Interactive museum theater in Tallinn. Unknown legends and ghosts of old Tallinn. Food in Tallinn

My stories about a cruise in Northern Europe:

In a certain kingdom, in the Danish state, there lived a king and his queen. And they had a daughter: a beauty, a capricious one, an obstinate one. The father-king was a decisive, powerful man who did not tolerate disobedience from anyone, even from his own daughter. Well, the daughter was not far removed from her father in character, only she had no power yet, and therefore she paid for her character - the obstinate woman was ordered to be put on a ship and sent off, without a rudder and without sails, wherever she would take her. If your daughter is lucky, she will get out of captivity in the harsh northern waters. If you’re unlucky... Well, so be it, so that others won’t be bothered. No one knows how long or how short the lonely ship wandered on the waves. But the sea gods took pity on the shrew and carried the ship to a deserted shore, carefully stranding both the ship and the princess who was bored on it. Finding herself on the long-awaited land, the girl did not moan and wring her hands, but resolutely set to work, and soon a new city appeared on the nameless shore, named after the princess’s homeland - “Danish Fortress” or, as we are all more familiar, Taani-Linn , Tallinn.

Tell me, if the journey begins with such a fairy tale, what can you expect from the city, besides new fairy tales, “legends of deep antiquity,” legends and other fables? That's right, you need to wait for something fabulous and magical! And we, without bothering too much with the routes, decided to do a simple thing - go around the Old Town, moving from legend to legend, in order to forget what century it is now and plunge into the distant Middle Ages, with all its charms, but without all its cruelties (all after all, modernity ennobles once harsh morals). Looking back, I understand that it was the most correct decision, which allowed me to live the whole day in an old, old fairy tale, which has so many names and an inevitably happy ending...

Having found out in advance that on this day several ships came to the Tallinn port, not counting our “Aida” (one “Princess” could easily guarantee hustle and bustle in the narrow streets of the Old Town), we tried to go ashore as early as possible so that at least In the morning, enjoy the deserted streets and the silence of the awakening city. And we almost succeeded.

Sea Gate greet those who came to the city by sea. Therefore, our route turned out to be in the opposite direction, and not like everyone else’s, and did not avoid a little confusion when the temptation to swerve in one direction or the other was very great. Well, how can you go without turning around when a real fairy tale begins right outside the gates, which modern new buildings, satellite dishes and other signs of our century are afraid to spoil. True, I had to turn a blind eye to the numerous cars blocking the already narrow streets, but I chalked it up to the early morning...

Where the Sea Gate is, there Fat Margarita, the tower is solid, dignified, solid, as old as the legend of its appearance...

In ancient times, everything was different than it is now - different life, different morals, different criteria of beauty. Our slender beauties, languishing on diets and dying in the gym, could not capture the heart of a medieval handsome man - well, why hug such a person? So the girls tried their best to look fuller - they put on a bunch of skirts, knitted thicker stockings and tried to somehow plump up their cheeks, which cannot be covered with any clothes. They brewed potions, went to witches, cast spells - all means are good for beauty (well, almost like in our time, however, for a completely opposite result). So Margarita, an appetizing girl without any witchcraft (but when is a woman happy with her curves?), decided to ask the witch for help. She didn’t deny it for long - she brewed something more magical, whispered stronger spells and gave the coveted drink to the girl, making her promise not to go out after midnight as repayment for the service. Margarita was delighted at such a small price and without hesitation promised to fulfill everything. And the potion worked! Margarita blossomed - no one could hug her, all the guys looked around when, snuffling and breathing heavily, she hobbled along the narrow streets on a date with her beloved Herman. And they became so in love that they both lost their heads with happiness, and at the same time completely forgot that they had to keep an eye on the clock. And then one day, when the bell tower began to chime midnight, Margarita remembered the sorceress’s warning, but it was too late - the sorceress took her payment. Now at one end of the Old Town stands the tower of Fat Margaret, and at the other - Long Herman, and they will never be together, nor in human form.

I don’t know how true this story is, and it has become overgrown with details over all these centuries, losing a bit of truth, but let it be - we couldn’t walk in Tallinn without fairy tales...

Having grieved over the unenviable fate of Margarita and admired the tower, we moved on, but after a couple of steps we stopped before the next fairy tale, about "Three Sisters".

The father had three daughters: the eldest was smart and beautiful, the middle one was so-so, and the youngest was absolutely no good. When the time came to marry them off, the father built three houses for them as a dowry: nothing at all for the eldest, so-so for the middle one, and a luxurious one for the youngest, balancing the sisters’ chances at the bride fair. And I was right! Here the story falls silent, deciding to leave the ending unsaid. But no one is stopping you from thinking about it! And while we were admiring the houses, we listened to this legend in several languages, from Russian to cheerful Spanish (we don’t know what the Chinese guide said, but the abundance of Chinese people surrounding the houses was a terribly disturbing thing for everyone).

If we came to Tallinn for a few days, we would stay at the “Three Sisters” to live in a legend, among the old walls, listen to how the fairy tales of the Old Town fall asleep and wake up and watch how ghostly shadows slide along the pavements shiny from the rain...

Church St. Olaf We weren’t able to see it in all its glory - the restoration, which we didn’t know about, forced us to change our plans a little and try not to take it into the frame, it looked so incomprehensible. The tallest building of the Old Town had to be postponed “for later”, as well as the view from the observation deck.

Pikk Street persistently called to walk along it further, promising to show miracles and tell fairy tales, the fortress wall persuaded you to turn to the side and admire its towers, of which there are quite a few preserved in Tallinn - well, what kind of harmony of a story can we talk about when the feet themselves lead to where they are called eyes! And turning towards the wall, we went to take a closer look at the towers, absolutely charming in their antiquity, solidity and narrow loopholes. These towers, like the others, just as tall and reliable, became for me one of the symbols of the Old Town and the very portal that takes you back to the past, regardless of whether you want it or not. The fortress wall hugs the narrow streets, “collecting” houses in a heap, makes the pavements wind and decides how wide the roads will be and how spacious the sidewalks will be, and the towers make sure that no one is willful, trying to get out of the strong stone embrace...

Turning onto Lai Street, we went to where they stand "Three brothers", not as famous as “Three Sisters”, but still pretty, in my opinion. Meanwhile, tourists began to wake up, slowly filling the streets and huddling in groups near any more or less nice house. We had to wait and try to take photographs during pauses, when one group would move away and the other would not arrive yet. It was terribly stressful, but we heard so many different versions of urban legends that you can’t help but wonder which of them is true...

And it’s not a matter of legends, although you can see them in Tallinn! Perhaps there is no second city where you can wander aimlessly and thoughtlessly, immersed in the atmosphere of the present, living past, where you will not be at all surprised to meet a chimney sweep hurrying somewhere, where old weather vanes spin on the towers, trying to catch the changeable wind, where paving stones worn out by many centuries, where every house begs to be either framed or part of a fairy tale, and where it’s so easy to forget what century it is. This is not even surprising; if you dig hard enough, antiquity can be found in other cities. The amazing thing is that this whole story lives an ordinary life, without slipping into the props familiar to our time - silhouettes of people flash through the windows, cars crawl along the paving stones, church bells ring, shop doors swing open, housewives water flowers at the doorstep, and all the tourist bustle lives separately from real life, without preventing the fairy tale from remaining a fairy tale, but what happened was reality. And no matter how you look at your watch, remembering that the ship will not wait for anyone, you still freeze in surprise and try to understand what is the secret of the Old Town, which managed to preserve everything that Revel was rich in and of which Revel was rightfully proud...

