I. Solomykova
The transition to feudalism among the Estonian tribes began in the 10-11th centuries. During this period, a gradual formation of a class of feudal rulers took place, crafts and trade developed; the medieval cities of Lindanis (Tallinn), Tartu and others were born on the basis of the old settlements. Conditions for the formation of a feudal state were formed. Further independent development of Estonia was interrupted in the first half of the 13th century. the invasion of the southern part of Estonia by German knights-crusaders and the northern part of the Danes who enslaved the country. Popular culture was severely persecuted and its development was inhibited.
The conquest of Estonia by the German feudal lords determined the peculiar character of the further feudalization of the country. The dominant class of feudal landowners, the privileged elite of commercial and craft cities and representatives of the church were German in origin and language, according to cultural traditions. Therefore, antifeudal movements have always been closely intertwined with the national liberation struggle.
The artistic culture of the Estonian people, however, continued to develop in difficult historical conditions. It was directly embodied in folk art - weaving, jewelry craftsmanship, ornamentation that adorned household utensils, in works of peasant architecture.
However, one cannot reduce all medieval Estonian art only to the traditions of folk applied art and exclude architecture and monumental art from it. During the construction of castles and fortresses, cathedrals and town halls, the forced labor of Estonians, who mastered the art of stone processing, was used. Of no less importance is the fact that these structures are a product of the social relations that have developed in Estonia, which are historically characteristic of its destinies. Although at the time of their appearance such buildings, especially castles, were perceived as symbols of hated foreign domination, architectural monuments have become part of the environment in which Estonians lived and live and which has been participating in the formation of their aesthetic tastes and ideas about the beauty of their native land for many centuries.
Artistically and stylistically, medieval art in Estonia was part of that large family of cultures in Western, Central and Northern Europe, the development of which proceeded in the Roman-Gothic forms. Of particular importance was the close connection between Tallinn and other Estonian cities with the Hanseatic League. The formation of medieval art was influenced by the architecture of the Rhine-Westphalia and the island of Gotland; the contact with the highly developed culture of close neighbors - Pskov and Novgorod - also affected.
In southern Estonia, in particular in its largest city - Tartu, due to the lack of high-quality building stone with good clays, they were built mainly from bricks - a material typical for north-eastern Germany and Latvia. In terms of construction and stylistic features, South Estonian architecture is closely related to the art of the latter. In northern Estonia, in particular the main city of Estonia - Tallinn, as well as in Narva, the local gray stone - limestone - was used for construction.
In northern Estonia, the connections with the architecture of the Hanseatic cities are especially noticeable. Simple and expressive architectural forms, well-known asceticism in the use of architectural decoration are typical of medieval North Estonian architecture, which had austere charm.
The architecture of northern Estonia, especially Tallinn, forms a kind of school that clearly expresses the distinctive features of medieval Estonian architecture.
Built in the middle of the 13th century. churches and castles were stylistically still associated with the traditions of Romanesque art. Only during the 14th century. in Estonia, its own version of Gothic architecture was finally formed.
Estonian church architecture in the 13th century Lapidary simplicity of construction was inherent (one- and two-aisled sometimes without a transept, sometimes without rounding the altar wall, etc.) and a severe serfdom.
An example of a fortified church that could turn into a small fortress if necessary is the one-nave limestone church in Valjala on the island of Sarema (circa 1260). Thick walls, later reinforced with massive buttresses, were cut through by a few narrow windows arranged in pairs. After the Estonian uprising in 1261, the lower part of the windows was laid, and a wooden gallery was built inside the church in case of defense. A characteristic feature of this church is the presence, along with the Romanesque base (massive wall planes, semicircular arches), elements of a new, Gothic style (vaults on thin ribs, etc.).
From the middle of the 13th century. architecture was widely used in cities, which began to grow and strengthen. Thus, in Tallinn, Toomkirik (Cathedral Church, 13th century) was erected on Toompea (Vyshgorod) and the Niguliste (St. Nicholas) Church in the Lower City (early 14th century) - three-aisled basilica churches without a transept. In the 14-15 centuries. they were radically rebuilt in the Gothic spirit, and we cannot judge about their original appearance.
In the 13-14 centuries. Fortified monasteries were built (for example, in Padis, in Kirkna, in Tallinn - the Dominican monastery of St. Catherine, which burned down in the early 16th century, and the Cistercian monastery of St. Michael).
