Rebuilding the Walls 7-2-9

Tallinn, Estonia

The medieval town of Tallinn in Estonia still has about two miles of the original town walls built in the 13th century. Much like the walls of Rostock, these have significant gaps in them and a number of the tower gates are now missing. I could not help but again wonder what it would have been like to felt the safety of the intact walls centuries before the invention of black powder.

Tallinn is a magical place, a medieval oasis that has managed, like Rostock, to survive the onslaught of rampant materialism, tourism, communism, socialism, and other assorted isms. This Baltic jewel contains a treasure trove of architecture and other photographer’s delights. It took only five hours to consume the equivalent of twenty rolls of film. Much of the town wall and a dozen of the gate towers are intact and create a very cozy sense of enclosure for the warrens of cobblestone streets that entwine themselves between hundreds of fine medieval buildings. The terra cotta tiled conical roofs on the towers and the linear tile roofs on the wall make the stuff of stunning calendar photos. I had the good fortune of finding my way to the top of one of these towers and filling up a good bit of space on a flash drive with the grand images found up there.

Several structures give definition to Tallinn. The ancient Town Hall is one of these. This grand old very medieval looking structure complete with towers and dragons on the crenellated parapets has been prominent on the Raekoja Platz for 605 years. For one that loves to use stair climbers in the YMCA, the 75 meter high tower of this hall was compelling. Neo-classical facades in a variety of brilliant colors enclose the other three sides of the large plaza which was being set up for a three-day music festival held once every five years. The musicians I heard were really grand and the timeless sensibility of the plaza added much to the melodic ambience of the festival.

Another structure giving visual definition to the old city is the Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral. The locals consider the building to be of no historical or architectural significance because it is new by regional standards. The beautifully painted exterior is only 120 years old and locals probably wonder if the paint has even had time to dry properly. For those of us living in a land of temporary vinyl and OSB houses with tar paper shingles on them that barely last as long as a fifteen year mortgage, I felt the masonry and copper Nevsky Cathedral to be beyond magnificent. Its brilliant onion domes and exterior gilded mosaics make for a commanding structure that is much like the staggering St. Basil’s Cathedral to be found in Moscow. Happily, I was traveling alone in the old city so was free to linger, buy a candle and put it on the altar and watch it burn down, select a fine icon for my own chapel - to actually experience this grand place as a church rather than a mere tourist magnet. I did capitulate to my overwhelming tourist urges and discretely photographed the interior and exterior without flash. Little is worse than trying to experience a grand sacred space as exactly that and being reminded by flashing cameras that the tourist imperative often takes precedence over the ecclesiastical. The Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral is definitely a destination and not an intermediate stop.
Tallinn is one w those places that must be magical to children. There are passageways, archways, narrow stair cases, high walls, towers, and all manner of intriguing things to climb on and over. A good way to relive one’s childhood or to even live it for the first time is to visit the old city in a good pair of climbing shoes, and so I did.

Tallinn is an example of a small town taking its dusty old relics, blowing them off, and creating a magical space that enthralls children and adults equally. After happily scampering about the old city for the day I wandered through one of the gates to the east to find myself in a flower market - a street where the shops and street vendors were selling radiant botanical delights at nearly magical low prices. If I thought I could possibly drag some of these plants half way across the world and get then through the gauntlet of customs, immigration, security, and agricultural check-points, I would have some of them in tow. I can’ help but be heartened to know that once very gray soviet satellites are now bursting forth with the bright colors of freedom and hope. Tallinn has made a very successful effort to rebuild the walls in ways that really matter.

When people are allowed to own their own land, propagate flowers, and then sell them in their own shops to western visitors, many grand possibilities will germinate and bear fruit for the citizens of Estonia.