Tallinn Town Hall, Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn Town Hall, located in the main square, is the only surviving Gothic town hall in Northern Europe. The first recorded mention of the Town Hall dates from 1322. Its present form dates from 1402-1404, when the building was rebuilt. The spire was destroyed in an aerial bombing on March 9, 1944. It was rebuilt in 1950. The Town Hall is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with the Tallinn's Old Town.

The building has two main storeys and an almost full-sized cellar. The main façade is supported by an open arcade with eight piers and topped by a crenellated parapet. High gables and a pitched roof make the building elegant, but the slender octagonal projecting tower with a gallery for bells gives it particular finesse. The tower is crowned by a late Renaissance spire comprising three cupolas and open galleries.

Today the Town Hall is a representative building of Tallinn City Government, concert hall and museum. The entire building is open to the public in July and August, when less official receptions are held. In other times, visits must be agreed with the Town Hall in advance (except the cellar exhibition).

User Reviews

Tadas Malinauskas (5 months ago)
Town Hall and it's square is a center of the miniature universe called Tallinn Old town. The entire old part of the city is quite compact but very homogeneous, very little intrusions of modern architecture, and the old wall of Tallinn makes a nice boundary between old and new. Lots of different restaurants to choose from, like in other touristy places, locations close to the main attractions.

Cheri Mitchell-Santiago (6 months ago)
Tallinn is such a beautiful city. We strolled though alleys and discovered so many quaint sites. One of the more beautiful Old Towns I have visited. You can sit in the Square at the many restaurants and enjoy the ambiance!

Nikos Gkekas (7 months ago)
The Town Hall, which dates to 1404, is one of the most hallowed symbols of Tallinn. It boasts an elegant arcade of Gothic arches and a slender Baroque steeple. The narrow windows and crenelated parapet complete the building’s dignified facade. Do not forget to spot the waterspouts in the form of green dragons just beneath the roof and the 16th-century weathervane in the form of a stout, spear-wielding sentry near the summit of the steeple.

Stanislav Kovaljov (7 months ago)
Love walking in old town Tallinn. Always great atmosphere and lots of amazing places to see. If you are hungry - there are many different restaurants at the square,my personal favorite is Troyka.

Siddiqui Mr. aRf (8 months ago)
Medieval old town hall. Gothic style building. Big and open. Nice place to spend time. Very happening. Several restaurants representing Italian, Indian and Baltic. Several souvenir shops. You can find Baltic Amber jewellery shops both expensive and cheap depending on the grade of the Amber.

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Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.

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