Saturday, July 17, 2010

Day 9 (cont.) - Toompea Castle, Estonia

Toompea Castle is the seat of the Parliament of the Republic of Estonia - the Riigikogu.

The castle complex is made up of several parts: the west wall and the Tall Hermann tower belong to the medieval fortress of the Order of the Brothers of the Sword, the Government Administration building represents the Czarist era and is classic in style, and the building of the Riigikogu, in the castle couryard, was built in the beginning of the 1920s.

It is known that already in the 9th century there was an ancient Estonian fortress on Toompea, which was conquered by the Danes in 1219. From then on until the first decades of the 20th century, Toompea belonged to various foreign rulers. In 1710 the ownership of Toompea was changed from Swedish to Russian Czarist. Catherine the Great ordered construction of the Estonian Government Administration building on the east side, completed in 1773.

On Feb 24, 1918, Estonia became an independent state.






The Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky.























The government administration building constructed by Catherine the Great.




The skyline of Tallin.
















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