Fortresses-castles were erected on the ruins of the former Estonian settlements. The ruins of numerous castles have been preserved ( On the territory of Estonia and Latvia in the Middle Ages, there were more than 400 castles.); initially, the most common types of fortified castles were keepers. Some of the dungeons were built outside the fortifications, in the most important strategic points. Such, in particular, was the donjon at Paide (13th century) - an eight-sided monumental thirty-meter tower. Donjon had six floors, of which the lower three were covered with vaults. The second floor was adapted for housing, the upper three were used for military purposes.
During the period of feudal fragmentation, the territory of Estonia was divided between the bishops and the Livonian Order.
In the 14th century, when antifeudal peasant uprisings became more frequent, including the famous uprising on St. George's Night (1343), large castles-fortresses of the Order type or the so-called "convention houses" were especially intensively built.
Fortified castles in Viljandi, Rakvere, Tallinn, Narva, Episcopal Castles in Kuressaare and Haapsalu are typical. The order castle in Viljandi (now ruins) surpassed in size all castles of the order in the Baltics. It represented in the plan a square with a side of 55 m. The ensemble of the building included a church, a large common refectory for the knights, dormitories - dormitories and separate rooms for noble members of the order. The castle stood on a high hill with a steep slope to the lake and was surrounded by four belts of powerful stone walls. The alternation of walls, natural ravines and ditches made the castle impregnable. One can imagine that the bulk of the castle and high walls, built of boulders and bricks, hanging over the lake and looming in the sky, made a truly formidable impression.
In the architecture of the Order's convention houses from the 14th century. features of Gothic art began to appear. However, the Gothic art of medieval Estonia reached its highest development in the cities.
Some cities of Estonia, which reached in the 14th century. high level of economic development, acquired a certain independence in relation to the power of the order and became, as elsewhere in Europe, the centers of the most progressive forms of culture and art in the Middle Ages.
Estonian Gothic is characterized by a harsh serfdom, simplicity of plans, the rare use of flying buttresses, the preservation of the role of the wall, and the weak development of the frame system characteristic of Western Europe.
The brick church of Jaani (John) in Tartu, built in the 14th century, provides an excellent insight into South Estonian Gothic. A distinctive feature of its architecture is the horizontal division of the planes of the facade and walls using a variety of friezes, including green glazed tiles. In the western part there was a square, heavy tower, decorated with friezes and false windows, with a richly profiled portal, gravitating to Romanesque forms, completed by a Wilpergue.
The unique character of this monument of medieval Estonian architecture is associated with its sculptural terracotta decorations. Terracotta figurines, human heads and sculptural groups are located both inside and outside the building. These various, not repeating each other, sculptural images of burghers, knights, artisans are interpreted in a very schematic and stylized manner, but nevertheless, a realistic perception of a person is noticeable in many of them.
In the 15th century. In Tartu, on the basis of a church built in the 13th century, a monumental three-aisled basilica cathedral church of Peter and Paul was erected. It is the only church building in Estonia to have its western façade flanked by two tall, rectangular towers facing west. The church burned down in the 17th century; only a wall box with parts of the towers has survived.
In general, the South Estonian “brick Gothic”, in comparison with the northern one, is characterized by a relative lightness of proportions and dissection of structures, a richness of decor, less austerity and greater picturesqueness, and a festive overall impression.
The church in Karja on the island of Sarema (1330-1340) is a peculiar monument of the early Estonian Gothic. Its peculiarity is the sculptural decoration made of local Sarem marble. One of the pylons of the entrance arch depicts St. Nicholas in episcopal vestments. From a niche shaped like a small tower window, he gives alms to women. Among the sculptures there are groups that are attractive for their naive vitality, for example the figurine of St. Nicholas, depicted as a Sarem fisherman, or the image of gossips, one of whom lacks the devil. The statues of this church are of particular interest, since in Estonia sculptures related to architectural decoration have hardly survived to us. Of the few surviving monuments, mention should also be made of the sculptural group of Estonian peasants on the console of the Paide church.
Apparently, some of the sculptural decorations, especially in provincial churches, were made by masters - Estonians by origin. They are characterized by the spirit of crudely apt folk humor and an interest in portraying Estonian peasants.
