by Ana Santos Silva

Song and Dance Celebration. Photographer Toomas Tuul

Tere! (‘Hi!’ in Estonian) Last weekend I had the great opportunity to visit Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, in the Eastern Europe. A ferry guided me through the 80 km of Baltic Sea that separates Estonia from Finland and took me to one of the best preserved Medieval European cities. While preparing my trip, I came across many amazing quick facts about Estonia and Tallinn I would like to share with you!

Did you know that…

• Tallinn has been named the European Capital of Culture 2011, along with Turku, Finland’s former capital city (current capital of Finland is Helsinki).

• There are more than 1500 Estonian islands.

• Skype is an Estonian brand.

• The Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn is listed in the UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List.

• In 1994, 852 people died when cruise ferry MS Estonia sank while they travelled to Estonia from Stockholm.

• Estonian language belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family, along with Finnish and Hungarian.

• The total adult literacy rate in Estonia is 100% (which means that, in theory, everybody can read and write).

• Estonian Baltic Sea coasts are one of the world most important sources of Amber, the honey colored fossil resin – a gemrock loved by jewelers and used for adornment; it is also believed to have magical qualities.

• Tallinn is home to St. Olav’s Church, the world highest construction for almost 100 years.

• Estonia is called the e-Country due to the high number of electronically operated tasks e.g, it was the first country to use the electronic vote system.

• Across the History, it was dominated by Sweden, Germany and Russia.

• During the domination of USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) more than 60,000 people were killed or deported out of Estonia.

• Estonia only became a free country in 1991 (the Russian army just left the country in 1994).

Sounds like a country full of secrets to reveal, doesn’t it? Book your flight now and you’ll arrive on time to live Tallinn Christmas market!

Photos

Panoramic view of the Town Wall and St. Olav’s Church. Photographer Tavi Grepp

Market during Old Town Days. Photographer Toomas Tuul

Cruise ships in port. Photographer Tallinn Port

Photos source: Tallinn City Tourist Office & Convention Bureau

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