Photo Friday: The Story of Reval, Estonia

Post author:Kelly Paras
Post published:October 15, 2010
Post category:Estonia / Photo Friday

As mentioned previously, locals of Tallinn call the Old Town “The Island” for its abundance of tourists and shops that cater to them. However, the city has a long history that shaped the course of Estonia.

Old Town is broken into two separate sections; the upper, smaller town of Toompea that housed the royal family and lower town below that accommodated the masses.

The two sections are divided by an enormously tall wall dubbed, “The Wall of Hate.” In the evening hours the gates into Toompea would be locked and the wall prevented any commoners from entering the royal grounds.

The Wall of Hate is now a venue to sell artwork

In the 14th century, Old Town was surrounded by vast forests and the king of the time was an avid hunter. On one occasion a fawn managed to wander onto the streets of Toompea and the king was immediately and uncharacteristically taken with the small creature.

Royal Palace of Toompea

He ordered his guards to catch the fawn so that he might have it as a pet.

The guards, not wanting to hurt the future pet of the king, spent three months chasing it around the streets of Toompea until they finally had it cornered.

Frightened, the fawn jumped over a wall and fell to its death. The king was devastated. He decided to name the city Reval after the deer – Re meaning deer and Val meaning fall, deer fall. The city was thus known as Reval until Estonia’s independence in 1910 when it was renamed Tallinn.