Estonian architecture. Frozen in stone: Soviet architecture in Estonia



Plan:

    Introduction
  • 1 Re-odization
    • 1.1 Early Gothic: XIII - early XV century
      • 1.1.1 Castles
      • 1.1.2 Churches
    • 1.2 Late Gothic: 15th - mid-16th centuries
      • 1.2.1 Toompea Castle
      • 1.2.2 Fortress walls
      • 1.2.3 Residential buildings
      • 1.2.4 Town Hall
      • 1.2.5 Guilds
      • 1.2.6 Churches of Tallinn
    • 1.3 Renaissance: 1550-1630
    • 1.4 Early Baroque: 1630s-1730s
    • 1.5 Late Baroque: 1710-1775s
    • 1.6 Classicism: 1745-1840
    • 1.7 Historicism: 1840-1900
    • 1.8 Modern: 1900-1920

Introduction

Estonian architecture formed at the beginning of the 13th century, when the Teutonic Order and the Kingdom of Denmark conquered the territory of present-day Estonia, divided it and introduced Western-rite Christianity. Estonia does not have Romanesque architecture, and Gothic was formed under the influence of the Gothic of the Rhine school, the Cistercian architecture of Prussia and Scandinavian architecture (Gotland).


1. Re-Odization

1.1. Early Gothic: XIII - early XV century

1.1.1. Locks

Episcopal castle-convention in Kuressaare

Church in Ambla

Early Gothic in Estonia is represented by four types of castles:

  • irregular (polygonal);
  • donjon castle;
  • regular castles of two types: Castel and convent.

Order castles were built according to these types. A classic example of the second type is the 1265 Paide donjon castle.

Castles in Viljandi XIII-XIV centuries and the episcopal castle of Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, which was built between 1343 and the beginning of the 15th century, are classic examples of the convention. Of these castles, the Kuressaare Episcopal Castle on the island of Saaremaa is the best preserved. courtyard a chapel with a refectory, the bishop's quarters, a chapter hall and a dormitory.

Of the same type is the castle-monastery of the Cistercian Order in Padise, dating from the second half of the 14th century until 1448 and having a less regular structure than other conventions.

Herman's castle in Narva in the 13th-15th centuries originally belonged to the Kastel type, and later, at the beginning of the 15th century, was rebuilt into a convention.

In total, from the beginning of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th centuries, 46 stone castles were built on the territory of Estonia, of which 17 were orders, 12 were episcopal and 17 belonged to local feudal lords.


1.1.2. Churches

The Gothic provincial churches at Ambla at the end of the thirteenth century and at Coeru (1290) belong to the same architectural type. They are three-nave, hall, with a rectangular presbytery and a small tower along the axis of the western facade.

Examples of large Gothic churches are two brick basilicas in Tartu: the city cathedral (XIII-XV centuries, preserved in ruins) and St. John's Church built in 1330. The latter has high tower on the main facade; The wimpergies of the portal are decorated with the famous sculptural composition The Last Judgment.


1.2. Late Gothic: 15th - mid-16th centuries

Toompea Castle

The historical context for the development of architecture is determined by the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, in which the Teutonic Order, which formed the Livonian Order, was defeated, as well as the strengthening of the role of the Hanseatic trade union in this territory (Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu were Hanseatic cities).


1.2.1. Toompea Castle

The city of Tallinn has belonged to the Livonian Order since 1347. Since the 15th century, the main dominant architectural complex city ​​became the order castle Toompea on Vyshgorod. It was a rebuilt ancient Danish castle, which was later rebuilt several times. Its structure is based on the convention type, and its highest cylindrical tower is called Long German.


1.2.2. Fortress walls

Part of the fortress wall and gate

The fortress walls and towers of Tallinn have been known since 1248, but the oldest walls and towers that have survived to this day date back to the 14th century. Construction continued in the 15th century, the reconstruction of the fortifications was completed in the 1520s. They are still very well preserved: at the end of the 16th century, 26 towers were erected, of which 18 survived. The walls had a height of up to 8 meters and a thickness of 2.85 meters. A lancet arcade ran along the bottom of the inner part of the wall. During the XV-XVI centuries, as artillery developed, the towers were built on, cannon loopholes were arranged in them. The highest is the Kuster tower (30 m), the most massive is the four-story Fat Margaret in the Sea Gate complex. The city of Tartu had similar stone fortifications, but they were demolished in the 18th century.