Back on Pikk street, to St. Nicholas Chapel, so modest and inconspicuous that if you don’t know where it is located, you can easily pass by, mistaking it for a small cafe, we continued on our way. It’s amazing that it survived through many troubled times and still remains a chapel.

House of the Blackheads- the attraction is very noticeable and very pretty. Even if you don’t know what kind of house it is, you won’t run past and catch your eye on the picturesque door. The house has retained the appearance it had during the heyday of the “Brotherhood of the Blackheads”, a kind of knights from the merchants. The brotherhood, founded in the 14th century, accepted only young merchants who had not yet started families, and foreigners temporarily living in Tallinn. The founder of the brotherhood, Saint Mauritius, a black African, still adorns the guild's coat of arms.

By the way, it was the Brotherhood of Blackheads who first installed a Christmas tree in Tallinn on Town Hall Square, and this was in the 15th century, long before the tree became a symbol of Christmas in other European cities, which makes their contribution to history priceless in my eyes...

Omitting the biography of the order and the detailed architectural description of the house, I cannot help but note the beauty of the door and the facade around it, which captivates even an amateur. A very beautiful house and numerous tourists around are the clearest confirmation of this.

Further - even more interesting! Almost opposite each other there are two houses, one more beautiful than the other - “House with Dragons” and “House with Lornette”, relatively modern and not very old (early 20th century). I gave my sympathies to “The House with the Lornette”, my husband liked “The House with Dragons” more - there is no arguing about tastes, certainly in our family.

"House with a Lornette" beautiful even without the legend and looks like a lush wedding cake decorated with trinkets and patterns. The eccentric with the lorgnette still needs to be found, and you can walk around the bush for a long time, trying in vain to find behind which turret he is hidden. There is even a legend that there used to be a house here, in which lived a not very modest, but very elderly gentleman, who loved to look through his lorgnette at the girls flashing in the windows of the house opposite. The architect who built the new house knew this story and hid the gentleman behind one of the towers overlooking Pikk Street. When we stopped to take photographs of the lorning juir, people began to look around in bewilderment, trying to understand what attracted us so much - the attraction is not the most noticeable, but very interesting.

In addition to the gentleman, there are many other decorations on the house - a weather vane fish, fancy turrets, mascarons decorating the walls between the windows, carved lanterns on the facade and even a black cat on the roof, which is not at all easy to see, even knowing where to look (you have to go to the lane to the right).

"House with the Dragon"- a combination of Egyptian women, pharaohs and dragons. The marzipan lightness of “The House with the Lorgnette” is not here, and the impression is completely different: weighty, solid, dignified. But it’s a landmark, and therefore passing by is not entirely correct. And we decided - everyone admires their own, honestly dividing their sympathies between the two houses...

Next, Pikk Street leads to a small square where you can eat marzipan in an old cafe and see the history of the delicacy in the museum. There is also the Church of the Holy Spirit, which we found much more interesting than marzipan paradise.

We put the marzipan aside, deciding that if we had time to see everything and there was time left, we would stop here on the way back to buy gifts. True, this delicacy is so unique that not everyone likes its unbearable sweetness. Having tasted one marzipan candy, I can do without sweets for a month, or even two, living in the memories of its rare sweetness. Therefore, I can safely say - I love marzipan, it helps you lose weight!

We entered the store at the end, on the way to the port, and managed to admire the marzipan figurines and bouquets, taste different types of delicacies, buy gifts and even freely photograph the marzipan wonders decorating the window. There simply wasn’t enough time for the museum, which I still regret...

The small square of Gildi Plats is not only a museum of marzipan. The house is big Guilds, located opposite the Church of the Holy Spirit - a memory of the times when Revel was part of the Hanseatic League (15th century). The lantern above the entrance and the solid door are what I liked most. And the porch seemed not to notice the passing centuries, retaining the solidity inherent in the Guild House of the wealthy Revel.

Unlike the Blackhead Brotherhood, which consisted exclusively of single merchants, the Guild included only the married and rich, and there was a special “bride’s room” in the house where the newlyweds spent their first wedding night.

Church of the Holy Spirit(14th century) is remarkable for its antiquity and modesty, and its tower is noticeable from afar and in my eyes looks no worse than the town hall, although it is officially considered the lowest in the Old Town.

The 17th century clock is the only decoration on the outside of the church; being carried away by looking at it, I almost forgot to take a picture of it.

The inside is quite modest, there are practically no tourists and you can go inside for a small fee. The altar, stained glass windows, hanging pulpit and wooden carvings of the choirs - where else can you see this! Behind the outer modesty lies a real treasure, captivating not with pretentiousness, but with age and restraint. Come in, you won't regret it...

If you turn from the Guild House into an inconspicuous arch called Birzhevoy Lane, you can look at the stone slabs built into the sidewalk to learn the history of Estonia, not in detail, but the main milestones, a kind of “timeline”. You can even find out what will happen in the future - the last slab is dated 2418. There weren’t very many tourists, we walked completely alone, except for rare passers-by. If you are interested in what is indicated there besides the future, go there yourself...

Then the road led upward, from the Lower Town to Vyshgorod, from the quarters where merchants lived to where the nobility settled. True, we had to show miracles of endurance and discipline, ignoring the temptations peeking out from every alley and tempting us to turn off the road, giving up on all our plans. Convincing ourselves that Town Hall Square would not get away from us, and that once there we could disappear for a long time, our team slowly but surely moved towards Long Leg Streets.

The stone-paved walls of the street are no longer a fortress, but simply retaining walls that strengthen the soil and prevent it from sliding. But time and the rains have done their job and everything looks nice and very ancient; the grass that beats its way to the light through the mossy stones was especially beautiful. There were practically no artists with their creations that day, although I hatched a plan to buy myself views of the Old Town...

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, to which Long Leg Street led us, was built at the beginning of the 20th century, in gratitude for the rescue of Alexander the Third and his family during the disaster in Borki. The cathedral is beautiful, its domes rise above Vyshgorod and are visible from different points. But something terrible was happening inside - I had not seen such compressed crowds of tourists for a long time, and besides, the categorical ban on photography did not leave a single frame as a souvenir. You have to pay for entry, but when we saw the crowd, we suddenly didn’t want to go in and look. Another time somewhere in the future somehow another time sometime later…

I must say that we got to the cathedral at the very “peak” time, when all the tourists were released from the ships (four liners for one Old Town is a very, very many!), those who arrived by ferry and those who arrived by plane arrived or buses. Not to mention taking pictures, it was impossible to squeeze through! Groups with guides, tourists walking freely, a host of Chinese comrades who know how to create chaos like no other, screams in all languages at once - it’s not surprising that there was such a stir inside the cathedral. And I realized that all the charm of the Old Town will be revealed to those who are not too lazy to get up early in the morning and walk along the half-asleep streets, where unfinished dreams still roam. Or go out late in the evening onto the rain-polished paving stones and walk along with fairy tales, chasing away the silence with careless steps and catching up with timid shadows running into dark alleys. And during the day... No, during the day fairy tales hide, and I understand them very much!

We escaped from all this chaos Toompea hill observation deck, where (surprisingly) there were almost no tourists. Obviously, the views of an ordinary city did not inspire anyone and we admired it in solitude, disturbed only by the wind and seagulls.

