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 , "Cathedral Hill") is a hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The hill has an area of and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas. Toompea is part of the medieval Tallinn Old Town, a ...

hill 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 ...

. From 1945 to 1996 the central portion of the hillock was called Liberators' Square ().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.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 ...

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 hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

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 The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

.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 () are a Finnic ethnic group native to the Baltic Sea region in Northern Europe, primarily their nation state of Estonia. Estonians primarily speak the Estonian language, a language closely related to other Finni ...

, 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) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

. 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 king Charles XI. The wooden church was for Estonians and local

Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, 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 cou ...

. That church was burned down during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

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 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.)''

Gallery

Tallinn asv2022-04 img12 StCharles Church.jpg, The third Kaarli church 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