Toompea castle ( et, Toompea loss) is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Toompea Toompea (from german: Domberg, "Cathedral Hill") is a limestone hill in the central part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The hill is an oblong tableland, which measures about 400 by 250 metres, has an area of and is about 20–30 ...

hill in the central part of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, the capital of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. In modern times, it houses the

Parliament of Estonia The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Just ...

History

The Toompea castle's predecessor, an ancient Estonian stronghold had been in use since at least the 9th century AD. In 1219, the castle was taken over by

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

led by king

Valdemar II Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

. According to a popular Danish legend, the

flag of Denmark The national flag of Denmark ( da, Dannebrog, ) is red with a white Nordic cross, which means that the cross extends to the edges of the flag and the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. A banner with a white-on-red cross is ...

(''Dannebrog'') fell from the sky during a critical stage of the battle (known as the Battle of Lindanise). This first proper castle was referred to as the "Castle of the Danes", in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''castrum danorum'' and in contemporary archaic Estonian ''taani linna''. From the latter, the modern name of the city of Tallinn is possibly derivedDictionary of the Estonian language
accessed 1 April 2022) (see also Tallinn#Etymology). In 1227, the castle was taken over by the

Order of the Brethren of the Sword german: Schwertbrüderordenfrench: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive , image= , caption= , dates=1204–1237 , country= Terra Mariana , allegiance= Catholic Church , garrison= Wenden (Cēsis), Fellin (Viljandi), Segewold (Sigulda). Aschera ...

, who initiated rebuilding schemes. The castle that was started to be built in the 13th century is to a large extent the castle that can be seen today. The castle again fell to Denmark just ten years later, in 1237, but was sold to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

in 1346, and would remain in their hands for the remainder of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Gobierno de Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia, 2012-08-05, DD 02

As the crusading Teutonic Order was a religious order, the castle came to resemble a monastery in several ways. It included a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, a

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

and a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

for the knights. The order was also responsible for erecting the still visible towers of the castle, including "Pilsticker" (translated as "arrow-sharpener"), "Stür den Kerl" ("ward off the enemy"), "Landskrone" ("crown of the land"), and "Langer Hermann" (in Estonian

Pikk Hermann Pikk Hermann or Tall Hermann (german: Langer Hermann) is a tower of the Toompea Castle, on Toompea hill in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The first part was built 1360–70. It was rebuilt (height brought to ) in the 16th century. A staircase ...

or "Tall Hermann"). Tall Hermann is tall and dominates the castle skyline. The

flag of Estonia The flag of Estonia ( et, Eesti lipp) is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black (middle), and white (bottom). In Estonian it is colloquially called the (). The tricolour was already in wide use as the symbol o ...

is hoisted at the top of the tower every day at sunrise, to the sound of the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

, and lowered at sunset. With the upheavals of the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

during the 16th century, the crusader orders formerly dominating the present-day Latvia and Estonia were dissolved and the region became contested by Sweden, Poland and Muscovy (Russia). By 1561, northern Estonia had become a

Swedish dominion The Dominions of Sweden or ''Svenska besittningar'' ("Swedish possessions") were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by G ...

. The Swedes transformed the castle from a crusaders' fortress into a ceremonial and administrative centre of political power in Estonia, a purpose the castle has served ever since. In 1710, Sweden lost the territory of modern-day Estonia to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The Russian administration eventually carried out large reconstruction schemes and turned the castle definitively into a palace. A new dominating wing in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and Neoclassical style, designed by

Johann Schultz Johann Friedrich Schultz, also known as Johann Schultz (11 June 1739, Mühlhausen – 27 June 1805, Königsberg), was a German Enlightenment Protestant theologian, mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as a close personal friend ...

, was added in the eastern part of the castle complex. It housed the administration of the

Governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...

and the living quarters of the governor. During the czarist era, a public park was also laid out to the south-east of the castle, and an archive building erected nearby.

Parliament building

Following the

Estonian Declaration of Independence __NOTOC__ The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia ( et, Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the Natio ...

in 1918, a building to house the parliament of the republic was erected at the site of the former convent building of the Teutonic Order. Taking two years to complete, it was finished in 1922, and designed by architects Eugen Habermann and

Herbert Johanson Herbert Voldemar Johanson (10 September 1884 in Haljala, Estonia – 24 November 1964 in Gothenburg, Sweden) was an Estonian architect. His notable works include: *Building of the Parliament of Estonia, Riigikogu in Toompea Castle; 1920 with E ...

. Although its exterior is traditionalist, the interior is

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

in style - the world's only Expressionist parliament building. During the subsequent periods of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and a second

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

(1940–1991) the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...

was disbanded. The castle and the building of the Riigikogu were however used by the Supreme Soviet of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

during the second Soviet occupation (1944−1990).

Popular culture

According to a legend, recorded in the 19th century, the entire hill of Toompea was once upon a time created by a mythological heroine

Linda Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

who built it boulder-by-boulder with her own hands.

References

Bibliography

External links