we see today, although many of the
towers were
not added until later. In 1237 the Danish were back in control and they
stayed
until 1346 when Castle, City and half of Estonia was sold to the
Teutonic
Order.
The Teutonic
Order were
responsible for adding the famous towers of the Castle, including 312
foot tall
‘Tall Herman’ on which the Estonian flag is flown
every day. By the time they
lost power in the 16th
Century Livonian Wars Toompea Castle was much
as we see it today – as long as you view it from below the
hill!
If you climb the
hill it is
almost impossible to see anything Castle-like about Toompea Castle.
In 1561 northern
Estonia
became a
Swedish dominion. The Swedes were the first to start to change the
Castle from
a fortress to a palace. It became the seat of their administration in
Estonia
and it has, more or less, fulfilled a similar function since.
In 1710 it was
the turn of
the
Russians to take control and Estonia was absorbed into Peter the
Great’s
Russian Empire. At this time the Castle was turned into a Baroque and
Neoclassical building – similar to the ones being built in
St. Petersburg – and
it is this building that today houses Estonia’s Parliament
and dominates the
hilltop view of the Castle.
Estonia declared
independence in
1918 but it was short-lived. After World War II the Soviets arrived and
Tallinn
became a closed city. Finally, with independence in 1991 Toompea Hill
returned
to its place as the heart of the City and the Estonian nation.
©
Text copyright - Raving Loony Productions and Andrew J. Müller
© Photos and Artwork - Andrew J. and Jacqui Müller
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2019