Trekking Tallinn’s medieval city wall walkway was the highlight of my day-trip there from Helsinki. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the walkway is a small section simply called Tallinn’s City Wall. It rained until about a half hour before I had to leave Tallinn, Estonia, but the medieval city walls were my sunshine.

Construction began in 1310 because Johannes Kanne, ambassador to the Danish king, proclaimed that Tallinn was open to enemies and that it was often attacked by Pagans.  The walls and towers reached their peak in the 16th-century with the wall was 2.4km long with 46 towers but now, it’s only 1.85km long with only 26 towers left.  This Photo Friday post is about the remaining part that you can walk.  If you’re interested, I’ll write another post in the future about the rest of the towers and the wall that I saw.

It’s a small section that connects the Nun, Sauna, and Kuldjala Towers.  The entrance is the Nun Tower, which is in the foreground toward the centre, and only a few minutes away on foot from where I took this photo, Toompea Hill. ↓

My favourite view of Tallinn – the old city walls and towers blended with modernity and more history.  The Nun Tower is the one closest in the foreground; the Sauna Tower is to its left.

Here it is, just a few minutes away from the view in the previous shot.

This is the view that you’ll have after you walk through Monastery Gate.  Just enter the tower, pay €2, and head up the modern spiral staircase. ↓

The entrance is at the bottom left-hand corner.

The view close to the entrance.  The Sauna Tower is pretty well hidden because of the walkway, but you can see the last connected tower, the Kuldjala Tower.

By the time I made it up, the rain had stopped and the sun was struggling through the clouds, so it was a bit bright.

When I was on the walkway and inside Sauna and the Kuldjala Towers, I kept imagining what it was like being on guard, defending my city.  ↓

Walking the down the wall walkway.

I walked down to the Kuldjala Tower and stopped at the Sauna Tower on the way back.  Warning: most of the steps are original, which means that they are uneven and very steep.  This walkway experience is NOT for anyone with mobility issues, including me.  It took me twice as long to do all the steps, and it took me about a week to recover because of my auto-immune muscle condition, my idopathic inflammatory myopathy.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the suffering was worth it.

Inside Kuldjala Tower.

The best view from one of the Kuldjala Tower windows.

I found looking up at the ceiling interesting.  I enjoyed seeing natural light seeping through the cracks. ↓

The ceiling.

Back down to the wall to head back. ↓

This is the view looking back from the Kuldjala Tower. The sun was losing the battle against the clouds, and it got a little darker again. Still, I love this view of the wall.

On the way back, you’ll see the stairway leading up to the Sauna Tower.

Inside the Sauna Tower.

Looking out one of the Sauna Tower windows back at my starting point.  The sun lost its battle with the clouds.

 

If you want, you can climb the small circular staircase and see what the top looks like inside.  It’s dark except for the light creeping in through the cracks of the roof like in Kuldjala Tower.

The ceiling that you’ll see if you climb up the stairs. You can’t walk on the floor here…just crawl if you dare.

The steep steps back down to the main floor of the Sauna Tower.

To get a good look at the Sauna Tower outside, you need to step back since it’s hidden by the walkway when you down from the beginning at the Nun Tower or from the end at the Kuldjala Tower.

The Sauna Tower.

Would you like to see the rest of the incredible towers and walls that I saw?  

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