The achievement of Estonian Gothic as a whole was revealed most vividly and fully in the architecture and art of Tallinn. The early Gothic buildings include the two-aisled Pühavaimu (Holy Spirit) church, 14th century - a squat rectangular building with rarely spaced high lancet windows and peculiar stepped gable slopes preserves the austere serfdom of early medieval art in Estonia.
The main features of the architectural appearance of medieval Tallinn took shape in the second half of the 15th century. The city was sharply divided into two parts: Vyshgorod (Toompea), located on a high rocky plateau, and the Lower city, lying between Vyshgorod and the sea harbor. Vyshgorod was the center of knightly church Estonia. Surrounded by high walls, located in a valley by the sea, the Lower City was inhabited by merchants, numerous artisans and working people. He opposed Vyshgorod as the center of burgher culture.
Numerous churches of the 13th-15th centuries, the order castle, the old town hall of the 14th-15th centuries have survived from the medieval era. (which currently houses the Tallinn City Council), fortress towers and part of the city walls, stone dwelling houses of wealthy burghers, built in the 15th -16th centuries, and city guild buildings. Thus, old Tallinn with its numerous ancient monuments, narrow winding streets clearly recreates the appearance of a city of the mature Middle Ages. The Gothic Tallinn ensemble is the only one in the USSR in terms of preservation, in terms of the amazing integrity of the impression.
On a high rocky hill, which abruptly drops off towards the sea, stands the gloomy castle of the Livonian Order, founded by the Danes in the 13th century, rebuilt and expanded by the order in the 14th century. The dense array of its mighty walls was only occasionally interrupted by several small loopholes. The castle was flanked at the corners by towers; the largest and tallest of them - Long Herman - has survived to this day. This eight-story cylindrical tower with rare narrow windows dominates the area and is visible for many kilometers.
From the west and east, the stern silhouette of Vyshgorod stood out in contrast to the Lower City. The high and strong city walls, built of gray limestone, were crowned with numerous towers. The idea of \u200b\u200bsquare towers of the city wall (14th century) is given by the tower gates leading from the Lower Town to a gentle ascent to Vyshgorod, which is called the Long Descent (Pikkyalg). The burghers prudently fenced off with a wall from Vyshgorod, with which they had to wage a constant struggle for their city liberties and privileges.
The surviving part of the walls with towers (there were 28 of them by the beginning of the 15th century) belongs to the 14-15th centuries. Often located round towers, crowned with conical tents, reproduce the type characteristic of medieval fortifications in Western Europe. Behind the city towers, like sentries guarding the city, were crowded stone houses with steep gable roofs. Above them rose the spire of the mighty tower of the Niguliste Church and the pinnacle-like turrets of the Holy Spirit Church and the Town Hall; on the side of the city facing the sea - the slender and powerful tower of the Church of Oleviste (rebuilt in the 15th - early 16th centuries), crowned with a rapidly flying upward spire tent. The church and especially its tower (about 120 m high) dominated the city and were visible far from the sea. The ensemble of the Lower City with its forest of slender towers, crowded peaked roofs, rich burgher houses, spiers expressively resisted the formidable severity of the Vyshgorod ensemble.
Estonian Gothic from the period of its heyday is most vividly embodied in the Church of Oleviste.
Its aesthetic impact on the viewer is determined not only by the dizzying height of the tower, but also by the noble simplicity, proportionality of the architectural volumes and forms. From Lai Street, on which the main western façade of the church opens at an angle, a huge four-sided tower appears before the viewer. Everything in it is subordinated to one task - to express a powerful aspiration upward of a stone prism. The monumental portal of the entrance, deeply cut into the plane of the wall, seems small in comparison with the overall dimensions. At the same time, a wide, squat profiled portal, as it were, with difficulty overcomes the weight of the stone massif lying on it. A slender 14-meter lancet window rises freely and easily above the portal, preparing and anticipating the takeoff of the pointed spire-shako. Above the window, the calm surface of the wall is cut through by two small slender windows, and, finally, the upper part of the tower is crowned with two tiers of high lancet niches, as if facilitating the completion of the tower and giving it a restrained solemn appearance. On the solid foundation of a 60-meter prism, there is a more than 70-meter spire, the wooden frame of which has been repeatedly burned and restored to approximately its former form.
