Tallinn Old Town ( et, Tallinna vanalinn) is the oldest 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 ' ...

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 ...

. Old Town of Tallinn has managed to wholly preserve its structure of medieval and Hanseatic origin. Old Town represents an exceptionally intact 13th century city plan. Since 1997, the area has been registered in the

UNESCO World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The old town is bordered by the

Walls of Tallinn The Walls of Tallinn are the medieval defensive walls constructed around the city of Tallinn in Estonia. History The first wall around Tallinn was ordered to be constructed by Margaret Sambiria in 1265 resulting in its name, the 'Margaret Wall. ...

. Its area is 113 ha and there is a buffer zone of 2,253 ha. The majority of the Old Town's structures were built during the 13th–16th centuries. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, while the German army occupied Estonia in 1941–1944, Tallinn Old Town suffered from several instances of

aerial bombing An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, Fighter aircraft, fighters, bomber, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopter ...

by the

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, ...

air force. During the most destructive Soviet bombing raid on 9–10 March 1944, over a thousand incendiary bombs were dropped on Tallinn, causing widespread fires, destroying about 10% of the buildings in the Old Town, killing hundreds, and leaving over 20,000 people without shelter.

References

External links

* Tallinn Old Town
www.visitestonia.com
{{authority control 1997 establishments in Estonia World Heritage Sites in Estonia

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...