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Holy Trinity Church
Dating from the beginning of the 15th century, although it’s been damaged and repaired several times since, this rather lovely Lutheran church has a 62m steeple, a carved pulpit with painted panels (1690) and some impressive large canvasses. Every year on 16 September it hosts a co
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Süla Talu
In an isolated patch of woods in Oja, this tiny village is a great option. Not only does it have comfortable wood cabins, sauna and home-cooked meals, but it can also boat up to four people to Vilsandi or around the Tagamõisa Peninsula. Staff can offer advice, arrange horse riding
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Alexander Church
Named after the Russian tsar assassinated while it was being built (1881–1884), this Lutheran church is the largest religious building in Estonia. It was badly damaged in both of the world wars and the hefty octagonal belltower was only rebuilt post independence from the USSR. It n
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Mihkli Farm Museum
In a pretty setting southeast of Kihelkonna, this early-18th-century farm has been preserved in its entirety, complete with thatched-roof wooden farmhouses, a sauna (for rent at €30 per hour), a windmill and a traditional village swing.
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Fat Margaret
Attached to the Great Coast Gate, this rotund 16th-century cannon tower once protected a major entrance to the Old Town. Its now the slimmer, older sister of Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour , displaying model ships and assorted sea-going artefacts from the Estonian Maritime Museums col
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Town Hall
Built between 1782 and 1789, this graceful building was designed by German architect JHB Walter, who modelled it on a typical Dutch town hall. Its topped by a tower and weather vane, and a clock was added to encourage students to be punctual for classes. As well as the council offi
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St Johns Lutheran Church
Dating to at least 1323, this imposing red-brick church is unique for the rare terracotta sculptures placed in niches around its exterior and interior (look up). It lay in ruins and was left derelict following a Soviet bombing raid in 1944 and wasnt fully restored until 2005. Climb
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Muhu Stronghold
Immediately southwest of the Eemu windmill, this earthen ring draped in greenery is where in 1227 the pagan Estonians made their last stand, holding off a 20,000-strong force led by the Knights of the Sword for six days before surrendering. A stone obelisk remembers the massacre th
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Pirita Beach
Easily Tallinn’s largest and most popular beach, Pirita has the advantage of being only 6km from the city. In summer, bronzed sun-lovers fill the sands and hang out in the laid-back cafes nearby. It’s a bleak and windswept place if the weather’s not good, but if the conditions are
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Students Lock
With its walls covered in its original graffiti, this is where 19th-century students were held in solitary confinement for various infractions. Back then, if you failed to return library books on time, you’d net two days in the attic; insulting a lady, four days; insulting a (more
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Estonian Printing Museum
From 1924, after its short stint as a bakery, the building housed a printing press right up until 2009 – making it a fitting home for this museum devoted to all things related to inky fingers, type blocks and machines that clank and spin. At the time of research the museum hadn’t q
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Stroomi Beach
Shallow Stroomi beach is in Pelguranna, a neighbourhood favoured by Tallinns Russian community. While the backdrop of ports and apartment blocks isn’t as pleasant as Pirita, sunlovers swarm to the long stretch of sand. There’s a distinct local buzz in summer. Its located 3km due we
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Linda Hill
Shaded by 250-year-old linden trees, this small mound near the top of Toompea is named after Linda, wife of Kalev, the heroic first leader of the Estonians. Accorded to legend, Toompea is the burial mound which she built for him. During the Soviet years the statue of the grieving L
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Red Tower
OK, so it’s now white but the city’s oldest building (dating from the 15th century) was once clad in red brick and was also bigger. This was the southeast corner of the medieval town wall, of which nothing more remains. The tower has been used as a prison but now it contains only a
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Tammispea Boulder
Over the millennia it has split into several pieces, but this gigantic 7.8m-high erratic boulder is still an impressive sight. Its hidden within a lovely stand of forest. To find it, leave the main coastal road and head through Tammispea village, continuing on to the unsealed road.
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St Lawrences Lutheran Church
Although this large church only dates from 1836, its prized feature is considerably older: a medieval stone baptismal font, probably from the early 15th century, carved with dragon-like creatures. Also worth noting are the grey wooden box pews, low-hanging chandeliers and the fine
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Pirita Convent
Only the massively high Gothic stone walls remain of this convent, which was completed in 1436. The rest was destroyed courtesy of Ivan the Terrible during the Livonian War in 1577. In 1996 Bridgettine sisters were granted the right to return and reactivate the convent. Their new h
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St Peter & St Paul’s Catholic Cathedral
Looking like it was beamed in from Spain, this handsome 1844 cathedral was designed by the famed architect Carlo Rossi, who left his mark on the neoclassical shape of St Petersburg. It still functions as one of Tallinn’s only Catholic churches, largely serving the Polish and Lithua
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Toompea Castle
Three towers have survived from the Knights of the Swords hilltop castle, the finest of which is 14th-century Pikk Hermann (best viewed from the rear). In the 18th century the fortress underwent an extreme makeover at the hands of Russian empress Catherine the Great, converting it
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St Catherine’s Lutheran Church
Dedicated to the early Christian martyr Catherine but named in honour of Tsarina Catherine the Great, Võrus main Lutheran church was completed in 1793, only nine years after the town was founded. The pyramid over the lintel is a symbol of the Holy Trinity. On the neighbouring squar
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