There is a slope path going down the mountain to the south of the fort. The wall blocking the mud is very old. The most annoying thing is that the graffiti everywhere is used by Tallinn teenagers to write big-character posters, which is so damaging to the historical sites. The end of this trail is the south gate of the old city, which is also marked by a pair of tall towers. One is the two-story Kiek-im-de-kok with a white body and brown roof, which in German dialect means "a peek into the kitchen." It is said that the scenery at the top of the tower is very good, and you can see what is going on in the kitchen (maybe not just the kitchen) from the back window of the house. The other tower has a white body and gray roof, called the Maiden Tower. It was a prison for prostitutes in the Middle Ages. Unexpectedly, the reserved and sanctimonious Estonians had such sharp satire on common social ills.
The ferry cut through the Baltic Sea and rode the wind and waves for nearly 4 hours. Looking from the deck into the distance, at the end of the sky, a mound appeared on the horizon, like a straight line rising from the sound chart of complete silence. A microwave. The boat slowly moved closer, and the view gradually became clearer. "The solitary city is lined with white clouds." The ancient town of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is clearly in sight.
Ancient buildings are scattered along the shore. Forts, forts, and church spires tower into the sky. My heart felt like a deer, and I was inexplicably excited. I had arrived in a dreamlike fairy tale town again!
Estonia
Estonia, this mysterious place, this edge of Europe, is loomingly recorded in the annals of Western history.
For nearly a thousand years, Estonia has been a dependent territory of the Baltic powers, such as the German Teutonic Knights, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Tallinn holds the key to the northern gate of the Baltic Sea and is a vital location for military strategists.
Estonia was founded for the first time in 1918 and was a member of the League of Nations. However, this independence was short-lived; in 1940, when the Second World War broke out, this small country was violently annexed by the Soviet Union. . Spent 50 years in the long night.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Estonia regained its independence and became an independent country again.
Estonia and Finland share the same language and speak the same language, and both countries belong to the Finno-Ugric language family. Therefore, the two countries have the same spirit and are closely related to each other. After independence, Estonia received great assistance and care from Finland in diplomacy and international trade.
Of course, the ancient city of Tallinn has also experienced the ups and downs of the human world. The ship is about to dock, and the number of seagulls has increased. How can these birds flying freely in the vast sea and sky experience the blood, tears and bitterness of this ancient city? It is precisely "the birds don't know the changes in the mausoleum and valley, and go to Yiyang River in the morning and evening." The sea breeze blowing on my face made my hair disheveled. I felt very cold at the height. I suddenly woke up from my historical meditation and hurried back to the cabin to gather with the leader and group members of the "Baltic Sea Enlightenment Group" to prepare to collect my luggage and go through immigration. formalities.
After leaving the customs, I saw the spacious tourist bus, carrying only 13 people (including the tour leader and driver). It was a rare treat.
The tourist bus is speeding along the coastal avenues Narva Maantee and Pirita Tee. On the left is the endless and colorful Baltic Sea, and on the right is the plain with whirling trees and green grass, with some magnificent buildings built in between. They are the consulates of various countries.
Kadriorg Park
Soon we arrived at Kadriorg Park. There is a majestic palace in the park, which was originally the palace of Tsar Peter the Great. The emperor's lifelong national policy was to find a way out of the landlocked Russia. He finally defeated Sweden in 1721 and captured Estonia. Tallinn became Russia's only port on the Baltic Sea.
It is said that there are three bricks near the outer wall of the palace that were laid on the foundation by Peter the Great himself. Today the palace is the official residence of the President of Estonia.
The tour bus continued eastward and stopped near the entrance of SongBowl. This open-air square is grand in scale. The large lawn built along the slope has seats and can accommodate 150,000 listeners. It is surrounded by a forest full of lime, oak, birch and other trees. The lawn is At the top is a large stage with a half-circumference curtain, which is very eye-catching.
In September 1988, 300,000 people gathered in this square. The crowd was so packed that they sang a chorus, and the songs soared into the sky, protesting against Soviet rule and calling for the liberation of Estonia.
