Raekoja plats () is a

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

beside Tallinn Town Hall () in the center of the Tallinn Old Town in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

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

. It is a venue for numerous small festivals or concerts like Tallinn Old Town Days (), and several bars and

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s are located in the near vicinity. The square also hosts a market regularly, with many stalls selling traditional

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

...

items and

souvenir A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...

s (). On the side of Town Hall, there is

Raeapteek The Raeapteek (; ) is a pharmacy in the center of Tallinn, Estonia. Opposite the Town Hall, at 11 Raekoja plats, Tallinn, Raekoja plats, it is one of the oldest continuously running pharmacies in Europe, having always been in business in the sam ...

(Town Hall Pharmacy), which is one of the oldest continuously running pharmacies in Europe, having always been in business in the same house since the early 15th century.

History

There has been a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

since at least 1322 and a town square next to it ever since then. The hall was rebuilt from 1402 to 1404 into its current form, and a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

display has been held in the square since 1441, making the Tallinn Christmas tree display over 580 years old.

External links

From Times Online, November 8, 2009, Europe's 20 best Christmas markets 2009
Squares in Tallinn Kesklinn, Tallinn Tallinn Old Town {{Tallinn-geo-stub