Ratslukums & PilsētahalleFirst full day in Latvia, we left our (Radisson Blu) Hotel on the unfashionable side of Riga and crossed the broad Daugava River on a windswept and ominously overcast morning for our guided city tour. We met our local guide, 27-year-old Mārtinš, at the Town Hall Square (Ratslaukums), a very central location which was the venue of the curiously named “House of Blackheads.” Standing in front of a statue of the Frankish warrior Roland in the Square, Mārtinš, gave us the low-down on Riga’s very extensive damage and subsequent rebirth after its clinical aerial bombardment during WWII. The old city was more or less totally rebuilt from the 1950s to the 1970s. They obviously did a real good job at reconstruction because many of the cathedrals and other buildings retain their authentically Medieval appearance.
Mārtinš is a part-time history tutor and part-time tour guide (everyone under 40 in Eastern Europe seems to have at least two jobs such is the general state of the economy). He filled us in on the House of the Blackheads, certainly one of the most elaborate and gorgeous buildings in Riga, the crème de la crème of Vecrīga. The original 14th century building was one of the many structures to succumb to the onslaught from both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army, but the building with its wonderful Dutch Renaissance style twin facade was painstakingly rebuilt post-independence by the Latvians.
St Roland in front of House of BlackheadsThe building has a history going back to the powerful medieval Hanseatic League (encompassing both Riga and Tallinn), the Blackheads were an association of unmarried German merchants and shipowners and the House was a venue where apparently the bachelor boys liked to party – hard! The name’s origin is not certain but there may be a connection with St Mauritius (sometimes called St Maurice), an 3rd century Roman soldier of African origins who is the Blackheads’ patron saint. The facade has a kind of grand church-like triangular shape with a striking and colourful portal. It is located in a great position on the southern side of the Square (hard to miss!) facing the monument to St Roland previously mentioned. Presently, this grand Gothic building is officially home to the Latvian president.
Art Nouveau ielaThe streetwise Mārtinš was definitely clued up on all things Riga, he seemed to know stacks of back stories and how the locals tend to think and act. He took us to so many places of interest whilst sharing valuable insights (with lots of witty asides thrown in). We also got a sampler of Riga’s architecture – the older wooden structures, fashionable Art Nouveau blocks and some old Soviet buildings, very grey, unattractive functionalist buildings … especially fitting this description is the Latvian Academy of Sciences with its echoes of the famous (infamous?) Soviet-built skyscraper, the Palace of Cultural and Science in Warsaw. Riga is known for its outstanding Art Nouveau architecture, many in the Jūgendstil (German ‘youth’ style). Some of the best examples are to be found in Alberta Isla, probably none better than the Eizenstein apartment building with the azure-tinted windows. Also very worthy of mention is the old KGB Building in Stabu iela.
Lutheran Church of JesusNot far from the Academy of Sciences ‘eyesore’ Mārtinš took us to an interesting old church, The Lutheran Church of Jesus. What was special about this church was that it was an all-wood construction – in fact the biggest wooden building in Riga still surviving. When we got inside the church Mārtinš kneeled down to touch the nave floor (no, not that! … this was more of a secular gesture). He knocked very deliberately and firmly once on the wooden floor, producing a remarkably resonant reverberation right along the entire length of the nave! Just amazing acoustics!
Mārtinš concluded his highly polished presentation by showing us a few off-the-(tourist)-beaten-track spots where you can get away from the crowds and chill out, including a very nice canal-side garden park in the city. The intermittent rain we encountered didn’t manage to spoil our enjoyment of what was a very comprehensive and entertaining two-hour tour with masses of information and pointers on how to maximise one’s limited time in Riga. The accomplished Mārtinš said goodbye to us at the canal, signing off with an unorthodox but nonetheless very athletic aerial foot-clap that would have done justice to an adroit Baltic seal!
