Old Thomas ( et, Vana Toomas) is one of the symbols and guardians 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 ' ...

(Reval), 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 ...

. A

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

, the figure of an old warrior called Old Thomas was put on top of the spire of

Tallinn Town Hall The Tallinn Town Hall ( et, Tallinna raekoda) is a building in the ''Vanalinn'' ("Old town") of Tallinn (Reval), Estonia, next to the Town Hall Square. The building is located in the south side of the medieval market square and is long. The we ...

in 1530. According to the legend, the model for the weather vane was a peasant boy from the countryside who excelled at the springtime contests involving firing crossbow bolts at a painted wooden parrot on top of a pole, organized by, and for, Tallinn's wealthy citizenry. Unable to receive a prize because of his low-born status, Thomas was rewarded with the job of town guard for life. All his life, Thomas gave candy to the children in the Town Square, according to local legend. When he died, the children constantly asked, "Where is Old Thomas?", which led to uncomfortable answers about the nature of death. Once the weather vane was erected over the town square, parents would tell the children that Old Thomas was watching how they behave and would leave candy under their pillow for good behavior. Immortalized in copper, Thomas continues to watch over Tallinn and its citizens. In 1944, Old Thomas was hit during the March bombardment. The burnt spire was reconstructed and a new copy of Old Thomas erected in 1952. In 1996 the spire was renovated and the third Old Thomas figure was put on it to guard Tallinn.Old Thomas
at www.tallinn.ee The original weather vane is kept in the Town Hall. The one erected in 1952 is shown at the Tallinn City Museum.

References

{{coord, 59.4369, N, 24.7453, E, source:wikidata, display=title 16th-century establishments in Estonia Buildings and structures in Tallinn Culture in Tallinn