Tallinn tourist information

The southern coast of the Gulf of Finland is thought to have been settled by Finnic-speaking tribes already in the 2nd millennium BC.

In 1154 Tallinn was marked on the world map of the Arab cartographer al-Idrisi.

As an important port for trade between Russia and Scandinavia, it became a target for the expansion of the Teutonic Knights and Kingdom of Denmark during the period of Northern Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century when Christianity was forcibly imposed on the local population. Danish rule of Tallinn and Northern Estonia started in 1219.

In 1285 the city became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League - a mercantile and military alliance of German-dominated cities in Northern Europe. The Danes sold Tallinn along with their other land possessions in northern Estonia to the Teutonic Order in 1345. Medieval Tallinn enjoyed a strategic position at the crossroads of trade between Western and Northern Europe and Russia. The city, with a population of 8,000, was very well fortified with city walls and 66 defence towers.

With the start of the reformation the German influence became even stronger. In 1561 Tallinn became a dominion of Sweden.

During the Great Northern War the Swedish troops based in Tallinn capitulated to Imperial Russia in 1710, but the local Baltic German rulers retained their cultural and economical autonomy within Tsarist Russia. The 19th century brought industrialization of the city and the port kept its importance. During the last decades of the century Russification became stronger.

On 24 February 1918 the Independence Manifesto was proclaimed in Tallinn, followed by German occupation and a war of independence with Russia. On 2 February 1920 the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed with Soviet Russia, wherein Russia forever acknowledged the independence of the Estonian Republic. Tallinn became the capital. During World War II Estonia was first occupied by the USSR in 1940-41, by Nazi Germany in 1941-44, and then again by the USSR in 1944. As Estonia was forcibly annexed into the Soviet Union, Tallinn became the capital of the Estonian SSR.

During the 1980 Summer Olympics a regatta was held at Pirita, north-east of central Tallinn. Many buildings, like the hotel "Olümpia", the new Main Post Office building, and the Regatta Center, were built for the Olympics.

In August 1991 an independent democratic Estonian state was re-established and a period of quick development to a modern European capital ensued.

Tallinn has historically consisted of three parts:

* the Toompea (Domberg) or "Cathedral Hill", which was the seat of the central authority, first the ruling bishops, then the Teutonic Order, then the Baltic German nobility; it is today the seat of the Estonian government and many embassies and residencies. * the Old Town, which is the old Hanseatic town, the "city of the citizens" - this was not administratively united with the Hill until the late 19th century. It was the centre of the medieval trade on which it grew prosperous. * the Estonian town forms a crescent to the south of the Old Town, where the Estonians came to settle. It was not until the mid-19th century that ethnic Estonians replaced the local Baltic Germans as the majority amongst the residents of Tallinn.

Historically, the city has been attacked, sacked, razed and pillaged on numerous occasions. Although extensively bombed by Soviet air forces during the latter stages of World War II, much of the medieval Old Town still retains its charm. The Tallinn Old Town (including Toompea) became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1997.

At the end of the 15th century a new 159 m high Gothic spire was built for St. Olav's Church. Between 1549 and 1625 it was the tallest building in the world. After several fires and following rebuilding, its overall height is now 123 m.

City transport
The city operates an extensive system of bus, tram and trolley-bus routes to all districts. Fares are reasonably-priced and a flat-fare system is used. Payment is made either by pre-purchase of tickets at street-side kiosks or to the vehicle driver (but this is more expensive) - tickets must then be validated using machines on the vehicle. The Tallinn Card is a way of pre-paying for local transport.

Since 2004, holders of an Estonian ID card can purchase electronic tickets via internet, phone, some ATMs or using cash.

Airport
Tallinn Airport is about 4 kilometres from Raekoja plats (Town Hall square); there's a local bus connection between the airport and the edge of the city centre. The terminal building is a small but modern, convenient and clean building - the modernisation was famously prompted by Estonian President Lennart Meri holding a press conference in the terminal's public toilets to publicise the poor state of the facilities.

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Several airlines (eg, easyJet, Estonian Air, Finnair, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa and SAS) operate between Tallinn and European cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Kiev, Milan, Moscow, Stockholm and Warsaw.

In addition, there is an hourly helicopter service to Helsinki operated by Copterline, advertised as the fastest capital-to-capital link in the world. Copterline leaves from Linnahall, an events hall on the outskirts of the old town.

Rail and Road
The Edelaraudtee railway company operates train services from Tallinn to Tartu, Valga, Türi, Viljandi, Tapa, Narva, Orava, and Pärnu. Buses are also available to all these and various other destinations in Estonia, as well as to St Petersburg in Russia and Riga in Latvia. The EVR Ekspress company operates a daily international sleeper train service between Tallinn and Moscow.

Tallinn also has a commuter rail service running from Tallinn's main rail station (Balti jaam) in two main directions: east (Aegviidu) and to several western destinations (Päsküla, Keila, Riisipere, Paldiski, Klooga). These are electrified lines and are used by the Elektriraudtee railroad company. The trains are a mixture of modernised older Soviet EMU's and newly built units. The first electrified train service in Tallinn was opened in 1924 from Tallinn to Päsküla, a distance of 11.2 kilometres.

The Via Baltica motorway (part of European route E67 from Helsinki to Prague) connects Tallinn to the Lithuanian/Polish border.

Frequent and affordable long-distance bus routes connect Tallinn with other parts of Estonia.

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