Kadri LossIf you ever find yourself in Tallinn, feeling a bit jaded after traipsing round Vanalinn, Toompea, Kesklinn and all the other tourist traps in the central part of town, try looking a little further afield. For instance, there’s Kadriorg! Do yourself a favour and take the short tram or bus trip to Kadriorg (3.5km east of the Tallinn city centre) … especially if you are interested in seeing an 18th century Petrine Romanov palace that has touches of Versailles and Italian design about it. It’s not exactly Saint-Petersburg but it is certainly a pointer to what you should expect to find in that most western of Russian cities. The focal point of the suburb of Kadriorg (“Catherine’s Valley”) is an elegant, if small by Romanov standards, strawberry pink (green-roofed) palace. The palace (Est: Kadri Loss), is in a Baroque style, built by Peter the Great for Catherine I (not Catherine the Great but Peter the Great’s Empress, Catherine) as a summer palace. Unhappily the great Tsar died before it could be put to use, as a result Peter’s widow and thereafter Russia’s sole ruler showed no interest from that time on in wanting to live in it.
Kadriorg aedCurrently the regal building is used to house the Kadriorgu Kunstimuuseum, a collection of predominantly Western and Russian art (€5.5 charge for entry (2015)). Kadri Palace has its own miniature version of a meticulously manicured Versaillesesque garden at the back. The surrounding parkland is vast, and it’s various trails are popular with cyclists and walkers alike. The parklands are attractive for visitors to stroll through whilst they brush up on who’s who in Estonian art history (the park has a series of sculptures of famous Estonian artists scattered around the grounds).
Swan pond, Kadriorg ParkOther features of Kadriorg park include a Japanese garden, a canal with floral decorative bridges which bisects the park, and a monument (Russalka Memorial) by Estonian sculptor A Adamson. At the southern end of the parklands you can sit and relax with a picnic in a garden setting overlooking the majestic Swan Lake. The lake (or pond) is a beautiful, peaceful tree-lined pond with several little islands with domed pergolas. Close to the Swan pond is a bluish-grey and white rotunda which functions these days as the Park’s information point. Also check out the cute green mailbox across the road from the info point. Near the park entrance there is a kohvik-restoran with the distinctly German name Katherinethal.
Zhivago sisters dancingThat night, after returning from my excursion to Kadriorg, I rejoined the rest of our group in Town Hall square for a taste of Russian culture and cuisine (interestingly given the bitterness of the period of Soviet hegemony, ethnic Russians still account for over 36% of the city’s population). The place we chose was Kazatchok Restaurant in a nice location in the open space of the square. As the night and the dinner went on we were entertained by a series of dance routines by Russian dancers who donned several traditional, spectacularly colourful costumes. The dancing was very spirited, as befitting an “abundant fairytale”! The dancers were full of energetic leaps and bounds performed to the background music of predictable numbers like “Ra-Ra-Rasputin”!
Smirnoff waitressGetting round to the dinner itself, the menu had a lot of options. No one was adventurous enough to try the ‘bear’ (as it turned out bear was out of season and thus unavailable in any case!). I didn’t like the sound of the boiled tongue much or the salted ‘surprises’ so I passed on the hunter’s menu and opted for the fish menu instead. To top a good night off, the establishment gave us all a shot of vodka on the house which we were encouraged to skol down in the spirit of Ruskiyzakazy! Good fun! Funnily enough, one of the waitress with a ridiculously huge red and green bow on her head bolted and hid when I took a photo of her. This was funny at the time but seemed strangely funny behaviour to me later because I found out that her sudden shyness at being snapped was rather at odds with the way she and her quaint Russian cultural outfit and big bright bow was brazenly splashed all over Kazatchok’s own website gallery in all its conspicuousness!
Linnahall & Linda Line portMost Tallinn visitors tend to flock to the Old Town and Toompea for the sum of their experiences of the Estonian capital. There are nonetheless other areas around the outskirts of this central section that are also worth a visit, if only to satisfy a curiosity about the less touristy parts of town. Sadama, Pohja and Kalamaja are three such sub-districts of North Tallinn. I happened upon these parts largely because our Kalasadama hotel is near them. Sadama (Estonian for ‘harbour’) is the port region of Tallinn, opening out on to the Gulf of Tallinn and the Baltic. Footnote: Tallinn’s harbour is a world-class one, when (inland) Moscow hosted the 1980 Olympic Games, Tallinn was chosen to stage the sailing events.
