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Tallinn Photo Thread By Tin_Can

246K views 818 replies 90 participants last post by  Fluxit 
#1 · (Edited)
Now let's make a thread of Tin_Can's hometown :).

History

Tallinn is largest city and also capital of Estonia. City's current population is 405,867,if metro area included - roughly about 500000. Tallinn doesn't have exact founding date,earliest settlement here dates back to 5000BC. Tallinn (or Reval,as it was called back then) gained it's town rights under Lübeck law in 1248. During middle ages,Tallinn became important trading port and member of Hanseatic League. Unesco World Site - Tallinn's Old town dates back same era. By early 1500s most of the Old Town's distinctive defensive walls and towers were finished. During 1800 - 1900s Tallinn became Russian Empire's important military port and industrial city. During World War II,in 1944 Tallinn was extensively bombed by Soviet airforces (757 people were killed,roughly 20000 lost their homes).

City's coat of arms and flag



Few interesting facts

Tallinn has also been known as Lindanise and Reval.

Tallinn and Dannebrog (Danish national flag) have rather close ties -According to the myth,during battle of Lindanise (Estonians vs. Danes,in 15th june 1219),red flag with white cross fell from the skies. Danes,who were losing the battle,regained courage from it and won the battle. Flag later became Danish national colours. According to historians, Danes received reinforcements,which helped them to turn the tide of battle.

Helsinki was founded in 1500s,to compete with Tallinn (Helsinki is younger brother of Tallinn ;) ).

Between 1549 and 1625,Tallinn had world highest building - Oleviste /St.Olaf's Church (159m) In 1625,it was struck by lightning and the spire was burned down. Church spire has been rebuilt several times ever since,current height is 123m.

Tallinn's population was originally composed of German majority/Estonian minority. In late 1800s,Estonians became ethnic majority.

1980s Summer Olympics sailing competitions took place in Tallinn.

Map



Photos

I'll update this thread every now and then,so be patient. I'll also try to give some facts or history along with my photos.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Let's start with small walk around the very center of Kesklinn / downtown area.

1 Olümpia hotel. 26 floors,constructed 1974 -1980 for housing tourists during 1980s Summer Olympic Games.


2 Olümpia hotel with Swissôtel Tallinn and Nordea building in distance.


3 Kaasani kirik / Church Of Our Lady Of Kazan (orthodox church). Built in 1721,its Tallinn's oldest wooden church.


4 Nordea maja / Nordea building. Just finished,with it's 14 floors,it is a small addition to downtown's skyline.


5 View towards Olümpia hotel.


6 Typical stalinist era skyscraper. Thankfully the one built in Tallinn is really small compared to ones in Riga or Warsaw.


7 Decaying commie arhitecture.
 
#3 · (Edited)
8 Swissôtel Tallinn / Tornimäe Apartments. Currently the highest highrise in Tallinn (excluding churches and TV-tower). 31 floors,constructed 2004 - 2006. Note that twin towers apartment tower is higher than hotel tower (not visible on the photo).


9 View towards SEB building.


10 SEB building (Originally Ühispanga maja). 24 floors,constructed 1997 - 1999. The first new 'skyscraper' constructed in downtown area after the end of commie era.


11Jaani Seegi church (Built est.1700s. Currently Armenian community church) looks really tiny compared to the SEB building.


12 Cityplaza and SEB building.


13 Cityplaza. Office building with 23 floors,constructed 2002 - 2004.


14 Another angle.


15 Radisson Blu hotel. 25 floors,built 1999 - 2001.


more to come soon...
 
#27 ·
Finally the thread about Tallinn! Hope you will supply it with new pics regularly and it won't get lost.



Yes, I also love how Tallinn's downtown looks and feels from the street level, much better than Vilnius NCC for sure. But Riga isn't behind, Riga just hasn't such type of cityscape at all. You can't compare something with nothing. Let's wait when Ķīpsala finally gets some towers more and then compare - but it seems, it will be even worse than Vilnius version, from the street level. If serious redevelopment could be done with whole Preses nams complex - f.e., establish some huge shopping area there in that low floor typograhy, and all those towers - Z towers, Da Vinci, Ellipse, Riverside Plaza, Saules Akmens and some new tower in Preses nams place around it, then it could be lively and great modern highrise district.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, I agree - in closeups Tallinn looks really superb. It's a problem in vilnius, that skyscrapers are located in a location, where there aren't bigger, older buildings, also there are quite big gaps between skyscraper, or for example Swedbank building and hotel Lietuva are near river, where there are a lot of free area. So sometimes it feels, that cluster is something like "in the fields". So you can't get feel, that you are small person between cluster of tall buildings :)
 
#8 ·
^^ Years ago there was a discussion of removing the star,but if I remember correctly,Muinsuskaitseamet (heritage protection agency) interviened. They said that star was architecture element and it should not be removed. :eek:hno:

Let's continue with few photos from Freedom Square.

