Portal:Estonia/Featured article/September 2006

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tallinn (recent historical name: Reval) is the capital city and main seaport of Estonia. It is located on Estonia's north coast to the Baltic Sea, 80 kilometres south of Helsinki. Already in 1154 Tallinn was marked on the world map of the Arab cartographer al-Idrisi.

The largest lake in Tallinn is Lake Ülemiste (covers 9,6 km²). It is the main source of the city's drinking water. Unlike many of the large towns, the only significant river in Tallinn is located in Pirita (city district counted as a suburb). The river valley is a protected area because of its natural beauty. During the 1980 Summer Olympics a regatta was held at Pirita. Many buildings, like the hotel "Olümpia", the new Main Post Office building, and the Regatta Center, were built for the Olympics.

The main attractions are in the two old towns (Lower Town and Toompea) which are both easily explored on foot. Toompea was once the home of the nobility and bishops of Estonia, occupying an easily defensible site overlooking the surrounding districts. The major attractions are the walls and various bastions, the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (built during the period of Russification by the Tsarist Russian government) and the Lutheran Cathedral (Toomkirik).