Somehow I completely forgot about the legends, staring at the beautiful streets and admiring the houses. Meanwhile, the Dome Cathedral is very conducive to all sorts of ancient legends. The gravestone at the threshold, over which everyone entering the cathedral steps, is placed in the place where the local Don Juan rests. It seems that he ordered to bury himself in this very place, so that everyone who entered would step on the slab and thereby help cleanse him from the great many sins he had committed during his life. But there is another version - the ladies stepping over the threshold allowed the deceased to admire the forbidden even after his death. But the poor guy couldn’t have foreseen that modern ladies prefer to wear jeans, through which you can’t see anything, rather than fluffy, seductive skirts that give free rein to the imagination of the deceased seducer.

Well, on a more serious note, the ashes of I.F. Kruzenshtern, the first Russian circumnavigator, known even to the children of the “man and the ship,” rest in the cathedral.

Getting into the Dome Cathedral turned out to be even more difficult - the queue at the entrance, entirely formed of Chinese groups, completely blocked the hope of seeing the place where Krusenstern rests and showing Don Juan his jeans from the most piquant angle...

Patkul observation deck, which we went to, bypassing the Dome Cathedral, turned out to be a little busier, and the views from it were a little more beautiful. Here we stayed longer, admiring the city from above and posing for each other against the backdrop of rooftops and the changing sky. Why there were so few tourists is a big mystery to me, but the fact remains.

Third observation deck – Kokhtuotsa, plunged me into despondency and sadness. We had to fight our way to the parapet, we had to squeeze through the dense ranks of the Chinese, despite all the rules of decency, and we had to wait a long time for the opportunity to take a photo in the hope that the tablets and phones held up in the air would someday be lowered. The photo of the terrible crowd will always remind me how bad it is to be in the same place with organized groups of tourists from four cruise ships at the same time.

The view from the site became a consolation, allowing us to instantly forget the chaos reigning behind us and enjoy the beauty opening from above. Tiled roofs, high towers, winding streets, tiny people walking somewhere down there and the endless sky, like a frame framing a picture of perfect beauty...

We had to fight our way back again, cursing and cursing all the cruises at once.

Having walked through the absolutely charming and sweetest streets again to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, we turned into Danish King's Garden, very rich in sights and legends, what can we hide.

Quiet and cozy, despite its popularity among tourists, this corner of the Old Town is hidden behind a fortress wall and guarded by three high towers - Konyushennaya, Devichaya and Kik-in-de-Kek. The garden is an exaggerated name: a few old trees promising deep shade over benches that are always full of people wanting to rest their feet, a small flower bed with a Danish flag of artfully planted flowers, and figures of Druids placed here and there. Oh yes! Another view from above of the roofs, houses and streets, inferior to the view from the Kohtuots site, but also not without its own charm.

The most beautiful thing in the garden is the legend. The Danish king Waldemar decided to attack the city, take possession of it and establish his rule over the Estonian lands. At first, everything went smoothly - the defeated Estonians recognized the strength of Voldemar’s army, brought the king the gifts due according to the protocol, and even threw a feast in honor of the victors, lulling the vigilance of the king and his troops. And then they treacherously attacked, pushing back the Danes. Victory was about to turn into defeat, and Voldemar fell to his knees, raising prayers to the indifferent heavens, persuading the Almighty to help defeat the rebellious Estonians. And a miracle happened! From the opening heavens, a flag with the image of a white cross on a red field fell into the hands of the king. It is clear that after this, Waldemar perked up and won again, and the flag has since become the official flag of Denmark, as a symbol of hope and victory even in the most catastrophic situation. The Danes believe that their flag is the oldest in the world and every year on September 15 they celebrate the Dannebrog holiday.

They say that if you ask in this garden for something that you have been trying to get or achieve from life for a long time and unsuccessfully, your words will be heard and conveyed personally to the creator, after which all indestructible barriers will collapse, and you will find a long-awaited dream...

The towers in this garden are also remarkable. The maid's room (the one with glass) served as a prison for ladies of very easy virtue (and in which port city there are none - where there is a sailor, there are boats), Kik-in-de-Kek - allowed one to look into the windows of the kitchens, but not for drowning idle curiosity, but to notice who is evading taxes.

We had to leave the Danish King’s garden, no matter how cozy and quiet it was, because what happened next was even more interesting. Short Leg Street, packed to capacity with tourists, and therefore not as pretty as it could have been if we had come here on a quiet evening, led us to Church of St. Nicholas.

This church, despite its antiquity, was completely destroyed during the Second World War and after a long time was restored, then burning, then rising again from the ashes. They say that in Nigulist the body of a spendthrift, a sharper and just a loser, Generalissimo Duke de Croix, was kept incorrupt for two hundred years. Numerous creditors, who did not wait for the repayment of their debts, forbade his body to be buried until all debts were paid. I never managed to find out how this story ended...

Returning to the Lower Town, we headed towards Town Hall Square, stopping along the way at cat well. Previously, there really was a well here (I readily believe in it), in which lived either a merman or a mermaid (I already doubt it), demanding regular tribute from the city residents. Savvy townspeople, so as not to anger the one who lived in the well, threw cats down, deciding that they would be quite suitable for the title of tribute (I don’t believe in this at all - I feel sorry for the cats!). Now the well is not very popular among tourists, although it looks very medieval, if you don’t think about the lost cats...

It’s a stone’s throw from the well to the Town Hall, but if it’s true, don’t look around and admire the pretty streets, of which there are even more here. Maybe you will succeed, but I was stuck for a long time, looking at signs, windows, doors, roof canopies and walls of neat houses pressed against each other - no, well, it’s beautiful, it’s a pity to just run by without noticing anything around...

Town Hall Square- a beautiful place, decorated with the Town Hall, the best preserved in all of Northern Europe (I took my word for it). The famous Old Thomas adorns the top of the tower and you can even see him from the heights of the observation platforms, if your camera allows, of course. There is a long legend about Old Thomas, which explains the love of the people of Tallinn for him and why he appeared at the top of the tower. But I’ll probably skip it - I don’t want to shorten it, and the long one will tire those who read to this point.

We found ourselves in the midst of some kind of fair, selling all sorts of sundries and souvenirs obligatory for every tourist. The sellers willingly switched to Russian, promised discounts and invited us to the Christmas fair, promising that it would be even more interesting, although much more interesting, the only thing missing was a Christmas tree, the rest was in abundance.

Because of this fair, we never found the zero kilometer of Tallinn, hidden under one of the tents. If you stand on this stone, you can see five spiers at once - the Town Hall, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Dome Cathedral, the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Church of St. Olaf. We were unlucky, at least come back again!

You can spend a lot of time on the square, admiring the Town Hall (and it’s worth it!), the houses located around, and the fair will also require attention - I bought a bunch of gifts for everyone. But the best thing about the square (although this is not an indisputable statement) is Europe's oldest pharmacy operating for almost 600 years.

It’s easy to find - on the corner of Town Hall Square, where groups of tourists with guides crowd, you can’t pass by. Previously, the pharmacy sold medicines that acted reliably, and sometimes instantly - rubbing from pike eyes or extract from snake skin, powders from bat tails or unicorn horns, a mixture from frog legs or freshly squeezed mummy juice, “living water”, colloquially referred to vodka and so on, so on, so on, including marzipan. Now medicines have become simpler and all the pharmacology that is sold in any pharmacy in the world is also displayed on these ancient shelves.