Sure enough, this small country became independent two years later, ending the 270 years of Russian influence since Peter the Great. It is hoped that from now on, it will no longer have anything to do with Russia.
Old City
During World War II, the Soviet Union shelled Tallinn, destroying thousands of commercial buildings and residential buildings. The Old City managed to escape the damage, so the monuments we see today are They are all relics of the Middle Ages.
Compared with the world-famous Balague, the beauty of Tallinn’s Old Town is rarely known to the world. Balage is a rich and beautiful woman in rich clothes, Yang Yuhuan dances in colorful clothes in the palace; Talin is a village girl with eyebrows without makeup, and Xi Shi is wearing gauze by the stream. Such a natural beauty, unkempt hair, plain face, simple and unpretentious, has its own charming charm.
We entered the old city from the Viru gate in the southwest. The wall is well preserved. There is a row of stalls on the right side of the wall selling a variety of warm sweaters, and a row of stalls on the left selling flowers and evergreen leaves. It is a custom in the three small Baltic countries that when visiting friends, you must bring a bouquet of flowers, but the number must be odd, because even numbers are for mourning. There are two towers connected on both sides of the gate, one is cylindrical and the other is square box, with white body and brown roof, full of ancient charm. A long stone road leads directly to the center of the old city. The edges are full of boutiques and snack bars... The most eye-catching thing is that there is a McDonald's near the gate. It can be seen that the clutches of American commercial culture have begun to threaten and erode the old city.
City Hall Square
City Hall Square is large in area and has a rhombus shape. It is the soul of medieval Tallinn.
The Administrative Building (Town Hall) was built in 1371 and is the only remaining Gothic building in Northern Europe. There is a slender Islamic temple spire on the roof that sticks into the clouds. It was built based on the drawings of a German explorer. This explorer traveled as far as Central Asia. There is a weathervane of a sword-wielding warrior standing on the steeple. The locals call him Old Thomas. He is swaying in the wind and has a majestic look. He is the guard of the ancient town of Tallinn. There is a series of nine-degree arches near the base. There is a corridor inside the door where medieval merchants traded goods. In 1241, Hamburg and Lubeck formed the Hanseatic Leaque merchant group, with the purpose of maintaining local security and protecting the interests of German merchants. They cooperated with the swords of the Teutonic Knights, and their influence extended to the eastern Baltic Sea, and Tallinn also became the German capital. The ethnic city Reval. There are many relics of the Germanic people in Tallinn. The long street leading to Fat Magaret in the North Gate is lined with huts, which were the residences or warehouses of German merchants in those days.
Things have changed, and some of these huts have been converted into dining rooms or coffeehouses. When you enter and have a drink, you will inevitably feel the nostalgic feeling of "how many times in this life we ??regret the past".
There are many historic sites near the City Hall Square. There is an ancient pharmacy opened in 1422, the Lutheran Holy Spirit Church built in 1433, and the Dominican Monastery established in 1246, which was a missionary place for Danish immigrants to Estonian natives and brought European and Western culture to Tallinn. Wandering in the alleys of the old city, I could hear fairy music floating around. Bach's sacred music was playing from the big organ of the nearby Niguliste church. I was very yearning for it and stopped to listen attentively. This church was a gathering place for German residents in the 13th century.
Fortress Hill
Fortress Hill (Toompea) is the essence of the old city. There are three lookouts around the mountain for tourists to overlook the scenery of the ancient town. One of them faces the harbor, and you can see the 9-story ferry moored in the harbor. There is a rooftop like a giant building, surrounded by stone railings.
The fortress built during the Danish governance period in 1219 has long been washed away by the torrent of time and has disappeared without a trace. The existing one was later rebuilt on the original site by the Knights of the Swords (a faction of the Teutonic Knights) and repaired over the years. In particular, the Russian Czarina Catherine the Great spent the most time on this fortress. There are tall towers on all four corners, with the tallest tower being Tall Hermann in the southwest corner. The Estonian flag is hung on it and flutters in the wind, indicating that this small country has passed through the long winter of the foreign rule and is now bathed in the warm sunshine of the earth's rejuvenation, breathing in the free air.