Attractions in Estonia

Estonia – places of interest

Estonia has a large number of the most varied of tourists attractions to offer. Visit smartercomputing for Top 10 Sights in Estonia.

You should definitely not miss the old town of Tallinn. The old town has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site for several years. There is one  beautiful old town, most of the buildings of which date from the thirteenth century.

But the Struve Arch is also worth a visit. It is considered a cross-border scientific monument because it is almost three thousand kilometers long. The geodetic survey sheet goes through more than ten countries. There is a whole chain of geodetic measuring stations on the arch.
The purpose of the struve arch is to measure parts of the earth. It has its origin in Tartu, in the local observatory.

The Hermannsfeste in Narva is also worth a visit. It is an old restored fortress of the German Order. Opposite on the other bank of the Narva River is another sight, the Russian fortress Ivangorod.

The island of Kihnu is also worth seeing. It has a size of 16.65 square meters and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for several years.

The Kariorg Palace in Tallinn is something special. The palace was built in the baroque style at the request of Peter the Great in 1718. The palace is surrounded by a wonderful park.

You should also have seen the oldest pharmacy in Europe, which is also located in Tallinn. It dates from 1422.

You should definitely not miss the Gothic town hall in the same town. It was built in the eleventh century. The Parliament in Tallinn is also worth a visit. The old castle used to be the seat of the Russian governors. Today it is the country’s parliament.

The Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn is something special. The Dominican monastery in Tallinn is also impressive. It was founded in 1246 and is one of the oldest surviving monasteries in Estonia. The decorations on the walls from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are splendid to look at.

One of the oldest churches in the country is the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tallinn. The church dates from 1407 and is a truly magnificent building. Another interesting religious building in Estonia is the St. Britta Monastery in Pirita. It dates from 1407. Unfortunately only ruins are left.

Two other sacred buildings worth seeing are St. Nikolai and St. Olai.

Nature lovers also get their money’s worth in the country. Estonia has fantastic flora and fauna in a wonderful landscape. Interesting national parks would be the Soomaa National Park and the Lahemaa National Park.

World Heritage Sites in Estonia

• Tallinn Old Town (1997)
• Measuring points of the Struve arch (2005)

Order castles in Estonia

Ordensburgen – witnesses of a warlike time

Estonia, located on the coast of the northeastern Baltic Sea with many bays and islands, had been fought over by foreign powers since the early Middle Ages. Varangians, who controlled long-distance trade from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and to Byzantium, left their mark, as did the Slavic princes and the Kievan Rus in later times. The capital Tallinn was founded by Danes on the site of an Estonian castle. In the 13th century, Brothers of the Sword and German Orders subjugated the Estonian tribes fighting for independence. Even today, huge castles testify to the militarily organized monastic state. Tallinn’s strong walls and well-fortified towers inspire awe, the small town of Kuressaare (Arensburg) on ​​the island of Saaremaa grew in the shadow of the once mighty bishop’s castle. The Hermannsfeste with its massive tower, the Tall Hermann, rises high above the Narwa River. The Russian fortress Ivangorod is enthroned on the opposite bank, which is now part of Russia as it was in the 16th century.

Myths and legends, ghost stories and spooky stories entwine around each of these huge structures. One of those legends recalls the tragic fate of a couple in love in the bishop’s castle of Haapsalu, a small town on the west coast. A long time ago, one of the canons who lived in the castle brought his lover into the walls, disguised as a choirboy. For a long time the clergy’s relationship with the young woman remained hidden. When the lord of the castle, the Bishop of Saaremaa, was staying in Haapsalu, the singing of the supposed choirboy, whose true nature has now been discovered, caught his attention. The canon was banished to a dungeon for the time of his life, the young woman walled up alive, according to the episcopal judgment, with a piece of bread and a jug of water. According to a legend, a white woman appears in the window of the baptistery of the cathedral church on the night of the full moon in August. Contemporaries who do not believe in ghost stories interpret the phenomenon as a peculiarity of the light that falls through the Gothic window when the moon is at the appropriate position, but the legend is the reason for a folk festival that is held annually in August to this day.