Legends of old Tallinn

Probably many of us love to travel. It can be fun to get into some well-preserved medieval city, walk along its ancient streets and listen to stories from a guide about its history, legends and beliefs. Stories that sometimes contain mysticism sound especially fascinating. So I decided to bring a little fear and humor to you, and start a short series about the mysterious but my native city of Tallinn. Namely, I will tell you several urban legends, horror stories and tales.

How Tallinn was founded.

The legend says:
About a thousand years ago, there lived in Denmark a king whose son and daughter were inflamed with forbidden love for each other. The king, having learned about this, decided to expel his daughter from his country, as he considered her the main culprit. He came up with a cruel punishment - he ordered the princess to be put on a ship without a rudder, and this ship to be sent to the open sea so that his daughter would never return home.

One of the Danish kings of that time, Sven Forkbeard

The ship wandered through the waves for a long time until a storm washed it onto the northern coast of Estonia. The princess ordered the anchor to be dropped and went by boat to the shore. After some time, she noticed a hill on the coast - the grave of old Kalev (approx. hero of the Finno-Ugric epic Kalevala). The princess liked this place so much that she wanted to found a city here. The exile brought with her a lot of gold and silver from her native country, and this goods were transferred from the ship to her tent on the hill. The princess called the people and ordered them to first build a luxurious castle for their gold and silver, and a city around it. She granted homes to those who showed courage and diligence. So, over time, a lot of people gathered around the castle, and the city grew noticeably, became beautiful and rich, and the people in it lived calmly and happily.
Soon news reached the King of Denmark about the beautiful city that his daughter had founded. And he had an irresistible desire to subjugate this city. Having overcome his pride, the king went to bow to his daughter. The princess, unaware of her father's insidious plans, forgave him and arranged a magnificent meeting.
However, the residents quickly realized what was on the strangers’ minds. They immediately drove them away and remained masters in their city. The people began to call it Tanlin, the Danish castle, from which over time the current name Tallinn was derived.
A comment: From the legend it follows that Tallinn was founded by the Danes, but already in the 1st millennium AD. e. Tallinn was a famous harbor and place of trade, being the center of the ancient Estonian land of Revala.
In the form of Rifarriq, the city is mentioned in an Irish manuscript around 750; the court geographer of the Sicilian King Roger II, Arab al-Idrisi, names it in his comments on the world map he compiled in 1154. The Danes conquered the city in 1219, under King Valdemar II.

Linda's stone. The legend about the origin of Lake Ülemiste.

The poor widow mourned her beloved husband Kalev for many months, giving vent to complaints and bitter tears. And she began to bring stone blocks to his grave in order to erect a worthy monument to Kalev and preserve his memory for posterity. In Tallinn you can still see this tombstone of Kalev - Toompea Hill. Under it, the king of the ancient Estonians sleeps in eternal sleep, on one side of the hill the sea waves rustle, on the other, the native forests rustle.

Linda's sculpture.

One day Linda was carrying a large boulder to the grave. She hurriedly walked up Lasnamägi Hill, carrying a whole rock on her back in a sling woven from her hair.
Then the widow stumbled, and a heavy stone rolled off her shoulders. Linda could not lift this rock - from grief the poor thing dried up and lost the former strength of her arms. The woman sat down on a stone and cried hot tears, complaining about her widow's lot.
The kind fairy of the winds affectionately stroked the silk of her hair and dried her tears, but they flowed and flowed from Linda’s eyes, like streams along a mountain slope, gathering into a lake. This lake became larger and larger until it turned into a lake. It is still located in Tallinn on Lasnamägi Hill and is called Ülemiste (Upper). There you can also see the stone on which the crying Linda was sitting.
And if you, traveler, happen to walk past Lake Ülemiste, stop and remember the glorious Kalev and his inconsolable Linda.

Lake Ülemiste. In the middle of the lake you can just see that same ill-fated stone. There is an airport right across the lake

Comment: Prose retelling by J. Kunder (1852-1888) from the second song of the epic “Kalevipoeg”.

Servants of Van - Baron of Vigal.

Once upon a time, in the estate of Van-Vigal there lived a baron, in whose service there were many spirits.

Vana-Vigal Manor

He once went to Tallinn across Lake Ülemiste. The Baron strictly forbade the coachman to look back while driving on the water.
The carriage rushed as if through a mirror. When she approached the shore, where it was shallow, the coachman still looked back. To his great amazement, he saw that spirits were fussing around the carriage: they were carrying boards from behind the wheels of the carriage and placing them in front of it - this is how they built a bridge over which the carriage was traveling.
As soon as the coachman looked back, the carriage with a team of horses fell into the water. But since the shore was very close, the horses pulled the carriage onto land and no one drowned.
The baron says to the coachman: “If you had looked back in the middle of the lake, we would have drowned. The perfume stops working if any person sees it. Don’t you dare disobey my orders again!”

Why Tallinn will never be completed.

Once a year, on a dark autumn midnight, a gray-haired old man, Järvevana, emerges from Lake Ülemiste; goes down the hill to the city gates and asks the guards:
— Well, is the city ready, or is it still under construction?
In big cities, builders always have enough work: if new buildings are not built, then there is a lot of trouble with old houses. Here and there it is necessary to correct, touch up or rebuild, the work goes on continuously, and there is not a day when all the craftsmen rest at the same time. But if suddenly there is a short break, then you cannot say half a word about this to the old man of the lake. The guards at the city gates are ordered to answer, always the same:
— The city is far from ready yet. It will be many years before all the work is completed.
Then the wonderful old man angrily shakes his head, mutters something incomprehensible, turns sharply and goes back into the lake - his eternal home.
But if the old man of the lake is told that the city is ready and there is nothing more to build there, the waters of Ülemiste will rush from Lasnamägi Hill to the coastal lowland and flood Tallinn.

Unfinished city of Tallinn

Comment: The legend was retold by F. R. Kreutzwald in 1866 in his "Old Estonian Folk Tales". This motif is also found in “pure” folklore (see “The Servant of Kalev” in this edition). Lake Ülemiste is located high above the Lower Town and has been flooded more than once (in 1718, 1761, 1867).

The Adventures of the Duke's Mummy.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, in the church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) an amazing exhibit was exhibited. In one of the chapels on a hearse stood a coffin with a glass lid, and in it was a mummy dressed in a black velvet camisole with snow-white lace, her legs covered in silk stockings, and a curled wig on her head.

Duke's mummy.

