AROUND TOOMPEA HILL
Tallinn’s origins date back to King Valdemar of Denmark, who occupied the territory in 1219, and had a Fortress and cathedral built on the site of an Estonian castle on the present-day Toompea Hill. Wall ruins and a 45-metre-high (148 ft) tower, the “Tall Hermann”, have been preserved from the original complex. The origins of St Mary’s Cathedral go back to the 13th century, while the
Ancient city walls
modern structure was built in the 15th century. Its red-and-white façade and fi ve onion domes make the
Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral a striking sight. In 1894, Tsar Alexander III ordered a church to be erected on a square dedicated to Martin Luther. The Russian Orthodox church was named after Alexander Yaros- lavich Nevsky, prince of Novgorod and a Russian national hero, who had defeated the Teutonic Knights in the 1242 Battle of the Ice. When the eleven bells toll, they resound around the entire city. The cathedral bells are the loudest of any Tallinn church, the heaviest weighing 16 tonnes (18 tons).
HIGHLIGHTS ON THE CITY’S OUTSKIRTS
Interesting sights outside the city’s historic centre include the baroque Kadriorg Palace, which Peter the Great had built for his wife, Catherine I. Nearby is the Kumu, a vast museum of Estonian art, which only opened in 2006. The Estonian Open Air Museum in Rocca al Mare, on the other hand, features historic farmhouses and fi shermen’s houses.
NCL SHORE EXCURSION: RAKVERE
A visit to the Estonian town of Rakvere, located around 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Tallinn, provides a detour into the region’s ancient history. It is home to the Rebala burial ground, with stone tombs dating back to the Bronze Age (8th/7th century BC), as well as an imposing 13th-century castle, where torture chambers attest to a grim past.
For more shore excursions and how to book visit:
www.ncl.co.uk/excursions 13
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