Stage arch
From 1959.
Jaan Künnap — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pjotr Mahhonin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aulo Aasmaa — CC BY 3.0 · Dmitrijs Purgalvis — CC BY 3.0 · Guillaume Speurt — CC BY-SA 2.0
The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, Lauluväljak in Estonian, are a wide grassy slope in the Kadriorg district of Tallinn, between Narva Road and Pirita Road, about 3 km in a straight line east of the city centre. The great Estonian Song Festival, Laulupidu, is held here every five years. The festival tradition goes back to 1869, when Johann Voldemar Jannsen founded it, and since then tens of thousands of singers have gathered in huge choirs. The first stage on this site was built in 1928, and the present stage, with its large, distinctive concrete arch, was built in 1959 to designs by the architect Henno Sepmann with Alar Kotli and Endel Paalmann; it holds more than 15,000 singers. The singers can stand on the stage with the audience on the wide lawn in front, or the other way round. On the north side of the stage rises a 42 m tower used during the festivals and open to visitors all year, with views over the city and the sea. The grounds also host major international concerts. Walking around the grounds is free most of the time, and the grassy slope is a quiet place for a stroll. It combines easily with nearby Kadriorg Palace and park.
From 1959.
For the audience.
Sea views.
Kadriorg, Tallinn, Estonia
Maarjamäe PalaceA nineteenth-century summer palace on the coast east of Tallinn, housing the mod12 minutes walk4.8
Kumu Art MuseumThe Baltic states' largest art museum, and its building is an event in itself: K14 minutes walk4.8
Kadriorg Palace Art MuseumAn Italian Baroque palace at the top of Europe: the Italian architect Nicola Mic14 minutes walk4.7
Kadriorg ParkA park a tsar built for his wife: in 1718 Peter the Great ordered an Italianate 16 minutes walk4.9Every five years.
Walking around is free most of the time.