The coats of arms
A hundred painted wooden shields on the walls.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 3.0 · [[User:|User:]] — CC BY-SA 4.0
Mainland Estonia's oldest church: the Dome Church on Toompea hill was founded in wood in 1219 with the arrival of the Danes and built in stone in the fourteenth century — surviving the great fire of 1684 that consumed the hill, after which its interior was rebuilt Baroque while the Gothic shell remained. Inside is a gallery of heraldry: more than a hundred carved and painted wooden coats of arms of Baltic German families hung on the walls and piers — the largest such collection in Europe — a floor of medieval grave slabs, and the tombs of figures like Admiral Krusenstern, the first Russian to circumnavigate the globe. The white Baroque tower climbs by a narrow wooden stair (140 steps) to an open gallery running right round it: a view over Toompea's roofs, the old town and the sea — higher than the free viewing platforms and far quieter.
A hundred painted wooden shields on the walls.
Running right round, with a sea view.
Toom-Kooli 6, Tallinn
Landskrone TowerA tower of the Toompea hill fortifications in Tallinn, part of a defensive syste1 minute walk4.5
Alexander Nevsky CathedralFive black-and-gold onion domes directly facing parliament: the Russian Orthodox2 minutes walk4.7
Toompea Castle and HillThe hill that ruled Estonia for eight centuries: Toompea is a limestone plateau 2 minutes walk4.5
The Danish King's GardenA small garden on the slope below Toompea hill, hemmed in by the city wall and i3 minutes walk4.8
St Nicholas' Church (Niguliste)A Gothic church that became a museum because it could no longer be prayed in: Ni3 minutes walk4.5The platforms are free with the more famous view; the tower is paid, higher, and its gallery circles without crowds — for anyone wanting the full picture and quiet together.