The main compact massif of the church, small in comparison with the tower, with the roofs of the altar and aisles rising like steps, also visually prepares the rapid rise of the tower. The scale ratio of the height of the tower with and without the spire and the height of the central and side naves is interesting - 8: 4: 2: 1. The somewhat harsh simplicity of these relationships emphasizes the spirit of restrained energy and austere confidence that the architectural image of the temple carries.
The interior of the church is subordinated to the same task. The star vaults of the central nave are supported by massive tetrahedral pillars. And only in the polygonal altar part does the builder deviate from the restrained severity of decisions; the vaults here are supported by slender octahedral columns.
The main center of life in the Lower City was the Town Hall and the market square in front of it, the only large square within the city walls. The well-preserved town hall (late 14th - early 15th century) is an excellent example of secular Estonian Gothic. The expressiveness of the image of a simple construction of the town hall, crowned with a high gable roof, was based on a comparison of the rectangular massif of the building itself and an octagonal, as it were, chiseled turret. The cornice of the turret is elegantly decorated with a frieze of light consoles, typical of Tallinn Gothic ( The high baroque shako (hipped roof over the stone tower) was rebuilt several times. The shako is crowned with an openwork figured wrought iron weather vane, depicting a warrior - guard of the city known as Old Thomas.).
The flat wall of the main facade of the town hall rose above the loggia with pointed arches running along the entire bottom of the building and was cut through by high windows of the second, main floor.
A feature very characteristic of medieval architecture was the asymmetry of the arrangement of windows along the facade. The architect strove primarily for the architectural design of the interior of individual premises. The main hall was illuminated by three windows, of which the central one was higher for the sake of completeness of the impression. Smaller rooms were illuminated by a pair of windows or one window, and their scales and proportions were decided each time depending on the configuration of the room and its functional purpose. Hence the lively asymmetry of the arrangement of windows along the facade, not devoid of unity, however, due to the general nature of slender windows that revive the flat wall and bring a festive variety to the monotonous rhythm of the heavier arcades of the basement gallery.
The town hall square was surrounded by rich burgher stone houses with high triangular gables of gable roofs covered with red tiles. Mention should also be made of the monumental building of the Great Guild, which united major merchants and ship owners. This building was crowned with a high, steep pediment decorated with decorative pointed arches; the stone door portals were richly profiled.
In conclusion, it should be said about the type of home of a wealthy wholesale merchant. Most of them were built after a huge fire in 1433. The houses faced the street with a front facade. The heavy door, framed by a profiled stone portal, was often adorned with sculptural carvings and a beautiful wrought iron door knocker. A large part of the lower floor was occupied by the grand entrance hall, which housed cupboards and chests; from the vestibule a door led into a dim kitchen with a huge hearth. There was a large living room behind the kitchen. It was heated by warm air coming from a special hearth in the basement. The ceiling of the lower floor was supported by massive oak beams, sometimes resting on stone consoles. A wide wooden staircase with carved railings led from the entrance to the second floor.
The second floor consisted of 2 - 3 small living rooms, of which only one room was usually heated - the chimney of the kitchen hearth. At the very top, under a gable roof - away from the dashing man - were warehouses of goods. The harbor was outside the city walls, and in general the merchant preferred to keep goods in his own house in those turbulent times. The bales of goods were usually lifted through a dormer or attic hatch from the street using a block suspended from a thick beam protruding under the attic window.
At the end of the 15th century. Tallinn's ensemble was enriched with a large 36-meter Kik in de Kök artillery tower, which defended the southwestern approaches to Vyshgorod. Harmonious in proportions, the tower contrasted at the same time and organically entered the overall composition of the castle towers. Massive, completed with a small protruding cornice, it was very different from the other towers of the city wall. Its numerous loopholes were designed for conducting "fire", that is, artillery combat.
An outstanding monument of Estonian late Gothic architecture was, judging by the surviving parts (walls and western pediment), the monastery church of St. Brigid at Pirita near Tallinn (first half of the 15th century). The monastery was built under the leadership of the Tallinn builder Svalbart. The main link of the monastery complex was a three-nave hall church, the vaults of which were supported by slender octahedral columns. Its walls are made of limestone, the vaults, apparently, were brick. Outside, along the northern wall, there was a two-story procession for the nuns, and a procession for the monks adjoined the southern wall. The church was supposed to give the impression of a monumental, grandiose building. A mighty parallelepiped, crowned with a high steep roof with triangular pediments, with profiled niches that lightened the mass and emphasized the aspiration of the pediment upward, towered over the woodland surrounding the monastery and the river valley and was visible from afar from the sea.