The church watchman, who received considerable income for displaying the mummy, took touching care of its safety. When the mummy began to be overcome by mice, he brought a cat into the church. One day, on a rainy and gloomy autumn evening, the organist was playing chorales and suddenly heard shuffling steps. A mummy appeared from the darkness in the light of a swinging lantern. The horror-stricken organist noticed, however, that the mummy was not moving on its own, but was being carried. It turns out that the roof in the chapel leaked, the mummy got wet, and the simple-minded caretaker decided to dry it by the stove.
Whose mummy was this? Duke Charles Eugene de Croix was born in the Netherlands with royal blood flowing in his veins. He served first in the Danish army, then in the Austrian troops, and then in Poland. When the Northern War began, de Croix joined the Russian army. Peter I promoted him to field marshal general and appointed him commander-in-chief of the Russian troops near Narva. Having lost the battle, the Duke was captured and brought to Tallinn by the Swedes. Here he was released on parole. De Croix quickly settled into Tallinn and established an extensive circle of acquaintances among the local nobility and wealthy merchants. Not only doors opened before him, but also the wallets of Tallinn residents, and the Duke was a true master of living on credit. He drank a lot, played dice, his debts grew and grew. Everything was going great.
And suddenly - like a bolt from the blue - the news: the Duke ordered to live long. Distressed creditors gathered for a meeting. Someone remembered that according to the Lübeck law of Hanseatic cities, Tallinnians can prohibit the funeral of a debtor until they receive their money in full. The meeting decided not to give the body of the dead duke to the city authorities - the only guarantee of his large debts. The authorities showed unexpected compliance, apparently fearing the large expenses for a funeral befitting the title of duke. Having agreed with them, the lenders put their “collateral” in the coffin and took it to the basement of the Church of St. Nicholas for storage. This was in 1702.
The Duke's mummy was found. . . after a hundred and twenty years, and even then by accident. People believed that the Duke’s body was preserved thanks to strong drinks, which the deceased greatly valued. Pundits explained the mummification by saying that the solution holding the foundation masonry together contained rock salt.
Thus, the mummy of the Duke de Croix turned into a landmark of the Niguliste Church, competing with the famous altar painting “Dance of Death” by Bernt Notke. In the middle of the last century, the authorities ordered to stop displaying the noble effigy, but buried it only in 1897. Thus ended the adventures of the duke's mummy - two hundred years after his death.

How the owner of the Palmse estate saved Tallinn from troubles.

Once Tallinn, which was called the maiden because no one had yet managed to take possession of it, was besieged by an enemy army for a whole summer. And although the fortress walls and towers reliably protected the people of Tallinn, the hunger became more and more severe day by day, and despair and cowardice took possession of the hearts of the townspeople.
The savior of the city in this difficult hour turned out to be Baron Palen, the owner of the Palmse estate. He pretended to want to send provisions to the hungry townspeople. When the carts with food and beer barrels approached the enemy camp on Lasnamägi, they were immediately captured by the enemies. Hunger tormented the besieging soldiers no less than the Tallinnians, so they attacked the provisions like wolves, forgetting about the siege. The owner of Palmse took advantage of this short respite to save the city. He ordered a fattened bull to be delivered by sea to the city walls, as well as some malt, and handed them over to the townspeople.

Palmse Manor.

The townspeople brewed fresh beer and took it to the front earthworks. They poured beer onto the bottoms of the overturned barrels so that the foam flowed over the edges. Then they released a bull onto the ramparts, which ran out, exploding the ground with its horns.
When the enemies saw barrels of foaming beer and a fattened bull, their souls sank to their feet. “Go to hell,” said the soldiers, “you won’t starve him out who can still brew so much beer and walk fat bulls on the ramparts. We’ll probably die of hunger ourselves.”
The next morning, the townspeople saw that the enemy was leaving. Tallinn was saved again.

Descendant of the savvy baron Matvey Ivanovich Palen (1779-1863), cavalry general.

Comment: The legend retold by F. R. Kreutzwald in “Old Estonian Folk Tales” probably refers to the events of the Livonian War (1558-1583). It was in the 16th century that the construction of earthen fortifications began behind the city stone wall.

Pontus, tanned leather merchant.

Pontus Delagardie

A long time ago, on moonlit nights on Lasnamägi, people saw a rider in iron armor on a white horse. He offered passersby to buy tanned leather. But there were no people willing to buy the goods - buyers were scared off by the disgusting smell of leather.
One day an old man with a goatee met a horseman and asked:
- What price are you asking for your tanned leather, brother?
The horseman answered him:
“I just want to sleep peacefully in the damp earth.”
The old man asked the knight to tell him who makes him wander at night and does not allow him to fall into eternal sleep. This is what the rider told him:
“I was once a famous commander, and my name was Pontus. I ordered the skin to be skinned from dead soldiers, gave it to the tanner, and then ordered boots, a caftan and trousers, a saddle, belts and bridles from this leather. Everything I'm wearing right now is made from human skin. After my death, there was a lot of tanned leather left. When I arrived in the other world and wanted to enter the gate, the guard detained me: “It is ordered to let you in only after you sell all the remaining skin. You will come out of your grave at night and drive along the roads to Lasnamägi from midnight until the first rooster until you find a buyer.” This is how I have been offering tanned leather for two generations, but there are still no buyers.
“I will not disdain your goods,” said the old man. - If you only ask to be freed from night vigils, then the price suits me, I can handle it. Get off your horse and follow me.
Pontus was delighted with the buyer, took his skins and followed the old man. The same one led him straight to the underworld. At the underground gates, the old man took on his true appearance - he turned into a devil with horns and a tail, and shouted in a terrible voice:
- Come on, come out, all those from whom Pontus flayed the skin!
Then many of his victims came forward, wanting to return their skin and cover their naked bleeding flesh. The devil, baring his teeth, taught them:
- Remove the skin from it and stretch until there is enough for everyone to cover the bones.

A. Durer. Horseman, death and the devil. 1513. Chisel engraving

Comment: The legend is contained in “Old Estonian Folk Tales” by F. R. Kreutzwald, based on it the ballad of the poetess M. Under (1883-1980) “The Leather Trader Pontus” was written. The merchant probably refers to the Swedish commander Pontus Delagardie (1520-1585). His tombstone in the altar part of the Dome Cathedral is a masterpiece of Renaissance art. The Swedes, having captured Narva under the command of Delagardie on September 6, 1581, carried out a massacre there, in which about 7 thousand people died.

About Tallinn's Don Juan.

Everyone who visits the Dome Cathedral unwittingly tramples on the grave of a sinner, about whom many stories are told. Entering the cathedral through the main portal and entering the southern nave of the temple, the visitor finds himself on a large slab, along the edges of which is carved: “OTTO JOHANN TOVE, landowner of Edise, Vääna and Koonu - his grave. The year is 1696″.

The Dome Cathedral

Tradition says that Tove, who rests under the slab, was Estonian by origin, because his surname means “dove” in translation. For his services, he was awarded nobility. He was an extremely cheerful and easy-going man, loved to eat a lot and tasty, drink heavily, and most importantly, he was known as a ladies' man and a great conqueror of hearts.
Before his death, he repented of his sins and bequeathed to bury himself at the entrance to the Dome Cathedral. Tove hoped for forgiveness if he showed humility and submission, and his ashes would be trampled by parishioners.
Indeed, five centuries ago the Tove family settled in Edise Castle in northern Estonia. They also owned the neighboring Jõhvi estate, where a church was erected at the end of the fifteenth century. On the bell tower of the church is the coat of arms of the Tove family. The character of men of this kind is evidenced by the legend about the church in Jõhvi, which is very similar to the legend about Tallinn’s Don Juan:
Once upon a time there lived two brothers. The older brother went to war, and the younger brother had to build a fortified castle. The elder brother returned from the war, a quarrel broke out between the brothers, and the younger brother was killed in a duel. The elder brother was overcome with sadness and deep regret about what had happened; he ordered, in atonement for his sins, to build a church at the site of the duel and bury himself in front of the entrance, so that all believers would trample his sinful ashes.