Close to the cruise ship and passenger vessel ports is the Sadamaturg (markets) which has stalls under the roof and outside all selling pretty much the same items – clothing, bags, ladies fashion, belts, caps, souvenirs, etc. Hardly anyone there when I visited, the stall-holders (95% women) aren’t particularly friendly but they seem to watch you pretty closely (not a great ambience conducive to relaxed shopping). You will find bargain buys at the markets but there are no better deals on offer than there is across the tramlines at Vanalinn. Obviously Sadama’s main customer target is the visitors who come off the boats & ferries from the Port (Terminal B is just behind the markets). The markets had the usual cut-price alcohol for sale, slabs of cheap Saku and A. De Coq beer, Vana Tallinn, whiskey, etc all over the shop.
Sadamaturg: arsenalOne product I spotted for sale at Sadama Markets made me look twice with some measure of alarm. One of the outside stalls was displaying an armoury of handguns and rifles, sporting weapons of all types, hunting knifes, AK-47P air rifles, ZM20 pistols, & lots more. It was quite an arsenal, a paradise for Estonian recreational shooters no doubt! My slight sense of unease was not abated by the dubious-looking, tough dude manning the stall. After dark the whole area around Sadama takes on a bit of dodgy feel, there are several striptiis clubs and shady-looking nightclubs around and behind Sadama street. Strip clubs are apparently a trend on the rise in Tallinn (they must have been slow out of the blocks on this one!).
On the western side of the Sadama foreshore the terrain becomes even more grotty and rundown, with lots of abandoned businesses, burnt-out shells of old warehouses, aicraft hangars and broken glass strewn everywhere. Near the Linnahall ferry port there is the scarred remains of an enormous concrete structure, long abandoned, on the edge of the water. Tallinna Linnahall was a concert hall and sporting venue created for the 1980 Olympics, but what remains has been likened to an ancient Mayan ruin. The roof of the grey-hued old complex, highly defaced by graffiti, is now just a roost for seabirds and an out-of-the-way rendezvous point for local youth to hang out at. One hundred metres along the shoreline from the ferry port is the Tallinn fish markets (Kalaturg), a very small affair indeed, certainly nothing like Billingsgate!
Patarei PrisonFurther to the west on the coast in Kalamaja district in a sparsely populated area is yet another abandoned complex of buildings. This is the site of a very large, former prison, which had all the earmarks of being abandoned – broken glass and tiles, graffiti, and the only residents appeared to the odd stray cat. When I checked it out later I was surprised to discover that Patarei Prison had only been closed as recently as 2004 after operating for 85 years! Guided tours of the complex, now a museum called Patarei vanglamuuseum, take place in summer when the prison’s beachfront café is open. The grim place, as expected of a former penitentiary, has an air of eeriness and foreboding about it, the Patarei operators describe it as “very dark (they advise visitors to bring a torch) and partly very dangerous” (piles of loose rubble and decaying rooms). Visiting this prison-fortress museum, remaining in a condition that has not been altered, cleaned up or sanitised in any way, is a fantastic opportunity for an unusual tourist experience – to observe close at hand the workings of a harsh Soviet-era place of incarceration.
KalamajaWe walked south through the streets of Kalamaja noting that there were ageing examples of the traditional, all-wooden houses around, especially in the less well-to-do parts of town (hence the original reason for the sub-district being called Kalamaja – meaning “fish house”). At Balti Jaam (Tallinn’s central train station) the Jaamaturg (part produce market and part ‘flea’ market) was getting underway for the day. The station markets had pre-used clothing and the usual stuff but if you have an eye for curios you might find the most interest in Balti Jaam in its old Soviet junk items, toys, weapon cartridge cases and badges. Definitely items for specialist collectors only!
Toompea Hill is the upper town, the most historic section of Tallinn (or Reval as it was originally called). It is even older than the section of Tallinn contiguous with it, Vanalinn (the Old Town). Ülemlinn (Upper Town) is the site of Tallinn’s first settlement by the Danish in 1219. Among the tourist hotspots are the Riigikogu (housed in Toompea Castle) and one of Tallinn’s most impressive kõrgumas (wall towers). Also worthy of a look on the Hill are its famous Russian Orthodox (Alexander Nevsky) Cathedral and Lutheran Cathedral (Toomkirik or Dome Church). What attracts visitors to Toompea in particular is the great views of the wider Tallinn. Toompea Hill sits on a limestone tableland 20-30 metres above the surrounding areas. Large numbers of tourists jostle for optimal position on the purpose-built Kohtuotsa and Patkuli viewing platforms, to catch a view (and a photo or thirty) of the fantastic panoramic scenery.