16 Dark red brick building across the street is Tallinn mayor's office. Small grey building next to it was historic Astoria cinema (either 1920s or 1930s,can't remember exact date),currently it's Russian Drama Theatre.


17 Most Tallinners know this building (late 1930s) by its famous cafeteria located there (previously known as Kultas,Moskva and currently Kultus).


18 Vabadussammas.


19 Downtown skyline from Harju hill.
 
#12 · (Edited)
"Architecture element"? Really? Maybe Germans shouldn't have removed all the swastikas from Berlin, you know, they should have protected their "architecture heritage".

P.S. That building would look a lot better without that spire and those stupid columns. That top looks like something unnatural, attached later. "Stalin's palaces" in Riga and Warsaw at least are built in one style.
 
#14 ·
Tin_Can is young enough to fit into typical age limit of SSC forumers,but he's also old enough to remember soviet era :D

20 First true highrise in Tallinn - Viru hotel. Built between 1969 - 1972 by finnish construction firm Repo Oy (now think of it - foreign company building a hotel for foreign tourists during Soviet era,in the USSR :nuts:). Despite it's recent rebuilds,it still is a nice example of 70s architecture.


21 Rather ugly addition -Viru shopping center (photo showing the apartment block of it)


22 Tallink City hotel (former Tallinna Teenindusmaja. Built 1972 - 1974,rebuilt 2004)


23 Foorum shopping center and apartments (built 2007)
 
#15 ·
Now moving into Rotermanni quarter. Built in the area of former factory and warehouses,it is an example of what can be done,if developer aims for quality instead of quantity. Some of the buildings are new (built in recent years),some are historic (date back to early 1900s). Not much to be added to the photos,soo just enjoy them! :)

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33 Rotermanni salt warehouse (currently Estonian Architecture Museum)


34 Another view of it.


35 Moving on towards the harbour... Admirali maja / building and Tallinn's World Trade Center (building with black and blue cladding)
 
#18 ·
Let's continue.

36 Rather interesting looking building with parking house on Jõe street.


37 Quite near is also Tallinn's synagogue / Beit Bella Synagogue (finished in 2007)


38 Another view of it.


39 Further down the Jõe street,looking back towards World Trade Center.


40 Passenger harbour,D-terminal and few random shots.


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43 ...Oh and one more photo :)
 
#19 ·
44 In Rottermanni quarter I missed the white building last time,so here it is.


45 Siimeoni / St.Simeon Church (constructed 1752-1755,orthodox church,mainly for sailors) According to legend,church is built from timber salvaged from a ship wreck.


46 Church has been very nicely renovated in recent years and it's bell tower has been rebuilt (was demolished during Soviet era)


47 One more view towards Viru hotel.
 
#24 ·
56 Hotel with quite exaggerated exterior design.


57 Ahem,some nice ...statues there :lol:.


58 Tallink's headquarters (completed less than a year ago)


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62 Next we have Linnahall (public concert/icehall,constructed in 1980 with very poor quality). As it's too damn large and badly visible from ground (pyramid shaped building),you'll see only bits and pieces of it on my photos.


Let's climb on top of the Linnahall building...

63 One last view towards passenger harbour.


64 Nice view of downtown skyline.


65 And another one.


66 Those bits and pieces of Linnahall.


67 Most walls are covered with graffiti and there are small trees growing of the roof :eek:hno:.


68 Looking towards Old Town.
 
#29 ·
@ S.T.A.S. - Americans are the most recent developers trying to rebuild Linnahall,but soo far we've heard only talk and have seen no action. And here hasn't been a blue sky for over two weeks now (only damp and cloudy weather :eek:hno:)

@Vecais Sakarnis - I have ambitious plan of covering entire Tallinn and it's suburbs in this thread,so it's not going to be lost.

69 I made it on the other side of Linnahall just in time to see Lindaline's small ferry leaving to Helsinki (on the sea side of Linnahall is a tiny Lindaline port)


70 Looking west,former Patarei prison in distance.


71 Patarei prison. Quoting myself from another thread:
Tin_Can said:
Patarei prison was built in 1800s as a naval fortress with three gun batteries. Hence the name - Patarei (estonian) > battery (english). However it gained infamy as a prison. Its was used as a prison by Imperial Russia (while it still was a fortress),first Estonian Republic,nazis,Soviet Union and current Estonian Republic (it was closed due to highly unsanitary conditions) I'd say,in Estonia it was as notorious as Krestõ (Kresty in english) prison was in Saint Petersburg,Russia (google for more,both were part of Gulag system)


72 Old fishing port is in really bad shape,most of the quay is falling apart.


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75 Apartment building near the sea.


76 Ilmarise quarter (another old factory rebuilt,this time as a residential area)


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78 Apartment buildings in Ilmarise quarter.


Next you will see Old Town...
 
#87 ·
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