Tallinn Legends - a fascinating journey into the past

Tallinn, with its long and fascinating history, is known for many fascinating legends. Ancient stories have come from the distant times of the Middle Ages to our days, carrying both human greatness and devilish baseness. However, for the first time, both townspeople and guests of the city themselves will have the opportunity to get into the Middle Ages, feel the breath of time, experience the joys and sorrows of the people of those immemorial years, feel love and hate, as medieval townspeople felt.

Tallinn Legends combines the city's history, which has remained behind the shadow of centuries, the lively skill of the actors and special effects created with the latest technology - all this creates a true illusion of time travel and everyone who enters the game reality of Tallinn Legends will find themselves among the exciting events, forgetting about everything other things and becoming part of living history.

Tallinn Legends is an adventure that cannot be described in words. The feeling that comes from racing into the past in a time machine is something you have to experience for yourself. Only in the magical world of Tallinn Legends can you climb the high tower of the newly built Oleviste Church, walk through the streets devastated by the plague, go down into the deep basements of the Inquisition court, listen to the amazing song coming from the mermaid well, together with the girl immured in the Maiden Tower, cry about the frailty of a slipping young life, attend the execution of the arrogant Baron Johann von Uexküll, discover marzipan in the workshop of a gloomy alchemist with a voluptuous taste, and sing a daring battle song together with hired soldiers. What makes time travel special is the fact that Mister Satan himself will personally accompany guests to the dark secrets of ancient Tallinn as a guide. The presence of such a high and powerful person guarantees an unforgettable experience.

LOCATION

Tallinn Legends is located right in the heart of the old city, next to the oldest town hall in Europe, at Kullasepa 7.

LEGENDS

Construction of Oleviste and the curse placed on the church

At one time, the Oleviste Church was the tallest building in Europe. This amazing temple of God, rising to the sky, began to be built in 1267 and construction continued for a hundred years.

It seemed to contemporaries that it was as if the Evil One Himself was interfering with the work. The architect, who placed his hopes in the church and installed the cornerstone, fell from high scaffolding and fell to his death. Things were no better for the next six masters, who linked their fate with the construction of the majestic building. Only the eighth construction master, whose name was Olev, was able to complete the work. But his life was also short-lived. While decorating the church tower with a wreath to mark the completion of construction, Olev heard someone calling to him from below, leaned down to look, but fell and was killed, like his predecessors.

On June 29, 1625, the church tower was struck by lightning and the gigantic building caught fire. After this, arrows of lightning struck the House of the Lord thirteen more times.

You will visit the Oleviste tower, take a look at the city from there and, together with lightning arrows, go down, finding yourself in the deep Middle Ages.

The terrible secret of the Maiden Tower

In medieval Europe, there was an unshakable idea that if a living girl was walled up in a fortress tower or castle wall, the structure would stand unshakable until the end of time. Tallinn was no exception in this regard. When in 1360 the Tallinn fortress wall began to be supplemented with a new quadrangular watchtower, to strengthen it, they decided to wall up the virgin girl in the wall of the first floor of the tower. The unfortunate maiden had to give the tower unprecedented strength at the cost of her life.

The lot fell on the beautiful Greta, who, despite all the efforts of her parents to save her daughter, was secretly taken away from the house and walled up in a small stone niche. For several more nights, those passing by the tower heard quiet crying, but then it stopped, and people’s rumors began to call the new watchtower the Maiden Tower. The tower indeed survived all the wars and trials that befell the city and to this day adorns the silhouette of Tallinn.

You sympathize with the doubts and fear of death of a young girl and follow the fragile figure of the beauty with your gaze until the cold stones swallow her up.

Plague

Like most cities, Tallinn was repeatedly visited by a terrible plague epidemic, which killed thousands of people. The terrible disease was considered a punishment from God, for which they sought help in fasting and prayers, locking their houses and running away from the city, cleansing the premises with juniper smoke and washing themselves with herbal infusions, but nothing helped - the Black Death moved from house to house, from street to street in his own terrible way, leaving not a single castle, not a single hut untouched. Death made people equal. But at the same time, when the streets were filled with corpses, between which doctors dressed in strange costumes were maneuvering, treating the plague, libertines and drunkards gathered in one of the houses, who spent their days in obscenity and copious libations, but the plague did not touch them. Obviously, these playmakers were too sinful even for death itself.

The artist Berndt Notke immortalized the monstrous plague of the 14th century in a painting he called “Dance of Death.” This famous painting is located in Tallinn in the Niguliste Church and recalls the times when half of the city's inhabitants died out, from infants to high-born gentlemen.

You see streets ravaged by plague, carts of refugees leaving the city. And suddenly Death himself appears, dragging you into a deadly dance, at the end of which nothingness yawns.

Retribution

Medieval people feared the retribution that awaited all sinners. The unfortunate fell into hellfire, but it was possible to get there already on earth if the zealous servants of God believed that you had violated church canons.

The Dominican coat of arms depicts a dog carrying a torch. The monks considered themselves dogs of God, whose task was to illuminate the path for the righteous and subject sinners to suffering. It was not difficult to fall into disgrace with the holy fathers - all one had to do was some neighbor send a denunciation to the monastery - and the apostate was grabbed to be brought before the harsh court of the holy fathers. For those who at least once appeared before the church court, the path of salvation was cut off. Witches burned at the stake, Satan's brides were drowned in ice holes in winter, townspeople who entered into an agreement with evil spirits disappeared at midnight and never returned home.

You will pass through the high monastery gates and appear before the holy judicial supervision, where the all-seeing eye will weigh your sins. Fortunately, there is an opportunity to escape from this terrible place, and you will do it while hearing the threatening barking of dogs and the ringing of prison shackles behind you. This time you will remain unharmed - what luck!

Alchemist

When death is rampant around you and life is not worth a penny, there is a desire to find a formula for immortality. In 1420, when the population of Europe had decreased by half as a result of wars and plague epidemics and the future seemed bleak, hundreds of alchemists began searching for a formula for immortality. One of these scientists ended up in Tallinn and requested premises from the Tallinn Town Hall where they could complete scientific research and give the townspeople eternal life. The whole night he tinkered with strange experiments and from time to time tongues of flame could be seen from the window and clouds of smoke poured out of the chimney, but in the morning the alchemist disappeared. A recipe was found on the table, and according to it, the city pharmacist prepared an unprecedentedly tasty substance, which began to be sold as a means of stimulating male abilities. The substance was named marzipan and, indeed, many children began to be born in Tallinn and the townspeople inherited eternal life.

Superstitious people still claim that Satan himself celebrated the wedding in the room where the alchemist compiled his incredibly useful recipe. The Lord of Evil allegedly left a recipe to lure people onto the path of sin. Well, everyone looks at the world from their own bell tower.

You will be present with the alchemist during dangerous experiments, as a result of which marzipan is born. If you are lucky, you too will be touched by the miraculous power of marzipan, and your family life will become unprecedentedly unanimous and fruitful. This is the bonus you will receive when visiting Tallinn Legends.

Mermaid

To this day, on Rataskaevu Street you can see an old well, which is associated with the legend of a beautiful girl found on the seashore. The girl was brought to the city, dressed up like a princess and decided to marry a rich young man, but already on the first evening she disappeared from home. All night long, unearthly singing sounded over the city, and in the morning, when they went to see what had happened, the girl was found in the well. The water called her to itself. And the next night the same thing happened, only now the singing came from the city towards the sea and called at dawn into the abyss of the waves. For the one who gave himself to the waters will never get rid of the longing for the quiet depths of the sea.