1.2.3. Residential buildings

Medieval building of the Restaurant Olde Hansa

Tallinn residential buildings of the 15th - early 16th centuries belong to the gable type, when a narrow facade crowned with a gable roof goes out onto the street, covering the gable roof (Three Sisters houses of the first half of the 15th century, the house at 25 Lai Street, other houses of the Tallinn city center) .


1.2.4. town hall

Tallinn Town Hall

The landmark of civil architecture is the town hall in Tallinn in 1404 with a lancet arcade of the first tier on the longitudinal facade and a tall thin octahedral tower along the axis of the chimney facade topped with a triangular gable.


1.2.5. Guilds

Guild houses in Tallinn are known for their exquisite interiors (the Gothic hall of the Great Guild of 1410, the hall of the Olaevskaya Guild of 1424).

1.2.6. Churches of Tallinn

The most unusual planned-spatial composition is the Church of the Holy Spirit of the XIV century. It is double-nave, hall-type, with a tower on the façade and a high gabled roof. The originally planned third nave was not built given the town planning situation.

Church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) was built in 1406-93. It is a three-aisled basilica with an ambulatory and a tower on the western façade.

Church of St. Olaf (Oleviste) of the same time, 1400-50s. This three-nave basilica has a middle nave 31 meters high and a tower with a spire, 123.7 meters high, which was the highest in Europe (a fire in 1820 destroyed the real spire below).

Dome Cathedral, reconstruction of 1465 - a short three-aisled basilica with a faceted presbytery and a massive western tower.

The Dominican monastery in Tallinn at the beginning of the 15th century is a large Gothic complex with a three-nave hall church and a cloister; buildings are partially preserved, Gothic portals are of particular value.

Monastery of St. Birgitta, 1417-36 - a three-nave hall church, which had a high and massive gabled roof (it has been in ruins since 1577).


1.3. Renaissance: 1550-1630

Facade of the House of the Blackheads

The Renaissance came to Estonia under Swedish rule. Renaissance and mannerist influences were manifested only in small architectural forms and decor, which adorned buildings that were completely Gothic in composition and construction. An example is the house of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads in Tallinn (1597, rebuilding of a Gothic building). Another Renaissance building in Tallinn - the Master's House - is located on Vana turu kael street.


1.4. Early Baroque: 1630s-1730s

Narva Town Hall

The early baroque is represented by few monuments, given the then decline in construction activity, due to numerous wars in the region: the most prominent is the town hall in Narva in 1671, the Tallinn Gate in Pärnu at the end of the 17th century.


1.5. Late Baroque: 1710-1775s

As a result of the Northern War, the territory of Estonia became part of the Russian Empire. The most outstanding attraction is the Ekaterinental (Kadriorg) palace and park ensemble, created in 1723 by order of the Russian Emperor Peter I, architect Niccolò Michetti. The style is close to the then St. Petersburg architecture, rather restrained in the use of expressive means, including decor.

Baroque architecture was also present in the Estonian manor architecture, for example, in 1797 the Vääna manor building was built by an unknown Italian architect.

Palmse Manor's main building is also an excellent example of Estonian Baroque manor architecture.


1.6. Classicism: 1745-1840

Neoclassical stylistics is represented mainly in the university city of Tartu and in Tallinn. The town hall in Tartu, built in 1789, still contains echoes of the late baroque and the overall composition is somewhat reminiscent of the town hall in Narva.

The largest monument of classicism is the complex of the University of Tartu, the main building of which was built in strict and monumental order forms in 1803 according to the project of the German architect I. Krause, who was a professor of economics, technology and civil architecture at this university. The classical ensemble is complemented by other university buildings, among which the anatomical theater is the most significant.

In Tallinn, on that day, the belt of bastion fortifications around the Old Town was liquidated, and a park ring was created instead. Country manor houses of order architecture became a characteristic phenomenon. For example, Saku Manor, Riisipere Manor, Kernu Manor, Kirnu Manor, Kolga Manor, Raikküla Manor, Udriku Manor, Aaspere Manor, Hõreda Manor, Pirgu Manor, Vohnia Manor, Uhtna Manor, Massu Manor, Härgla Manor, Räpina Manor, Penijõe Manor, Lihula, Kasti manor, Triigi manor, Putkaste manor, Kurisoo manor, Tori manor, Orina manor, Vyhmuta manor, Käravete manor.


