Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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 English; this dates from before 1991, when
things were designed for “inner tourism”—within the USSR). The church retains its 14th-
century design. Flying from the back pillar, the old flag of Tallinn—the same as today's
red and white 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-worshippers, 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 centuries, 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 public 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.