The most significant in artistic terms monuments, completing the period of the later, "flaming" Gothic in Estonia, were: the chapel of St. Mary and architectural complex coastal gate "Rannavyarov".
Wealthy city and church magistrates, especially in Tallinn, ordered altars and other artistically executed church utensils from famous masters of Western Europe. During the period under review, Tallinn was characterized by constant and close economic and cultural ties with the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. In the middle of the 13th century. the city law of Tallinn was developed on the basis of the Lübeck law (fragments of the manuscript of the Lübeck law of the 13th century with interesting miniatures are kept in the Tallinn City Archives). At the end of the 15th century. in Lübeck, an altar for the Niguliste church (1482) was acquired, attributed to Hermen Rohde and Jan Stenrad. The Rode Altar, the largest of the carved wooden altars in the Baltic States (6.32 X 2.62), included more than 40 figures - Christ, Mary, apostles, prophets and saints, arranged in rows without a clear plot connection in three tiers.
From the end of the 15th and especially at the beginning of the 16th century. Estonian art, preserving mainly medieval forms, began to gradually become saturated with secular and realistic features associated with a new stage in the history of European art, that is, with the Renaissance.
I am convinced that architecture is the face of a country, a city, embodying and telling their story. Estonia in this sense is no exception, the architecture of its cities reflects the essence of this country, which at different periods of its existence was part of different states, but retained its identity.
Therefore, first of all, I would divide all Estonian architecture into istoric periods - styles... You can find here:
- Medieval architecture, partly influenced by the elders nordic countries (which has the best preservation among the countries of northern Europe). A lot of the Middle Ages in Tallinn - the whole Old city with fortress walls, in Tartu - a historical center with several medieval churches, and of course in Narva - I mean one of the most famous sights to me not only in the city, but also in the country - Narva Castle.
- Modern. Before visiting here, I did not even suspect that there is so much architecture of this style in Estonia. Still, first of all, I associated the country with the Middle Ages, with the sharp spiers of cathedrals and towers. But there is really a lot of modernity here - whole blocks of residential buildings in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, public buildings - for example, theaters in Tallinn and Pärnu, churches in Tartu.
Second classification option Estonian architecture, which, I think, would be appropriate - in type and purpose.
- Churches - in Estonia there are Catholic and Protestant churches, and there are Orthodox cathedrals (the most recognizable is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn). In general, it seems to me that the closeness and influence of other states - Sweden, Denmark, Russia - is best reflected in the cult architecture.
- Fortresses and fortress towers. I would say that Estonia is famous for its defensive structures - Narva, Tallinn, and even on the island of Saaremaa there is a beautiful castle-fortification. And in the Narva Castle, by the way, knightly tournaments and all sorts of medieval festivals are often held. But, unfortunately, I haven't been able to visit them yet.
- Palaces and estates. About the most famous palace complex I already wrote above - this is Kadriorg. The construction of which, by the way, was started by order of Peter I. Manor houses or manors - as I noticed, are quite often found mainly outside the city, in the vicinity of Tallinn and Tartu.
- Residential buildings. Curious examples of stone and wooden buildings, completely different in time of construction - from the Middle Ages to the present, were found in all major cities, the entrance doors separately surprise and impress - bright, not repeating and not similar to each other
Estonians like to emphasize that their ancestors lived on their land for thousands of years. The history of Estonian architecture begins with cone-shaped buildings, the so-called. vezh, stone burial grounds and ...
Stone settlements and fortress churches
Stone fortifications and fortified churches have been a feature of the Estonian landscape since the 13th century. To keep the local population in check, the German and Scandinavian conquerors needed to strengthen their ...
Manor ensembles as the embodiment of Ostsee culture
Medieval town
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Outside the city wall
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Outskirts and garden city
In the 20th century, the city is characterized by two opposite, but such typical for Estonian cities phenomena, the outskirts and the garden city. Just like most of the peasants are still a hundred ...