1.7. Historicism: 1840-1900

Church of Kaarli

The dominant direction of historicism in Estonian architecture is Neo-Gothic, but in rather simplified and schematic forms, an example of which is the Kaarli Church in Tallinn 1870 (architect A. Gippius).

1.8. Modern: 1900-1920

Estonian Art Nouveau belongs to the so-called Northern Art Nouveau. In Tallinn, it was formed under the influence of St. Petersburg and Riga. Close to rational modernity, but with motifs of national-romantic stylizations. In this stylization, tenement houses in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, as well as villas of that time were designed.

The most public buildings include the Tallinn theater "Estonia" (now the National Opera) 1910-1913 (architect A. Lindgren) and the German Theater (now the Estonian Drama Theater) 1910 (St. Petersburg architects A.F. Bubyr and N.V. Vasiliev) ; the Endla Theater in Pärnu in 1911 (architects G. Hellat and E. Wolfeldt); student society building in Tartu, 1902.

St. Paul's Church in Tartu was designed and built in 1915-17 by the famous Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (father of the even more famous American architect of the mid-twentieth century, Eero Saarinen). Saarinen Sr. designed a lot for Tallinn, in particular, in 1913 he won a competition to create a master plan for the city.

, Estonian Television , Estonian Parliament , Rivers of Estonia .

Today there are few types of modern buildings in the city of Tartu, and for now we will finish the stories about it. There will be both evening shots taken on April 2nd and shots taken the next morning, April 3rd. Since the conditions were not too favorable for photography, there will be no special masterpieces under the cut, but it’s worth looking at the architecture. ;-)


I'll start the story with the scientific center with the unusual name Ahhaa, which you see in the photo above. Unfortunately, we were not inside the center, since there was still a little more than a month before its opening ... But I will quote here, with abbreviations, the text of one article telling about its miracles (from here):

Ahhaa Science Center started its activity on September 1, 1997 as a project of the University of Tartu. Since 2000, Ahhaa has worked in the premises of the Tartu Observatory, and since 2009 in the Lõunakeskus shopping center in Tartu and on Freedom Square in Tallinn.
For those who don't know what it is
Ahhaa's task is to popularize scientific discoveries and achievements, making information about them available to the widest possible audience: from young children to their great-grandparents. In the lobby, we were met by Nino Feshchina, marketing director, who was our guide, talking about what had already been done and what still had to be mounted, installed, adjusted, and the like.

2.

New sensations await visitors already in the lobby: just try to sit on a bench studded with massage balls of different sizes. In general, seating - flexible chaise longues that take the shape of the body, spinning stools, hammock sofas - is given special attention in the new Ahhaa. This is understandable, because after many hours of walking through the halls, the legs need rest.

But if in order, then after the lobby, the visitor gets to the cashier. During our visit, of course, it was not yet working, but we were told that there would be no tickets as such in Ahhaa: you would have to pass through the turnstile by placing your finger on a special scanner. Naturally, your fingerprint will be entered into the database when you pay for the entrance. This is how it is done in many interactive museums world, for example, in the American Disney World. In the science shop, it will be possible to buy not banal souvenirs, but scientific and entertaining, which means useful ones. The restaurant-snack bar will also serve not hamburgers, but salads and freshly squeezed juices. And finally, exposure. American, German and Japanese adjusters took part in its installation.

3. From a distance it looks like something cosmic:

Sphere, tower and bike

Nino leads us to one of the spacious halls, in the center of which there is a huge silvery openwork ball. This is the Hoberman sphere, which can shrink and grow before our eyes. The ball will hang under the dome and surprise visitors with its spontaneous changes. In the meantime, engineers from the United States are finishing its installation: you need to be in time for the opening! Next to the ball is the Heege tower, nine meters high, on which everyone can easily lift themselves, which we tried to do. It's funny to feel like a child, especially when your own children do not see you: you can scream desperately with delight mixed with fear. This is exactly how adult aunts and uncles behaved, locked in a furiously spinning centrifuge, which is, as it were, on the mezzanine of this round hall.