Nevsky CathedralThe Nevsky Cathedral, a striking looking structure on the aptly named Cathedral Hill (AKA Toompea) opposite the city castle, is one of the first buildings you are likely to spot if you enter Tallinn from the south-west. It caught my eye straight away as we drove up Komandandi tee on the way to our hotel (a converted factory in Pohja). A closer inspection of the Nevsky church will reward the visitor with the sight of one of the best Russian Orthodox cathedrals outside of the Russian Federation (in fact the Nevsky Cathedral is a wonderful taste of what is to come if your plans include going on to visit Saint-Petersburg or Moscow at a later point). On the first day I visited the area, there was a souvenir stall seller dressed in medieval religious garb outside the church (darkly hooded, he looked a bit ominous and clandestine, like something you’d see emerging out of a darkened recess in the The Da Vinci Code). Monumental in appearance, the Nevsky Cathedral’s most distinctive external feature is the five, soaring, black onion domes. The Church, dating from the late Tsarist period, was not without controversy when completed in 1900, as it was built on a location that many Estonians believe was the gravesite of the legendary king, Kalev. The Cathedral has some 11 bells, the largest of which weighs 15 tons, large but not significantly so if you contrast it with the Kremlin’s phenomenal 202 ton Tsar Bell, but it is (unlike Tsar Bell) capable of being hung – and rung! Be prepared to queue if you want to look inside.
The RiigikoguOn the same square, a matter of metres from the building that is the apogee of Russian Orthodoxy in Estonia, is the building that embodies the sovereignty of the independent Estonian nation, Toompea Castle, which serves as the seat of parliament, the Riigikogu (literally the “state assembly” in Estonian). The structure is a large pink building (lending it the appearance of being cute but still imposing!), corner-posted at one end by Pikk Herman’s Tower, one of Tallinn’s most formidable, historic towers.
Interior of ToomkirikTucked away behind the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral a short distance, you will see a quite different but equally significant old church. Toomkirik, or to give it its formal name, the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin, is the oldest and most famous Lutheran church in the city, The two great city cathedrals are quite a contrast architecturally. From the outside the white Dome Church (Toomkirik) looks a little drained in colour, making a more subdued statement than the nearby domineering Nevsky Church. Inside St Mary’s though it is more visual stimulating despite it being a bit low on lighting. The highlight of the interior for me is the various Teutonic shields with their heraldic insignias and banners displayed on the walls.
The Patkuli vaateplatvorm is located on the western edge of Toompea hill. The spacious, tableland platform looks out on a sweeping vista of Tallinn which encapsulates the contrasting old and newer parts. The view from the platform ranges from Rocca al Mare, Balti Jaam terminus to Pelgulinn, Kalamaja (with its characteristic older wooden “fish houses”), the city ports and the Baltic, to the distant TV Tower (the highest ‘spire’ in Talinn). Immediately to the left of the viewing platform you will see the back of a government building, an elegant white, neo-classical building with a fine colonnade facade.
Patkuli platformAfter getting your fill of the high views you may want to lope down the 157 steps of the winding Patkuli staircase to picturesque Toomparki below. Down below, the park is a terrific position to survey the western side of Toompea. The best views of the old wall are to be had from a number of vantage-points in both the western side parks (Schnelli, Toom, Falgi ōu) and the southern parks and gardens (Lindamägi, Hirve, Harju, Komandandi and Taani Kuninga). Taani Kuninga Aed (Danish King’s Garden) is interesting to visit because it’s another place in Ülemlinn (the Upper Town) which signifies an convergence of Tallinn history and mythology. Supposedly this is where the Danish flag fell from the sky in 1219 turning the tide of battle against the Estonians. Not really something worthy of memorialising if you were an Estonian nationalist I would have thought, but it is a nice spot with an attractive setting.
