The city walls and towers description and photos - Estonia: Tallinn (Topic)

The city walls and towers description and photos - Estonia: Tallinn. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. English title - The city walls and towers.

Photo and description

The Tallinn City Wall, built in the 13th century, was one of the most powerful and reliable defensive structures in Northern Europe in the 16th century. The height of the wall, together with 46 towers, reached 16 meters, the thickness was 3 meters, and the length was 4 kilometers. A part of the wall 2 km long and 26 defensive towers have survived to this day. Some of the towers that have survived to this day include the Great Sea Gate and the Fat Margaret Tower, the Maiden's Tower, Kiek in de Kok.

The Great Sea Gate and the Fat Margaret Tower were not only built to to protect the city from the sea, but also to surprise the overseas guests who come to Tallinn. The gate, built at the same time as the city wall, is located in the northern part of the city, next to the harbor. At the beginning of the 16th century, a tower with 155 loopholes was built next to them. This tower, 20 meters high and 25 m in diameter, was named Tolstaya Margarita for its enormous dimensions. Throughout its long history, the tower has been both an armory and a prison. Today, this tower houses the Estonian Maritime Museum, the exposition is presented on 4 floors. Here you can see rare exhibits: an old diving and fishing facility, things found at the bottom of the sea, a captain's bridge, type of 1950 and much more. There is an observation deck at the top of the tower, from where a breathtaking view of the harbor, the bay and the Old Town opens.

The powerful Kiek in de Kok tower was built in the period from 1475 to 1483. The tower is 38 meters high, 17 meters in diameter and 4 meters thick. From the top of the towers, one could see not only the rear of the enemies, but also the kitchens of the Tallinn hostesses, for which the building received its interesting name, which in translation from Lower Saxon means: "Look into the kitchen." The tower has been rebuilt several times throughout its history. Today, as a result of restoration work, the Kiek in de Kok tower looks exactly the same as when it was founded. Today, it houses a permanent exhibition telling about the history of Tallinn and the most important military events, which are reminded of the stone and cast-iron cannonballs stuck in the walls of this tower.

The Maiden Tower (Neitsitorn), built in the second half of the 14th century, over the existing centuries it was repeatedly damaged and rebuilt each time during restoration. In the Middle Ages, the tower was a prison for girls of easy virtue.

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Topic: The city walls and towers description and photos - Estonia: Tallinn.