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.
In 1154 Tallinn was marked on the world map of the Arab cartographer al-Idrisi.
As an important port for trade between Russia and Scandinavia, it became a target for the expansion of the Teutonic Knights and Kingdom of Denmark during the period of Northern Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century when Christianity was forcibly imposed on the local population. Danish rule of Tallinn and Northern Estonia started in 1219.
In 1285 the city became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League - a mercantile and military alliance of German-dominated cities in Northern Europe. The Danes sold Tallinn along with their other land possessions in northern Estonia to the Teutonic Order in 1345. Medieval Tallinn enjoyed a strategic position at the crossroads of trade between Western and Northern Europe and Russia. The city, with a population of 8,000, was very well fortified with city walls and 66 defence towers.
With the start of the reformation the German influence became even stronger. In 1561 Tallinn became a dominion of Sweden.
During the Great Northern War the Swedish troops based in Tallinn capitulated to Imperial Russia in 1710, but the local Baltic German rulers retained their cultural and economical autonomy within Tsarist Russia. The 19th century brought industrialization of the city and the port kept its importance. During the last decades of the century Russification became stronger.
On 24 February 1918 the Independence Manifesto was proclaimed in Tallinn, followed by German occupation and a war of independence with Russia. On 2 February 1920 the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed with Soviet Russia, wherein Russia acknowledged the independence of the Estonian Republic. Tallinn became the capital of the independent Estonia. After World War II started Estonia was annexed by the USSR as a result of coup with help of the Red Army in 1940-41, and later invaded by Nazi Germany in 1941-44. After Nazi retreat in 1944 it was restored as part of the USSR again. After the annexion into the Soviet Union, Tallinn became the capital of the Estonian SSR.
In August 1991 an independent democratic Estonian state was re-established and a period of quick development to a modern European capital ensued.
Critiques | Translate
fanch (0) 2006-11-19 10:46
Hi George !
A mess of colored roofs, a capital with a little Scandinavian town look, and all in all a pleasant photo,with a detailed clever note!
carmia (5467) 2006-11-19 11:02
Hola , los tejados con sus diferentes formas, dan un toque de color a la foto, muy bonita. Saludos.
pablominto (53746) 2006-11-19 12:22
I like how you frame this scenery!
The different shapes and colours are very eye-catching, and it is interesting to see different styles side by side...
Pleasant composition, excellent details!
zumoduvas (2069) 2006-11-19 12:27
Excellent picture, nice composition an colors.
carper (96) 2006-11-19 12:31
nice shot George,
the colours are super and I like the crop you made here, good point of view and very nice composition, well seen, have a nice day.
Angelillo (9374) 2006-11-19 15:43
Towers, towers and towers! Well seen. They are absolutely differents, different colors also, and very well aligned. The light is also beautiful and the details very good. Perhaps it would be better with the tower in the background complete, but it's is only an opinion! Best wishes,
emjleclercq (15780) 2006-11-19 16:38
I like your pictures of Tallin very much, I think you managed to catch some of the magic of the places (a magic which is a bit disappearing under the assault of the tourists nowadays). An excellent composition of towers and roofs, with nice colors.
All the best,
chanjits (4454) 2006-11-19 19:53
Dear why canopy is out this is making composition bit awkward .What you think
atilgone (0) 2006-11-20 1:49
This is a nice capture of architecture. Good colors. But your picture a bit unsharp. TFS
John_F_Kennedy (43665) 2006-11-20 3:35
Perfect contrast between the church with the green roofs and red roofs. Nice composition and POV.
pasternak (15185) 2006-11-20 11:07
Hi George, very good superposition of towers of different architectural styles, nice use of the telelens to compress the perspective and bring together in one frame elements located at various distances from the camera. On top of that, very good spatial progression, as the viewer's eye "hops" from one tower to another, and it helps to bring some volume into this compressed perspective. Nice shot.
MIG13 (0) 2006-11-20 12:20
What a mix of towers, George! It looks like a fairy tale place! Nicely composed pic, rich in colours and perspective! Well done! TFS! Regards! Miguel.
agbonavita (0) 2006-11-21 7:59
I like the forground tower top, like a red cone. Maybe you could had show to us all the backgorund tower, I don't like the crop there. The colors as always are great.
berek (50456) 2006-11-21 15:23
another very good roof working. colors and sharpness are very good. well framed picture . thanks. greetings
my overall evaluation -> ****
Angshu (56750) 2006-11-22 3:33
A closer view this time...excellent in terms of framing and colours. I cannot help but appreciate the beautiful varied colours of the roofs & your placement of the tallest spire in the centre. Well done!
guillaumejm (0) 2006-11-22 15:49
Hello george interresting composition on roofs!. But it's a pitty you didn't include the top of the church in it!. Nice colours. Perhaps a little more light and contrast could have been interesting.
Yar (793) 2006-12-05 14:09
good DOF, great colours
robertosalguero (284) 2006-12-19 0:08
Your picture show us many towers and spires. Beautiful view from a high point to capture the many roofs and structures that adorn this city. You did so well with the colors and the sharpness. Nice work friend :-)
pally3100 (3413) 2007-04-14 14:42
voila une belle composition bien amenée par l' usage d' une longue focale télé ,les masses architecturales sont bien positionnées
un cliché original avec des batiments à l' architecture méconnue chez nous en Belgique
amitiés Henri à bientot sur TE, TL ou TN
Wandering_Dan (3449) 2007-11-08 13:23
Hello, George -
I'm going to Tallinn in February (don't ask) and was looking at images for photo ideas, and saw this one which I like very much. I liked several others of yours as well, but I think this one is the most interesting, because of the combination of shapes and colors and positioning, such that it gives a real sense of the medieval quality of the Old Town. May I ask where you took this from?
- Copyright: George Rumpler (Budapestman) (82620)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2005-08-07
- Categories: Architecture, Artwork
- Camera: Canon Ixus 50, Canon Zoom Lens x3 5.8-17.4mm 1:2.8-4.9
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Theme(s): Your Favorites, Tallinn, The picturesque medieval city [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2006-11-19 10:27
- Favorites: 2 [view]