Period of socialism
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Contents 1 Beginning of XX century 1.1 Literature 1.2 Architecture ... Wikipedia
At the beginning of the 20th century, Art Nouveau became popular in Estonian architecture. An example of this style is the building of the Estonia Theater in Tallinn, the building of the Institute of Zoology and Geology of the University of Tartu, etc. Important events in Estonia The Estonian language has become ... ... Wikipedia
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The history of school education in Estonia begins with the first monastery and cathedral schools, which appeared in the 13th to 14th centuries. The first primer in Estonian was published in 1575. The oldest university in Estonia is the University of Tartu, ... ... Wikipedia
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Books
- Sergey Kvach. Graphics, painting, architecture, design, Natalia Kvach. Sergey Kvach was born on May 25, 1956 in the town of Uren, Gorky Region. In 1975 he graduated from the art school and in 1980 the Architectural and Construction Institute in Nizhny Novgorod (formerly ...
Tallinn is popular among travelers, but often few of them know how it differs from others european capitals... Someone will say that it is similar to Helsinki, to someone it resembles Prague. In the 19th century it was called Northern Naples, but in reality Tallinn has always been Tallinn.
And it is worth leaving the Old Town and across the road - the ultra-fashionable quarter of Rotermann, and further - the old suburb of Kalamaja. It is built up mainly with wooden houses, in which fishermen used to live. Today it is one of the most famous hipster neighborhoods in Europe.
In the Kadriorg district, a baroque palace adjoins the modern art museum KUMU. And next to it is a picturesque quarter, which still retains the atmosphere of a provincial provincial town of the 19th century.
In the center of Tallinn, the strict and solid representative architecture of the First Republic coexists with the Soviet one.
Gothic
A fortified settlement existed on Toompea Hill since the 11th century, and around the present-day Town Hall Square there was a settlement and a bargaining site surrounded by a fence. There were two trading yards nearby: Scandinavian and Russian.
With the arrival of the Crusaders in 1219, a castle and a Dome Cathedral were erected on Toompea Hill. The construction of the first fortress wall around the Upper Town began in 1229. In the Lower City, the first wall appears in 1265 at the insistence of Queen Margaret. The fortress wall that has survived to our time dates back to the XIV century. At this time, a city was formed, which consisted of two independent parts - Toompea (Domberga - Upper City), the capital of the Duchy of Estland, and the Lower City, the Hanseatic Revel.
The most significant period in the development of Tallinn's architecture was from the 13th to 16th centuries. Tallinn Gothic was influenced by the architecture of the island of Gotland, the Lower Rhine lands, Westphalia, and later the architecture of the cities of the Hanseatic League and the Teutonic Order. Limestone, a local building material, gave originality to this style.
By the 14th century, Tallinn Castle had become one of the most powerful fortresses of the Livonian Order. The layout of the castle, the severity and simplicity of its architecture served as a model for other fortifications in the region. Only the western and northern outer walls and three towers, including one of the symbols of Estonia - Long Hermann, escaped rebuilding.
In the 15th century (the late Gothic period), the Town Hall, guild buildings, monastery buildings and residential buildings appeared in the city. These are elevated facades with tall tongs. Among the various buildings, houses with two rooms prevailed - the diele and the dornse. Diele - a spacious, two-story high room with a hearth at the back wall, served mainly as a trading office, workshop. Behind it was the dornse, a heated living room. The upper floors, basements and attics were used as warehouses.
Such residential buildings in their original form have survived on Pikk Street (Three Sisters Group, Pikk 71), Lai Street (Three Brothers, Lai 38, 40, 42) and Old Market (Father and Son, Kuninga one).
Tallinn's Old Town has been listed as a historical and cultural heritage UNESCO as a well-preserved medieval town... It is unique not only for the region Baltic Seabut also for the whole of Europe.
Samples of Gothic architecture in Talinn:
1. Town Hall (15th century), Raekoja 1.
2. Dome Cathedral (15th century), Toom-Kooli 6.
3. Church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) (1420), Niguliste 3.
4. Church of St. Olaf (Oleviste) (15th century), Pikk 65 / Lai 50.
5. Church of the Holy Spirit (15th century), Pühavaimu 2.
6. Great Guild Building (1417), Pikk 17.
7. St. Olaf's guild building (1422), Pikk 24.
8. Complex of buildings of the Dominican monastery of St. Catherine (XIV-XV century), Vene 12/14.
9. Building of the New Almshouse (16th century), Rüütli 7/9.
10. Horse mill (XIV-XVIII centuries), Lai 47.
11. Ruins of the monastery of St. Brigit (1417), Merivälja tee 18.
Renaissance
Few buildings of the Renaissance have survived to this day. For example, the house of the Brotherhood of Blackheads (1597) Pikk 26. The Renaissance found its most vivid expression in Tallinn in the decor, especially in the carved details and decorative paintings.