The girl was never seen again in the city. But in the hearts of those who heard her singing, there remained an incomprehensible thirst for love, which all Tallinn residents inherited. And today, with love, they come to the seashore to admire the moonlight, and lonely souls, overcoming the sea winds, find on the shore consolation and hope that a meeting with their loved one is just around the corner. However, there are those who, having gone ashore, never return back, as happened with the beautiful mermaid.

You will hear a delightful, unforgettable song and feel the intoxicating call of the waters. You will experience a magical story about longing and love and you will immediately understand that, despite the harsh times, wars and illnesses, there were moments in the Middle Ages when people felt truly happy.

Execution of Johann von Uexküll

The Middle Ages were ending, and the value of human life began to increase. The establishment of Lübeck City Law has significantly increased the self-awareness of Tallinn residents. Free artisans and traders lived here, and a peasant who managed to hide in the city for one year and one day was freed from the yoke of serfdom. The city grew and became stronger. Chivalry was no longer subordinate to the supreme authority, but was independent.

Baron from Riisipere Johann von Uexküll, who secretly made his way to Tallinn in 1535 with a detachment of thugs, found his fugitive peasant here, took him away by force and killed him. The townspeople, outraged by the arbitrariness, demanded justice from the town hall, then the city authorities arrested the baron and sentenced him to death for murder.

On May 7, when the court sentence was about to be carried out on a country hill with a gallows, the baron’s henchmen arrived at the scene with the intention of freeing their master. In order to prevent a bloody confrontation, Uexküll was executed between the lowered city gates. The executioner cut off the nobleman's head, and thus the law prevailed over prejudice, and the Middle Ages in Tallinn ended.

You will see a proud baron mocking the city's right and how an arrogant man will be broken in the face of death. Together with the inhabitants of ancient Tallinn, you will celebrate the victory of justice and experience the moment when the head of a criminal is raised on a stake.

The journey will take place through the 9th centuries, from the very beginning of the Middle Ages, ending with the first trial, as a result of which Baron von Uexküll was executed. Which marks the end of the Middle Ages in Estonia. These 9 legends that we have selected as Tallinn Legends are associated with real places such as the Oleviste and Niguliste churches. Also the Marzipan House and the Witch's Well. We will also talk about Pontus Delagardie, who was the governor of Estonia in the Middle Ages and won the 7-year Northern War.

Performance duration: 40 minutes

The performance can be in one of four languages - Russian, Estonian, English or Finnish.

The number of people in the group is up to 15 people.

Passability - a new group every 15 minutes.

Opening hours: daily, from 11:00 to 19:00 (last group at 21:00)

Age restrictions - not recommended for children under 10 years old.

Ticket price - 15 euros / adult, 10 euros / child, 35 euros / family (2 adults and 1 child under 16 years old)

Tallinn is one of the most ancient and mysterious cities in Europe. Its atmosphere has always been imbued with a mystical spirit. It is not surprising that there are so many legends about ghosts and other otherworldly phenomena here.

Executed on Town Hall Square

In the old days, Town Hall Square was used as a market place and was the heart of the Old Town. All important city events were held here, including the execution of criminals.

It is reliably known about two cases of capital punishment in the square. The first to be executed was the pastor, who, in a fit of anger, broke the skull of a tavern maid who brought him a burnt omelette, and he himself came to the Town Hall to confess. The second was the Ratman, who blabbed to his wife some state secrets that were discussed at a meeting of the magistrate in the Town Hall (this was prohibited by law). As punishment, the Ratman was forced to put his wife on his back and run on all fours around the Town Hall building. Both – the pastor-murderer and the ratman-gossip – had their heads cut off. Since then, their phantoms sometimes appear on Town Hall Square.

Old City Towers

Promotional video:

The tallest tower in Old Tallinn is called Kik in de Kök (“Look into the Kitchen”). They say that from its top it used to be possible to see what one of the townspeople was preparing for lunch. Neitsithorn (“Maiden”) Tower from the 14th century. served as a dungeon for girls who refused to go down the aisle with the grooms their parents had chosen for them. They were kept there until they submitted to their parents' will. Although, according to another version, seamstress girls lived and worked there, and no special dramas happened.

However, after a café-bar with a mulled wine room was opened in the Neitsithorn tower in 1980, the ghost of a man, dressed in medieval fashion in a cloak and a beret with a visor, began to visit it. One day, the director of a cafe watched as a man’s silhouette disappeared into the wall... Another time, in front of everyone’s eyes, someone’s invisible hands removed candlesticks with burning candles from the bar counter... Repeatedly, glasses and cups on the tables began to move right in front of visitors... And in the evenings, in the empty Footsteps and conversations were heard in the room, someone invisible was slamming heavy wrought-iron doors and clicking metal bolts. All this made the establishment very popular among the so-called “ghost hunters.”

And here's another legend. Once upon a time lived in the vicinity of Revel (as Tallinn was called until 1919) a couple in love - a peasant son, Herman, and a fisherman's daughter, Margarita. In the evenings, holding hands, they walked around the city, but before midnight they had to part and leave the city, since some kind of curse hung over them.

One day the lovers forgot about time. When the clock began to strike midnight, they rushed in different directions, but did not have time to cross the city border. And then Herman turned into a tower (it was nicknamed “Long Herman” because the young man was slender and tall). Fat Margarita also became a tower (her name is “Fat Margarita”). Both towers stand at opposite ends of the Old City, where the fateful hour overtook the lovers...

Vampire Maid

Another attraction of Tallinn is house number 13 on Toom Kuli Street, where the Canadian Embassy is now located. The writer August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue, who was appointed president of the Revel magistrate in 1785, described its history in detail in one of his novels.

According to von Kotzebue, the houses were once owned by Count Manteuffel. He allocated one of the rooms on the first floor for guests staying overnight. And everyone who had to stay there overnight subsequently talked about the ghost of a young woman in black.

According to legend, during her lifetime the ghost girl was the maid of the count, who was inflamed with lust for her. After she resolutely rejected the advances of her lustful owner, he became furious and allegedly ordered her to be walled up in the wall of that very room. By the way, one of the guests who visited the count’s house said that as soon as he sat down by the fireplace, a very beautiful girl in a black dress appeared from somewhere, approached him, wrapped her hands around his throat and pressed her lips into his. The man lost consciousness and came to his senses only three days later...

Damn wedding

The following story is told about Rataskaevu Street (translated as “Wheel Well”). There was only one person living in house number 16. He managed to squander his entire fortune and get into debt. In despair, the owner of the house decided to commit suicide. But at that moment, when he was already making a noose for his neck, a certain gentleman came to him and promised him a bag of gold coins for permission to have a wedding in his house. The only condition was not to tell anyone about this and not to leave your room during the celebration. Of course, the man happily agreed.

The next evening, hundreds of carriages arrived at the house. The lights came on in all the rooms and music started playing. The whole house was shaking, as if at least a thousand people were dancing in it. But as soon as the clock struck midnight, everything became silent and the lights went out.

Coming out into the hall where the wedding was taking place, the owner saw hoof marks on the floor... In the middle of the room stood the promised bag of gold. The man rushed towards him, barely managed to touch him - and fell dead...

According to another version, the owner took the gold and began to revel even more than before. But his servant, who was secretly watching the wedding, actually died soon, having managed to tell the priest about everything before his death...

