English
Tallinn is a city of amazing historical beauty and its medieval old town is straight out of an old fairytale, with small and narrow cobbled streets and low buildings of different colours at either side of the road. One of the most important streets in Tallinn´s old town is Pikk Street, Pikk tänav in Estonian, a street of just under a mile long that goes through the old town of Tallinn from top to bottom. Just for its aesthetics, this place is worth visiting but if we also add all the places of interest that there are along it as well as the typical bars and restaurants to eat and have a drink in, a route down this street becomes a must.
Start the route on the northern part of the street, where Rannamäe tee and Suur Rannavärav streets meet. Directly in front you can see a building that seems like an old watchtower, which is actually known by the name of Fat Margaret. This tower was built in the 16th century and it gets its name because it was the biggest part of the old town´s walls and it was used to defend the port of Tallinn, since the sea used to come in a lot deeper back then than it does today. Later it became a warehouse for weapons and powder and then a prison. Today it´s part of the Estonian Maritime Museum, a museum that shows the naval history of Estonia, a highly recommended visit.
Follow down the cobbled street and you come across St Olav´s church, a 12th century church that took four centuries to complete, back when the Scandinavians controlled the city (hence the name Olav, a Norwegian king). The church has a tower that´s just over 400ft tall (it reached 521ft before the reconstructions), so it´s prone to be hit by lightning, something that has caused many fires. Today you can go up the top of the tower and enjoy a spectacular view of the city. During the Cold War, the KGB used this tower to stop the many satellite signals coming from Finland, with their headquarters being at number 61 of this street.
It´s possible that going up and down so many stairs you get hungry. At number 39 you can find Hell Hunt, a name that might be misleading. In Estonian it means ´the tender wolf´ and it´s a cosy pub-restaurant where you can try many different Estonian beers, including two that are brewed by the owners, as well as abundant food at a good price, although we recommend the ribs.
At number 36 there´s an art gallery called Navitrolla Gallerii, where you can buy local art at good prices. Five doors further down you can find the Philharmonic Society of Tallinn, where many classical music concerts take place quite often. If you´re a history fan, at number 16 you can find the Estonian History Museum, located in the House of the Great Guild. This house was the meeting place of everyone who was anyone in old Tallinn and you can see its majestic appearance just from the outside. Right in front of it you can find the famous cafe called Maiasmokk, where you can have a delicious coffee and a bite to eat to kill hunger and watch people walk by.
All that´s left from here on is to walk down this beautiful street and enjoy its picturesque Art Nouveau buildings until you get to a point where it gets even narrower, going under a stone arch and following along the old city walls, a quiet and relaxing walk that allows you to enjoy the city´s essence. At the end of Pikk jalg (the name of the street after going under the arch) you get to the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, an Estonian Orthodox cathedral built in the late 19th century that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. It´s a truly amazing building from the outside, very Soviet in its style, that many consider as the symbol of the Russian domination of the city.
For more information: http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/eng
The medieval old town of Tallinn is truly beautiful and Pikk Street is its main artery. If you manage to rent at Tallinn apartments on this street, you´ll undoubtedly be in one of the most beautiful places not only in Tallinn but in the whole of Europe.
