Tallinn

September 16, 2006

The name Tallinn is thought to have come from Ancient Estonian meaning Danish Town.  It is the capital of Estonia with a population of approximately 500,000 people.

The first stop in the morning was Kadriog’s Palace which houses the Museum of Foreign Art. Peter the Great help build it himself. In the back of the museum there were beautiful gardens.   Part of the Palace complex has become home to the President of Estonia.

Music is very important in Tallinn.  The Tallinn Song Bowl hosts a song festival every four years.  Over the years the stage has been increased in size so that more singers can participate.  Today, the stage can hold up to 35,000 singers.  The capacity of the stadium is 150,000 but in 1988, over 300,000 squeezed into the songfest and demanded independence.

The Russalka monument located on the edge of the Baltic Sea, is a memorial to the crew of the armored ship Russalka (The Mermaid).  The Russalka sank in 1893.  It was said that the angel was looking for the ship and years later the wreckage was found and indeed to the statue pointed in the direction of where they found the remains of the ship.  The other pictures are of me on the Baltic sea!