The History of Tallinn in Brief

Henrik Salum

Names of Tallinn

Lyndanisse (among Scandinavians)

Koluvan (to the Slavs)

Tallinn: Taani linn (Danish city)

Reval: Reh-fall / fall of the deer hunted by the Danish king (up to the 20th century also the official name; popular among speakers of German)

Early history

Finno-Ugric people settled on the shores of the Gulf of Finland 3,500 years ago.

A fortress in Iru (the second half of the first millennium), surrounded by a settlement. Abandoned in the middle of the 11th c.

A port and marketplace (Scandinavian and Russian merchants) in the 10th and 11th c.

A wooden fortress on the Dome Hill (Toompea) in the 11th c.

Early history

First mentioned in historical documents in 1154 under the name Qalәven by Abu Abdallah Muhammad al-Idrisi.

The Order of the Knignts of the Sword (Mõõgavendade ordu) in the 13th c.

The Danish rule (1219–1346)     

In 1219 Lyndanise stronghold of the Rävala people mentioned by Henricus de Lettis in his Chronicon Livoniae.

On 13 June 1219 King Valdemar II of Denmark occupies Lyndanise without resistance.

On 15 June the battle between Estonians and Danes.

In 1221 a treaty between the Danes and the Order of the Knights of the Sword.

1227-1238 northern Estonia under the rule of the Order of the Knights of the Sword

The Danish rule (1219–1346)     

In 1238 Danish rule is re-established (the Stensby Treaty).

Taani linn (the Danish city).

The new stone fortress and the Dome Church on Dome Hill. A populated city at the foot of Dome Hill.

In 1248 the Lubeck Law mentioned in connection with Tallinn (lasts until the 19th c.).

In 1285 Tallinn becomes a member of the Hanseatic League.

The Danish rule (1219–1346)     

1343-1345 St George’s Night uprising (Jüriöö ülestõus).

In 1346 the districts and towns of North Estonia sold for 19,000 silver marks to the German Order.

In 1347 the area sold for 20,000 silver marks to the Livonian Order.

During the Danish rule Tallinn (Reval) acquired most of its privileges and became a well-off trading town (dependence on its landlord merely formal).

Golden Age (14th – 16th c.)

From the 14th to the mid-16th c. medieval Tallinn flourished (member of the Hanseatic League).

A port town on the trading route between Western Europe and Russia.

One of the biggest and most powerful fortified towns in Northern Europe (66 defence towers).

In 1524 the Lutheran Reformation.

The influence of German culture.

The beginning of school education and the expanding of reading skill among the local people.

“The good old Swedish time” (1561–1710)    

The Livonian War (1558-1583).

North Estonia and Tallinn incorporated into the Kingdom of Sweden (Tallinn capitulated to the Swedish king Erik XIV in 1561, the whole Estonia united as part of Swedish Kingdom in 1625).

A zone of earth fortresses, baroque towers and interiors (churches, the Town Hall).

Rapid development of education (e.g. 1631).

Tallinn became the administrative centre.

Tsarist times (1710-1917)

The Northern War ( 1700-1721).

Tallinn capitulates to Russian forces in 1710.

Tallinn preserves its privileges until the second half of the 19th c.

Architecture: Baroque palace and park in Kadriorg, the Estonian provincial government building, etc.

Rapid industrial development (Tallinn became one of Russia's most important ports).

Tsarist times (1710-1917)

Tallinn is eliminated from the list of fortresses in 1857.

The Russian town law is enforced in 1877.

The Russian language becomes the only official language in 1889.

The first Estonian mayor in 1906.

20th century

On February 24, 1918 the birth of the independent democratic Estonian republic, with Tallinn as its capital.

1918-1920 the War for Independence (the Tartu Peace Treaty on February 2, 1920).

1918-1940 Tallinn is the capital of the Republic of Estonia.

1940-1941 the first Soviet occupation.

1941-1944 German occupation.

20th century

1944-1991 the second Soviet occupation.

1980 the Olympic regatta in Tallinn.

1988 the Singing Revolution.

August 20, 1991 re-establishment of Estonian independence.

1997 the Old Town is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

2011 European Capital of Culture.

The medieval capital has turned into a modern IT-driven

business cluster for various trades and

industries.