Baroque
By the beginning of the 17th century, a new style came to Tallinn - Baroque, or Northern Baroque, which can be called Protestant. This very discreet style is characterized by rationality and simplicity.
In the 18th century, baroque can be traced mainly in restructuring: from the time of Peter I to the middle of the 18th century, stone construction was prohibited throughout the Russian Empire, except for St. Petersburg.
Baroque pearl in Tallinn - " Old palace”, Or Rosen's house (1670s, Pikk 28). The most monumental building of this era in Tallinn is the Kadriorg (Ekaterinental) Palace of the Italian Baroque architect Nikollo Mikketi (1718, A. Weizenbergi 37). Another example is the building of the residence of the Estlandian governor and the provincial government in the transitional Rococo style with elements of early classicism (1773, architect Johan Schulz, Lossi plats 1). Stenbock's house at 17 Lai Street (1685), which for some time belonged to A.D. Menshikov, is an example of the Dutch Baroque.
In the church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) in the 17th century, the facade of the northern vestibule was decorated with sculptures, and at the very end of the same century the shako of the tower was rebuilt in the Baroque style (Niguliste 3).
Classicism
In the era of classicism (late 18th - early 19th centuries) in Upper town was erected, and in the Lower City many buildings were rebuilt. During the restructuring, many of the medieval facades acquired a trendy classicist look. From the side of the courtyard, the Gothic was often preserved.
Striking examples of classicism in Tallinn: Government House (circa 1790, Rahukohtu 3), Rosen's house (1830, Lai 5), Benckendorff's house (1814, Kohtu 8), the first domed building - St. Nicholas Church (1827, Vene 24).
Historicism
By the middle of the 19th century, there was a fashion for historical styles and eclecticism. The first examples of this kind of architecture in Tallinn were the St. Knut (1864, Pikk 20), built in the Tudor Gothic style on st. Pikk, and the building of the Knights' Assembly (1848, Kiriku plats 1). Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1900, Lossi plats 10) is an example of the pseudo-Russian style. The Reichmann House (1909, Pikk 21/23) is an interesting example of the neo-Mannerist style.
Tallinn's historic center has been dynamically changing since the second half of the century. By the end of the century, the territory between Viru Square and the Tõnismägi region was actively built up: thus, the Old Town and the new center merged.
Thanks to the uniqueness of the building material, the industrial architecture of the new era echoes the architecture of the Old Town: the warehouses and factories of Rotermann (Rotermanni 8), the Rosen distillery (Mere pst 6).
Modern
In the 20th century, new trends were introduced into the architecture of Tallinn by the spread of Art Nouveau in Europe. Especially the "Northern Art Nouveau", formed under the influence of Finnish architecture.
During this period famous Finnish architects, such as A. Lindgren, G. Geselius and E. Saarinen, worked in Tallinn. The latter in 1913 drew up the first general plan of the city, which provided for the relocation of the shopping center outside the Old Town.
Examples of Northern Art Nouveau architecture:
1. Estonian National Opera (1913) Estonia pst 4.
2. Building of the Estonian Drama Theater (1910) Pärnu mnt. 5.
3. House of Saarinen (1912) Pärnu mnt 10.
4. Workhouse of Luther's Factory (1905) Vana-Lõuna 37.
The second branch of Art Nouveau in Tallinn was eclectic-decorative, or the so-called "Riga Art Nouveau". It is more luxuriant, is distinguished by the widest use of masks and ornaments. The buildings of the architect J. Rosenbaum, for example, the House with Dragons (1910, Pikk 18), can be called striking examples of this style.
Architecture of the first Republic of Estonia
At this time, the functions of the city center are shifted beyond the historical core. A new Tallinn, the capital of the Republic of Estonia, is being formed.
Tallinn architecture of the 1930s is a mixture of traditionalism, functionalism, art deco and northern classicism. It is very recognizable and solid, in particular due to the rectangular shapes and colors: brown or gray, anthracite plaster, which was popular at that time. In the late 30s, facade decoration with dolomite panels or chipped limestone was common.
