Momboisse Family Adventures Baltic Sea- Tallinn, Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia

Our last stop on the Gulf of Finland is Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Tallinn, the old city which is surrounded by walls and towers began around 1050 with the first fortress built on Toompea Hill. 

The picture above is of the old town, which we took from our suite on the Norwegian Sun as she pulled into port.

The position of Tallinn on the Gulf of Finland made neighboring nations envious to the point of warfare. In 1219 the Danish occupied the land, but they tired of internal rebellions and the continuing need to defend it from warring neighbors. So they sold the land to the German Teutonic Order in 1346 for 19,000 silver Marks. The Germans lost Tallinn to the Swedes in 1561, who then integrated their Swedish dominions of Estonia and Livonia into the Russian Empire in 1710. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Estonia declared its first independence February 24, 1918. BUT, in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Bolshevik (Russian) government gave Germany - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. February 25, 1918 German troops entered Tallinn, independence short lived; Tallinn, Estonia was back under German occupation. Actually, Estonians consider themselves independent but occupied from 1918-1991.  ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).