Immediately, at a height of nine meters, flush with the Heege tower, there is a spectacular and completely safe attraction: a bicycle from which it is impossible to fall. On this bike, mounted on a cable with a counterweight in the form of a core weighing 200 kilograms, even those who do not dare to ride on asphalt can ride “over the abyss”. Right there, nearby, there is a mysterious elevator in the dungeon. Imagine: you enter a supposedly ordinary elevator. The walls of the cabin are immediately transformed into a 3D picture, and a voice begins to sound in the dynamics, telling about the science of geology. Suddenly there is a "short circuit", the elevator starts moving down to the center of the Earth, and you see how behind the walls the image of underground city communications in the section is replaced by a cut of the earth's crust, and so deeper and deeper, to the center of the Earth...

4.

Newton's apples in the window, chickens in the incubator, stars on the walls

In one of the vestibules, in a two-story window, a seven-meter construction is installed, in an associative form illustrating the Newtonian law of universal gravitation. Multi-colored balls (than not Newton's apple!) are lifted up by a motor, and from there they themselves go down, setting in motion various intricate designs. “This exhibit came from Germany,” says Nino Feshchina. “When it was installed, a crowd gathered on the street, the installation process itself was so interesting!”

In the new house of Ahhaa, during our tour, many rooms were still empty: chemical laboratories, halls where popular science films will be shown and cheerful performances of the troupe of special theaters, physical and chemical, will be played. The mirror maze was already ready, in which we gladly got lost, bumping into each other and into mirrors. In a separate room is a huge water world, which is also purchased in Germany. The water gurgled gently, and we, forgetting about voice recorders and cameras, began to press buttons and levers, launching and forcing stiff jets to freeze in place.

In the same room, an ant house should be installed - a transparent container, looking into which, you can observe the complex and eventful life of ants. And also a real ... incubator will be arranged here. Watching the development of a chick embryo, right up to the moment when the chick hatches into the world, will certainly be very popular with visitors.

5. Interesting wall decoration - simple and effective:

Traveling exhibitions will be held in the same hall. So, at the end of May, a unique exhibition called Robot Zoo is expected to arrive. Created in the USA with anatomical and even physiological precision, moving mechanical fly, platypus, giraffe, locust and many other creatures, up to the dinosaur, will come to us from Israel - after a triumphant journey around the world. The unique exhibition will last for about six months, Nino told us.

The most expensive in execution and yet another spectacular exhibit of the new Ahhaa is an extraordinary planetarium. Finding ourselves in a small hall with excellent acoustics, we could imagine how, after the opening, the spectators who got here would find themselves in the center of the starry sky, where they could see the smallest and most distant stars, while listening to beautiful music, ordering it to their taste ... Of course , this is only an imitation, but what an accurate one! No wonder the author of the starry sky projector, an engineer from Japan, Ohira Takayuki, received a diploma from the Guinness Book of Records for this work. He personally came to the installation of equipment and supervised the work, promising to be in time for the opening. But on the roof of the building will be equipped with a real mini-observatory.

6. Visor with a balcony solved in an original way:

May 7 - Day X
At the end of our tour, marketing director Nino Feshchina said: “The team hopes that all the exhibits will have time to prepare for the opening. We expect a thousand visitors a day, and in a year we want 100,000 people to visit the new Ahhaa.” The interactive center will employ twenty specially trained instructor guides who are ready to communicate with visitors, in addition to Estonian and Russian, also in Finnish, English, Latvian, German. All exhibits endowed with a voice also “speak” at least in Russian, Estonian and English.
The new Ahhaa house opened on May 7 at 9 pm and worked non-stop for the first three days.

After the opening of the center, we contacted Nino Feshchina, and she said that the opening went well, the planetarium is a huge success, the time to visit it is booked in advance. Everything works, turns and turns as it should. The round-the-clock mode of operation paid off, because many people simply did not want to leave. By the morning of May 8, the center was visited by 888 people

7. View of the center from the snail tower:

8-9. "Tower-snail", in Estonian - Tigutorn, in the evening and in the morning of the next day:

10-11. Let's look at the individual details of the tower:

12-13. Types of the garage part of the complex:


14. Entrances to the tower:

15. Typically, architects accentuate the entrance with a portal or canopy. Here the main focus is color:

16. And this is what it looked like at night:

17. The tower in the city is visible from afar:

18. An unforgettable sight. When I first saw the tower, I was surprised by this ziggurat:

19. Another view from afar:

20. Opposite the snail tower, another center gleamed with its sheathing - trading or not, I don’t know:

21. Approaching him:

22. And I look back at the tower from there. The photo on the right was taken from the side of the bus station:

23. I have long dreamed of making such a frame with a lighted end:

Now let's leave the tower and move on to other buildings in Tartu.

