On account of the grey skies we wrapped up in an appropriate way to tackle the bleak weather and set off for the old town and we retraced our steps from the previous night and repeated our visits to the viewing platforms overlooking the Baltic and the islands.
With one of the most completely preserved medieval cities in Europe, the seacoast capital of Tallinn is a rare jewel in the north of Europe and a city fully worthy of being on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
It was once a medieval Hanseatic town and for long periods in history dominated by the Germans, the Swedes and the Russians and even today contains lots of influence from those days but as we walked we could tell that there was a uniqueness to the place, a bit like Riga but at only roughly half the size certainly very different.
Tallinn is a city with a long and proud tradition dating back to the medieval times and it was first recorded on a world map in 1154, although the first fortress was built on Toompea in 1050. In 1219, Valdemar II of Denmark conquered the city, but it was soon sold to the Hanseatic League in 1285.
After joining the League Tallinn enjoyed unprecedented prosperity because its position as a port, a link between mainland Europe and Russia, enabled it to grow rapidly in size and wealth and many of the City’s finest buildings were constructed during this period. This lasted until the sixteenth century when Sweden moved in and claimed the city and during this time of Swedish rule more fortifications were added and the architecture took on the baroque style of the times.
Just like the previous evening we were confused about how to find our way to the centre of the city not least because where we were was an elevated spot with limited access to the streets of the old town. We wandered about and corrected ourselves a couple of times before finally walking through a medieval entrance to the city and descending steps behind the city walls before finding ourselves finally at the Raekoja Plats, the Town Hall Square.
Here, in the middle of the town we had reached our objective because since 2001, from December through to the end of the first week in January, Tallinn hosts a traditional Christmas market. This is appropriate because (although this is disputed, especially in Northern Germany) the picturesque Town Hall Square is claimed to be the site of the world’s first Christmas tree, which formed part of a ritual begun in 1441, when unmarried merchants sang and danced with the town’s girls around a tree, which, when they had had enough fun and drink they then burned down.
This would be a bit like any town in England on New Year’s Eve if the tree wasn’t taken down in advance during the afternoon.
Today the market is included in the Times newspaper top twenty European Christmas markets and here in the square there were more than fifty wooden huts and stalls where visitors and locals were being tempted by (traditional? well maybe) artisan products from all over Estonia.
Surrounding an enormous Christmas tree hung with lights and decorations, the vendors were selling a variety of original products including woolens, felted wool hats and slippers, buckwheat pillows, wooden bowls, wickerwork, elaborate quilts, ceramic and glassware, homemade candles, wreaths and other decorations. Traditional Estonian holiday food was also on the menu such as sauerkraut and blood sausages, hot soups, stir-fries and other seasonal treats such as gingerbread, marzipan, various local honeys, cookies and, best of all, hot mulled wine poured from copious wooden barrels.
We stopped for a coffee and paid over the odds in a restaurant on the edge of the square and then left and walked through the market towards the south side of town. Here there were men and women dressed in medieval costume handing out lucky coins and trying to encourage us to dine in this or that particular restaurant. Some of us thought there must be a twist involved and fearing an obligation refused to accept the coins for fear of ending up in the Estonian Navy, but Kim and I took a chance on a con and took ours and it was all completely innocent of course.
Actually it was approaching lunchtime and therefore, because of the nervousness of finding somewhere that Sue and Christine would approve of, a potential crisis time in a new country with unfamiliar cuisine.
Without Micky the anxiety was all mine and weighed heavily because traditional Estonian Cuisine has developed over centuries with Germanic and Scandinavian influences and some of it is not for the faint hearted and certainly wouldn’t suit Sue’s delicate dining preferences. For someone who turned her nose up at a plain fish salad in Portugal I was certain that she wouldn’t like sült, a sort of jellied meat dish made from pork bones, trotters and heads, or the marinated eel, Baltic sprats, sauerkraut stew or even the Christmas specialty of verivorst or blood sausage.
There was no real need to worry however because although Estonians speak fondly of their traditional food they are no more likely to eat it on a regular basis than in England we are to order pease pudding, jellied eels or brawn and the according to the menu boards displayed outside the pubs and restaurants had a good selection of acceptable offerings.
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Other Market stories:
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Looks very nice!
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Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it!
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It looks stunning – love the picture of the market from under the bridge. All that and pork trotters and heads for lunch!!
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Tallin sounds irresistible at this time of year. Lovely photos, too, Thank you, Andrew.
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Wasn’t the place heaving with tourists??
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Tallinn in the snow is magnificent! I know what you mean about the food – there is only so much wild boar and venison you can eat. As for the mock sword fights! As far as Baltic State capitals go my 123 is Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius – how about you? Wilbur.
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I like Riga, I have been several times, but by the last visit it was getting a bit commercialised. Love the Art Nouveau area! Tallin I liked a lot but have never been to Vilnius.
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That first shot of the Square looks like something from a snow globe or a Christmas card. Lovely! Happy Solstice!
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It is taken from a window seat inside a restaurant. Thanks Gunta!
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Lovely captures Andrew. It sounds and looks magical.
I have been so horrified by the Christmas market attack in Berlin. I have no words just sadness.
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It is probably a constant risk now in Europe. Hi-jacking a truck and driving it into a crowd is easy and takes so little planning that security forces can’t get on to it swiftly enough.
George Bush and Tony Blair have a lot to answer for!
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So sad. It all breaks my heart.
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Beautiful and thank you for sharing 🙂 We wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas and new Year.
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I haven’t been to Tallinn since 2001, but I found it to be a charming city!
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A little touristy I thought, but I liked it!
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It wasn’t so touristy when I was there, but it’s probably changed a lot.
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Pingback: On This Day – Tallinn Christmas Market | Have Bag, Will Travel
. . . still have the coin?
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No, the coin was like a voucher that had to be used to get the discount.
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. . . I’d have kept the coin . . .
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It looks beautiful even if you did have trouble finding your way into the town. It certainly seems to have been worth the effort.
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It is a very nice compact Old Town. Worth a visit.
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The Hanseatic League. The oldest football competition in the world.
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Very Good.
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better luck with this one, then.
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This one was good Derrick and Tallinn is a very attractive Old Town centre.
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Oh, what a gorgeous place. i love your photographs.
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Tallinn is one of the best Baltic cities in my opinion.
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sounds it too.
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Playing around the Christmas tree and then burning it down sounds a bit like Burning Man, Andrew. 🙂
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Exactly Curt!
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🙂
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