Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Across the street, at #16 (look for
Kalev
awnings), the famous and recom-
mended Maiasmokk (“Sweet Tooth”) coffee shop, in business since 1864, re-
mains a fine spot for a cheap coffee-and-pastry break.
Church of the Holy Ghost (Pühavaimu Kirik):
Sporting an outdoor
clock from 1633, this pretty medieval church is worth a visit. (The plaque on
the wall just behind the ticket desk is in Estonian and Russian, but not Eng-
lish; this dates from before 1991, when things were designed for “inner tour-
ism”—within the USSR). The church retains its 14th-century design. Flying
fromthebackpillar,theoldflagofTallinn—the sameastoday'sredandwhite
Danish flag—recalls 13th-century Danish rule. (The name “Tallinn” means
“Danish Town.”) The Danes sold Tallinn to the German Teutonic Knights,
who lost it to the Swedes, who lost it to the Russians. The windows are
mostly from the 1990s (€1, Mon-Sat 9:00-17:00, closed Sun to non-worship-
pers, Pühavaimu 2, tel. 646-4430,
www.eelk.ee
)
. The church hosts English-
language Lutheran services Sundays at 15:00.
• Leading alongside the church, tiny Saiakang lane (meaning “White
Bread”—bread, cakes, and pies have been sold here since medieval times)
takes you to...
Town Hall Square (Raekoja Plats):
A marketplace through the cen-
turies, with a cancan of fine old buildings, this is the focal point of the Old
Town. The square was the center of the autonomous lower town, a merchant
city of Hanseatic traders. Once, it held criminals chained to pillories for pub-
lic humiliation and knights showing off in chivalrous tournaments; today it's
full of Scandinavians savoring cheap beer, children singing on the bandstand,
and cruise-ship groups following the numbered paddles carried high by their
well-scrubbed local guides.
