Toompea Hill & Castle, Tallinn County

from the toompea area you can get a great view of medieval tallinn. walk or take a taxi to aleksander nevsky cathedral. behind the cathedral is piiskopi street. take piiskopi to the viewing area. to return to the old town there is a narrow stairway just behind the nevsky cathedral. in the picture, the tall spire on the right is st. olav's church, built in 1267 it was once the tallest in europe.

Toompea Castle

Built in the 13th C, the castle is situated on the steep limestone 50 meters above sea level, is one of Estonia’s most recognised architectural creations and the Estonian Parliament is housed here.

Tall Hermann Tower(from the German phrase "Lange Hermann" meaning "tall soldier" or "chief" ) is also located here.

This is the oldest part of Tallinn. Here the Danes built their castle, and here the bishops and knights resided. It was surrounded by defence walls and well separated from Lower Town inhabited by merchants and craftsmen.
The hill is quite steep, so be prepared for an effort. But it's worth it. The views from the top are breath-taking: red roof-tops, church spires and the blue sea make a lasting impression.

Toompea Castle was built in the 13th to the 14th centuries. Today it houses Estonian parliament.
Tall Hermann was built in the southwestern corner of Toompea Fortress at the end of the 14th century. The name of the tower comes from the German phrase "Lange Hermann" meaning "tall soldier" or "chief" and comes from the tales of the adored medieval hero Hermann.

The Toompea castle was first erected by Estonians in the 13th century. Then it was a wooden construction. When the Danes invaded Estonia they tore down the old castle and built this stone construction instead.
Situated up on the Toompea hill the castle served to protect the ruling classes from the enemies. The legends says that the hill was formed when our folk heroine Linda burried her dead j´husband - carrying tiogether so much earth that it formed the hill.
The tower you can see on the picture is Tall Hermann. Every day at sun-dawn the state flag is hoisted up there, and every sunset the flag is taken down. It is the talles tower in the town wall, and can be seen far from the sea, so all the people coming to Estonia can see which country rules Estonia at that moment.
As you can see, right now the flag is blue-black-white - so, we are our own rulers, finally!
Presently the seat of the parliament is up on the Toompea hill.

You could call this the heart of Tallinn. A huge fortified hill containing many sights of interest, which I will cover separately. The climb is steep, but it’s worth it when you get there. Apart from the obvious sights spend some time wandering around taking in the atmosphere. Don’t miss out on the spectacular views over different sections of Tallinn.
A must see activity.

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Toompea or upper tallin is were you can go to get a wonderful view over the lower old town. It is were you will see the castle and the orthodox cathedral and is worth the hike up the hill.