The stand of 1991
Estonian staff kept Soviet forces from cutting the broadcast — a moment of independence that happened here.
Digger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Erko — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Erko — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frank Jania — CC BY-SA 2.0
By a bus running northeast towards Kloostrimetsa, about half an hour from the centre, or a taxi which is quicker and dearer. It is genuinely far from the old town and cannot be folded into a walking tour, so set aside a half day including travel.
Kiek in de Kök is a fifteenth-century artillery tower inside Tallinn's walls, a museum of fortifications and secret passages and part of the old town. The TV tower is a modern structure outside the city whose value is the view and the recent history. Neither substitutes for the other at all.
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A 314-metre tower northeast of Tallinn, the tallest structure in Estonia, built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics when Tallinn hosted the sailing events. The tower's standing in Estonia goes well beyond that of a tourist landmark. In August 1991, during the coup attempt in Moscow, Soviet forces tried to seize it to cut the country's broadcasting, and Estonian staff inside the tower held them off. This is one of the decisive moments of Estonian independence, and it happened here. The viewing platform is at 170 metres, and the view takes in Tallinn, the Gulf of Finland and the surrounding forest, with the Finnish coast showing across the water on the very clearest days. Among its features are glass floor panels you stand on and look straight down through, and an outdoor edge walk for those who want it, booked separately. The tower is well outside the old town and needs transport, so count it as a half day rather than a stop.
Estonian staff kept Soviet forces from cutting the broadcast — a moment of independence that happened here.
Glass you stand on and look straight down through from 170 metres.
The view takes in the gulf and the forest, with the Finnish coast on the clearest days.
Kloostrimetsa, northeast of Tallinn