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Published: August 14th 2014
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An Interesting Sighting
from our marina - thankfully nothing came of it! Tallinn, on the north coast of Estonia was one of the stops that was planned for the OCC Baltic Rally. We had heard it was an interesting town to visit so joined the group there. We had a nice dinner together in town with all the rally participants.
The next day we found out at the visitor center that there would be a free city tour given in English that day so we joined it to find out more about this city. The first fortress was built in this location in 1050. The city became a very important port for trade between Russia and the Scandinavian countries therefore it became a target of the Teutonic Knights as well as Denmark during the 13
th century. It became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League in 1285, but the Danes sold the town to the Teutonic Knights in 1346. The City was fortified with an extensive city wall system as well as 66 defensive towers, a few of which are still standing today. The city’s importance is evidenced by the fact that it was fought over several times by the major powers of the Baltic region. In 1561 Sweden took
over the region and thus started what is commonly referred to as the “Golden Age”of Estonia. Prior to the Swedes take over the Estonians were treated simply as serfs and therefore had no access to education or business opportunities. During the almost 150 years of control the Swedes made huge strides in the area of education and also brought in much in the way of culture through music and the arts. Again another switch occurred in 1710 when it came under the rule of the Russia Czar.
On February 28, 1918 independence was declared but shortly after that they were occupied by the Germans and then the Russians. A 2
nd independence was declared, this time from Russia on February 2, 1920. Estonia remained independent until it was annexed to the Soviet Union in 1940, and then it was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 –1944. At the end of World War II Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union once again. This time Stalin deported thousands of Estonians to Siberia and then proceeded to encourage Russian citizens to move into Estonia. The result of this is that currently about 30%!o(MISSING)f the population of Estonia are ethnic
One of the Attractive Squares
within the old city of Tallinn Russians. Obviously this creates some serious concern among the Estonian people when they see what is happening currently in the Ukraine.
Estonia now celebrates its independence on August 20, 1991 when it made its final break from the USSR. As you can see, Estonia has been bounced back and forth between many rulers over the years but it is obvious in talking to the people here that they are very proud of their independence and how far their country has developed since independence.
On our city tour, our guide told us about the importance of music to Estonians. In the 19
th century the peasants of the country realized that if they were to maintain their identity it would have to be through their language and music. This helped them solidify their identity and helped lead to independence in 1918. After WWII the Soviet occupation occurred and Estonian language and music were outlawed. The Estonians were able to keep their own language alive through black market music and illegally getting together to sing traditional and anti-Soviet songs. The greatest celebration of Estonia through song was in 1988 when several hundred thousand people held hands and
The Pepper Sack Restaurant
where we had dinner used to store pepper in the warehouse & was hoisted up as you can see here created a ribbon of people singingfor their freedom. This once again helped the people of Estonia to unite as one and finally led to their independence from Russia in 1991.
During the latter part of WWII Tallinn was heavily bombed by Russian air forces, but fortunately much of the old town escaped major damage and still has many of its historic buildings remaining. One landmark of the city is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral which is located at the top of the highest hill here. It is an impressive building inside and out. We were able to enter but could not take photos so are not able to show you the inside except by taking a photo of a couple of post cards we bought. After the first break with Russia in the early 20
th century, needless to say the people of Estonia were not happy with this structure that was so imposing on their skyline. The church was first constructed during the time of the Russian Czar’s. During the time of the Soviet occupation it was closed and used for a variety of other purposes including storing vegetables and scenery from a local opera house. After the
Many Had Been Warehouses
as can be seen by the hoist up to the upper floors such as on this building independence from the USSR there was significant discussion about whether the church should be destroyed or resurrected to its previous glory. The final decision was to allow it to stay because even though the Estonian people saw it as a symbol of their subjugation by the Russians they understood that it was part of their history and stood as a reminder of how far they had come.
The marina we stayed at was a little ways from the center of town but was well connected with a bus. The marina was created here originally for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. We wondered about that at first but remembered quickly that Estonia was still under Russian rule until 1991. The sailing portions of the Olympics were held here, but it appears quite clear that not much has been put into the area since then as many of the concrete buildings are in need of maintenance, but it still worked out well for us location wise. The interesting aside was that the showers were the ones built for the athletes during the Olympics and it doesn’t appear as if any changes have occurred since.
We are
A View of the Top of St.Olaf's Church
which was established in the early 1200's. realizing as we travel through this section of the Baltic that we in the US (at least the two of us) were definitely in the dark about much of the history that occurred in this “corner”of the Baltic. It was unfortunate that we did not make it to Lithuania, but we understand that their history was similar to that of Latvia and Estonia. They continually were bounced between various “rulers”, but what stands out for us is the pride these people have in their own country and how much they have done to cling to their own cultural heritage. To be sure there have been influences from the various countries that have been in control over the years, but they still have kept their language alive and through that their sense of identity. We have been impressed with what they have been able to accomplish. Estonia of the three countries appears to be the most prosperous and the guide told us that some of that definitely has to do with their present president. He has been a driving force in helping them with their economic growth and their position in the EU. Estonia joined the EU early and has worked
A More Complete View of St. Olaf's Church
with their height they are hard to capture in the photos to prove they are a viable member of this community. An interesting side note is that the current Estonian president used to be the minister of finance and development and prior to that he lived, studied and worked in the United States.
Our next stop is Helsinki.
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