Tõnismägi (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

for ''" St. Anthony's Hill"'') is a 36-metre high

hillock A hillock or knoll is a small hill,The Free Dictionary
"hillock" entry, retrieved December 18, 2007 ...

adjacent to

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

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 ' ...

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 ...

. From 1945 to 1996 the central portion of the hillock was called Liberators' Square ( et, Vabastajate väljak).Tallinna Linnavalitsuse määrus nr. 26, 12.04.1996
The place became internationally known in 2007 when the Estonian government relocated a Soviet war memorial known as the

Bronze Soldier The Bronze Soldier ( et, Pronkssõdur, russian: Бронзовый солдат, ''Bronzovyj soldat'') is the informal name of a controversial Soviet World War II war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, built at the site of several war graves, which w ...

.Estonia begins work to re-locate controversial statue
/ref>Relocated Bronze Soldier to be unveiled May 8
/ref> Tõnismäe (

genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ''Tõnismägi'') is also a subdistrict () in the district of Kesklinn (Town Centre) with a population of 1,404 ().

History

According to archaeological excavations, an

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forest grew on the hillock and its surrounding area in the first millennium. The hill has been dug lower several times during the centuries, thus leaving less material to be found by excavations, but some researchers believe that the area has been inhabited since the 12th or 13th century. First mention of Tõnismägi in writing is from 1348, when the town council of Tallinn gave the area to the

Livonian Brothers 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 ...

.Kirikud, kabelid ja kalmistud Tõnismäel. Robert Nerman
The history of Tõnismägi has always been related to religion. The oak forest was probably a sacred place for

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to other ...

, but before year 1348, a chapel for St. Anthony was built on the hill, accompanied by a cemetery. The chapel and cemetery were probably destroyed around 1570–1571 or 1577 during 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 ...

. After the Livonian War several streets were built in the area. In 1670, the first Kaarli Church (Charles's Church) was built here, named after the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

king

Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

. The wooden church was for Estonians and local

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

. That church was burned down during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

in August 1710. The short-lived second church was built in the 19th century, but was torn down when the third Kaarli church was built in 1870. On 25 September 1944, remains of two Soviet soldiers were buried at the center of the hill. Additional remains were reburied there in April 1945.Common grave for and a memorial to Red Army soldiers on Tõnismägi, Tallinn. Historical statement
After the burial of the Red Army soldiers on Tõnismägi the square was named Liberators' Square on 12 June 1945. A memorial monument was ordered from architect Arnold Alas and unveiled on 22 September 1947, its central part being a bronze statue by sculptor Enn Roos. In 1964, an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

was added. In April 2007, the statue was relocated from Tõnismägi to the cemetery of the Estonian Defence Forces and a reburial process initiated. ''(See

Bronze Soldier of Tallinn The Bronze Soldier ( et, Pronkssõdur, russian: Бронзовый солдат, ''Bronzovyj soldat'') is the informal name of a controversial Soviet World War II war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, built at the site of several war graves, which w ...

.)''

Gallery

File:St. Charles's Church, Tallinn - 2009.JPG, The third Kaarli church File:Tallinn Tonismae2.jpg, Roosikrantsi street

References

External links

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Charles XI Parish in Tallinn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonismagi Subdistricts of Tallinn Kesklinn, Tallinn History of Tallinn