Now this building houses a hotel. And the window of the room where the devil allegedly played the wedding was walled up just in case.

The merman from Ülemiste

Tallinn also has its own water tank. They say that from time to time a gray-haired old man approaches passersby on the streets of the city with the question: “Has the city been completed?” This is Järvevana, a water spirit who lives in Lake Ülemiste, located near Tallinn Airport. According to legend, if you answer the question positively, the lake will overflow its banks and flood the city. Fortunately, there is always at least one unfinished building in Tallinn...

Irina Shlionskaya

TALLINN, August 8 – Sputnik, Svetlana Burtseva. There are many legends and fairy tales about Tallinn, many of which are already known and have even formed the basis of exciting books, plays and films. However, there is always something unknown and intriguing.

For such new stories, Sputnik Estonia went to visit the “city healer” Travnitsa. And to tell the truth, a cool summer evening, richly flavored with a long thunderstorm, made up a not very comfortable, but impressive setting for an excursion to the places of unknown legends of Old Tallinn.

Good luck

Armed with jackets, hoods and umbrellas, lovers of antiquity and “scary” stories gathered at the City Hall. The group of daredevils, eager to learn something new and mysterious that was still hidden on the streets of their beloved city, turned out to be not small - about three dozen people came to listen to the Herbalist.

She, in an embroidered dress and a colorful sheepskin coat tied with a tight belt, greeted the adventure lovers with a calm gaze. The Herbalist's head was covered with a long black ennen, decorated with a black openwork veil. The length of this medieval headdress clearly hinted at the rather complicated pedigree of the “city healer.”

Both townspeople and “overseas merchants”, or simply local residents and tourists who visited the capital of Estonia, “falling under the witchcraft spell” of Travnitsa, immediately plunged into a bright, emotional, fascinating fairy tale about our city.

Free City, or Learn Languages

The journey began at the walls of the Town Hall. And one of the first stories was the story of a young pagan, his obscene behavior within the walls of the Church of the Holy Spirit and his ignorance of the German language, in which services were held in those ancient times. All this led the ignoramus to severe punishment - three days and three nights, without sleep, water and even a toilet, chained to a shameful place, he had to make inhuman sounds... "Conclusion - we need to learn languages!" - The Herbalist winked, either jokingly or seriously.

And at the same time, despite the fact that in the good city of Tallinn the young man was forced to answer so heavily for his offense, it was here that he was able to find freedom. After all, Tallinn gave refuge to serfs and made them its free citizens.

The freedom of serf servants escaping from cruel masters began in the city basement, where, simply by placing his finger under a special entry instead of a personal signature, the fugitive gained the opportunity, after a year and one day, to look at his now former master without fear.

The Ghost of Magnus of Revel

Walking along Town Hall Square past the oldest pharmacy in the city, the Herbalist led her breathless listeners to the oldest residential building on the entire coast. A long time ago, in the 14th century, the prior of the Dominican monastery lived here. Moreover, it turns out that the word “android” was already known in those days, and in the oldest house on the entire coast of the Gulf of Finland it found its physical embodiment. The veil over the secrets of the haunted house was lifted just eight years ago, when a cache of strange dolls was discovered.

The herbalist said that if you come to a house after midnight, stand in a certain place and look out the stained glass window, you can see a ghost holding a candle. Undoubtedly, the ghost of Magnus of Revel, as he is called, knows a lot about the life of the strange prior, who was (of course, outside the monastery) not at all alien to magic and completely non-ecclesiastical knowledge and skills.

And walled up and executed

The herbalist said that the walls of one of the towers around the Old Town, built at the beginning of the 14th century, preserved the story of a girl walled up in the tower. It turns out that the difficulties of building the tower and the machinations of dark forces forced the builders to use the oldest method of walling up a living person.

In general, according to the Herbalist, in the Middle Ages throughout Europe they believed that it was enough to wall up a living person in the walls of a house in order to successfully complete the construction. The soul of the unfortunate man helped in construction matters and subsequently protected the structure itself.

For the sake of truth, it is worth mentioning that in the good old days they could wall up not only for the purposes of construction and preservation of the building. According to one of the legends of the Fat Margarita Tower, the cook Margarita was buried alive within its walls; she prepared food for the soldiers so disgustingly that the angry and hungry soldiers guarding the city punished this lady in this way. And since the careless cook was also ugly fat, the tower subsequently received its unusual name.

The impressed tourist involuntarily exclaimed: “I thought Tallinn was a kind, beautiful city, lovers walk the streets. But here you have people either executed or immured!” But what to do? The Middle Ages, that says a lot.

In general, everything is not so scary in our city. And among the unknown legends there was a story about true great love, associated with a beautiful house on Lai Street - this is “the house where happiness settled,” as the “city healer” said.

There are different types of ghosts

There is a museum in Tallinn whose employees remember stories from the recent past, namely from the times of the Soviet Union, about a policeman frightened by ghosts, about a ghost who helped lay out the exhibition display. Not scary yet? What about the ghost of Mathiesen's printing house on Vienna Street or the silver snuff box that fell out of the picture?

Did you know that employees of the Swedish Embassy also encountered a legend about ghosts in their building? To pacify these troubled neighbors, it was necessary to study the history of the building, and only relatively recently it was possible to cope with strange phenomena. And real ghost catchers periodically come to Tallinn. Moreover, these narrow specialists bring with them special equipment for catching “not quite people.”

Tame yourself a helper

However, according to the Herbalist, it is useful not to be afraid of some “not quite people”, but to tame them. The excursion participants learned that it is very good to have your own brownie. The herbalist said that brownies are amazingly useful creatures that are worth making friends with so that they can help in the fulfillment of the simplest and most earthly desires. Want a new iPhone? Please. Or maybe you liked an expensive piece of jewelry? And it's real. Ask your brownie for help.

But it's not that simple. According to the Herbalist, the brownie is not a stupid creature. He will not appear at the first call and will not rush into your arms. But you can find an approach to it. As the Herbalist assured, brownies from time immemorial have always helped their household owners, and our ancestors knew how to perfectly negotiate with them about their well-being and protection.

And yet, the Herbalist finally said that at night and in dark evenings she prefers not to walk along the alleys of the Old City, so as not to disturb its secret inhabitants. “There are a lot of ghosts in the city, so, my dears, be careful at night,” the Herbalist warned.

For the courage shown in traveling through the old mysterious streets of Tallinn, the Herbalist allowed willing excursion participants to stroke the silver frog that adorned the healer’s clothes and tickle the gray mice clinging to the healer’s canvas bag. This ritual is designed to give wealth and health.

A curtain

Tour guide Natalia Praunina, who perfectly played the role of the “city healer,” told Sputnik Estonia that the “Unknown Legends of the Old Town” tour started in December 2016 and is a success among both Tallinn residents and its guests. Of course, such an emotional journey has an age limit, namely, it is intended for people no younger than 12 years old. For kids, excursion organizers select other information about our city, putting the stories into a colorful, vibrant presentation.

According to Natalia, in winter, when it gets dark early, you have to take a flashlight with you on a walk like this in the Old Town. And we must admit that if during daylight hours the excursion participants boldly enough step into gateways and old courtyards, exchanging impressions along the way, asking questions, expressing the emotions they are experiencing, then in the dark “the people no longer laugh, but walk silently, as if not breathing.” .

How many still undiscovered secrets and unknown twists of history are kept by the walls of Old Tallinn...