It was functionalism in the 20th century that shaped the style of the current appearance of the center of Tallinn, which can be called truly national.
One can get acquainted with the architecture of the first Republic of Estonia in the Tõnismägi and Pärnus highway districts, as well as Raua Street and the Police Park.
Significant objects of the functionalism style:
1. House of Arts (1934) Vabaduse väljak 6.
2. Tallinn City Hall (1935) Vabaduse väljak 7.
3. Tallinn "Chilihaus" (1936) Roosikrantsi 23 / Pärnu mnt 36.
4. Parliament Building (Riigikogu) (1922) Lossi plats 1a.
5. Fire brigade building (1939) Raua 2.
6. Chapel of the Metsakalmista cemetery (1937) Kloostrimetsa tee 36.
7. Liiva Cemetery Chapel (1935) Kalmistu tee 34a.
This era brought two original styles to the architecture of Tallinn: the “Stalinist classicism” of the 40-50s of the XX century and Soviet modernism of the 50-80s. A distinctive feature of the Soviet architecture of Tallinn in comparison with other Soviet republics is its certain “bourgeoisness”, which is why Tallinn was a popular film venue for filming “Western life”.
Architecture 1945-1961
After the war, architects who did not emigrate and stayed in Estonia built in a style similar to that of the pre-war period. In this style, you can notice the influence of Germany - high tiled roofs, gray or brown plaster, which was customary for the 30s.
1. Building of the Academy of Sciences (1958). Estonia pst 7 / Teatri väljak 1.
2. Cinema "Sõprus" (1955). Vana-Posti 8.
But by the beginning of the 50s of the XX century the international “Stalinist classicism” prevailed.
In the 1950s, architects were sent to Tallinn for work or practice, mainly from Leningrad. They brought "Soviet" samples to the city's appearance, idiologically consistent and better expressing Stalinist ideas in architecture, but representing typical copies.
1. "House with a tower" (1954). Tartu mnt. 24.
2. House of officers of the fleet (1954). Mere pst. five.
Of particular interest is the private development of the 50s-60s in the districts of Maryamäe, Pirita, Nõmme, which is not at all similar to what was built in other republics of the Soviet Union.
1960-1980s architecture
In the 1960s, at the very beginning of the Khrushchev Thaw, a period of stylistic experimentation began in Tallinn's architecture. Significant objects appear that become symbols not only of the city, but of the entire republic. At this time, despite the "Iron Curtain", new fashionable trends in the architecture of Northern Europe and especially Finland penetrated into Estonia. The peculiarity of modernism lies precisely in its internationality.
Contemporary Estonian architecture
Having passed the era of block construction, characteristic of the 70s of the 20th century, and Soviet modernism of the 90s, Estonian architecture, which was considered advanced in the days of the USSR, made a qualitative step forward by the end of the 1990s.
Recent new projects have become significant events defining the image of the city. There is a lot to see for lovers of modern architecture in Tallinn. In modern estonian architecture reflects trends similar to the northern European region. Specific traits of this style - functionality, rationality, the use of modern materials, the use of energy-saving technologies and natural materials in architecture, especially wood.
A striking example of modern architecture is the KUMU art museum (2006, Valge 1). In an effort to fit into the rocky landscape, it literally breaks out of the ground and very delicately shifts the accents of the historic quarter.
Several sacred buildings stand out against the background of modern buildings in Tallinn: the new monastery of St. Brigitte (2001, Merivälja tee 18) harmoniously blends into the surrounding space and is adjacent to the ruins of an old monastery of the 15th century, becoming its actual continuation. The Tallinn Synagogue (2007, Karu 16) is an interesting solution, where amazing interiors adorn a rather modest building.
Along with new projects, the reconstruction of old buildings is very active. Many of them are trying to preserve the architecture as much as possible.
In the old industrial quarter of Rotermann (Rotermanni 8), a new, conceptual complex is being created today: the old factory buildings are complemented by modern buildings, as a result of which the quarter begins to play one of the central roles in the urban ensemble.
The Energy Discovery Center and the Culture Boiler Creative Center (Põhja puiestee 27a) were opened in the building of the former power plant.
One of the latest sites is the Maritime Museum, housed in a former seaplane hangar (1917). The structure itself is a wonderful and rarest example of shell-type reinforced concrete structures in Estonia and in the world (Vesilennuki 6).
