Toompea Castle

Toompea Castle (Estonian: Toompea loss) is a castle on Toompea hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The castle, an ancient stronghold site in use since at least the 9th century, today houses the Parliament of Estonia.

History

According to a myth, the whole hill of Toompea was made by the Linda, who built it boulder-by-boulder with her own hands. For reasons associated with this legend, Tallinn is sometimes traditionally referred to as Lyndanisse ("The nipple of Linda") in Estonian. The more prosaic truth is that settlers during the time of ancient Estonia made use of the natural hill as an easily defended stronghold. Over time, the place also developed into a commercial hub. It was probably one of the first inhabited areas of what later became Tallinn.

In 1219, the castle was taken over by Danish crusaders led by Valdemar II. According to a popular Danish legend, the very first flag of Denmark (Dannebrog) fell from the sky during a critical stage of the battle (known as the Battle of Lyndanisse). This first proper castle was referred to as the "Castle of the Danes", in Latin Castrum Danorum and in Estonian Taanilinnus. From the latter, the modern name of the city of Tallinn is possibly derived (see Modern name of Tallinn).

Toompea

Toompea (from German: Domberg, "Cathedral Hill") is a limestone hill in the central part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The hill is an oblong tableland, which measures about 400 by 250 metres, has an area of 7 hectares (17 acres) and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas. In folklore the hill is known as the tumulus mound over the grave of Kalev, erected in his memory by his grieving wife.

The history of Toompea is closely linked to the history of rulers and power in Estonia. Today Toompea is the center of the Government of Estonia and the Riigikogu (parliament), both of which are often simply referred to as Toompea. The location of the Riigikogu is the Toompea Castle, situated in the southwestern corner of the hill and topped by the Tall Hermann tower. The flag on the top of the tower is one of the best-known symbols in Estonia of the government in force.

Toompea is part of the Tallinn Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geology and topography

Geologically Toompea is associated with the North Estonian Klint (itself a subsection of the Baltic Klint). A separate relic klint island, Toompea lies about 1.5 km northwest of the North Estonian Limestone Plateau. The plateau and Toompea are connected with a gently sloped sandstone ridge. From the east, north and west Toompea is bordered for 1.5 km by a cliff with a height of up to 25 m. The southern slope of the hill descends more gently. The upper layer of the hill consists of Ordovician limestone (thickness about 5 m), which is also the main rock exposed at the cliff. However, most of the cliff face has been hidden behind a protective wall and only a few outcrops are left.