Market Bridge (Turusild)
The pedestrian cable-stayed bridge was built in 2003. The bridge is only for pedestrians, cyclists and small mopeds. It connects the Annelinn district and the city market. The bridge has a length of 251.5 meters and 7 pairs of cables. Approximate height from the water surface is 7.5 meters.
Turusild is the best building of 2003 in Tartu, which received the title of event of the year.
http://www.dorpat.ru/index/rynochnyj_most_turusild/0-16

24. Cable-stayed bridge late evening:

25. And in the morning:

26. Arch Bridge (Kaarsild)
Where the famous Stone Bridge connected the banks of the Emajõgi River for more than a century and a half, in 1959 an arch bridge for pedestrians was built, the reinforced concrete arches of which rest on the foundation of the destroyed Stone Bridge.
http://www.dorpat.ru/index/arochnyj_most_kaarsild/0-15

27. And one of the most beautiful new bridges in Tartu:

Freedom Bridge (Vabadussild)
During the work on opening the pits during the construction of the Vabaduse bridge over the river. Emajõgi in the city of Tartu, interesting archaeological finds dating back to the 19th century were discovered (axes, glass bottles, nails, preserved from a pre-existing on this site wooden bridge). Also, several German mines were found here, preserved in the ground since the Second World War.

In 2006 JSC "Transmost", having won the "ideological" competition for the design of the bridge in Tartu, developed the working documentation for it and in 2007 the Estonian branch of the company "Tilts" started its construction. OJSC "Transmost" carried out architectural supervision of the construction.

On 30.07.2009 the grand opening of the new car-pedestrian bridge across the Emajõgi River took place in Tartu. The Freedom Bridge, the construction of which lasted more than two years, is thrown across the river and connects Lai and Vene streets. The name of the new bridge was proposed by the city's cultural commission and has already been used in city hall documents. The bridge is equipped with variable illumination. The cost of the bridge, 90 meters long and 18.75 meters wide, was 161,045,951 crowns.

The plaque on the bridge reads:
"Freedom Bridge"
The bridge was built on July 30, 2009
Customer - Tartu City Government
Designer - OJSC "Trans-Most"
"Saint Petersburg"
Builder - SIA Tilts „Riia”

Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, which was built from the beginning of the 15th century, are classic examples of the convention. Of these castles, the Kuressaare episcopal castle on the island of Saaremaa is the best preserved, the layout of which includes the square corner towers Sturvolt and Long Herman, as well as the chapel with a refectory located along the perimeter of the courtyard, the bishop's chambers, the chapter hall and the dormitory.

Fortress walls

The fortress walls and towers of Tallinn have been known since 1248, but the oldest walls and towers that have survived to this day date back to the 14th century. Construction continued into the 15th century, and the reconstruction of the fortifications was completed in the 1520s. They are still very well preserved: at the end of the 16th century, 26 towers were erected, of which 18 survived. The walls had a height of up to 8 meters and a thickness of 2.85 meters. A lancet arcade ran along the bottom of the inner part of the wall. During the -XVI centuries, as artillery developed, the towers were built on, cannon loopholes were arranged in them. The highest is the Kiek-in-de-Kök tower (38 m), the most massive is the four-story Fat Margaret in the Sea Gate complex. The city of Tartu had similar stone fortifications, but they were demolished in the 18th century.

Residential buildings

Tallinn residential buildings of the 15th - early 16th centuries belong to the gable type, when a narrow facade comes out onto the street, topped with a gable roof covered with a gable roof (bishop's house, the house of the Big Guild, the Three Sisters houses of the first half of the 15th century, the house on Lai Street, 25 , other houses of the old city).

town hall

A landmark of civil architecture is the Town Hall in Tallinn built in 1404 with a lancet arcade of the first tier on the longitudinal facade and a tall thin octahedral tower along the axis of the chimney facade topped with a triangular gable. It is the only surviving Gothic town hall in Northern Europe.

Guilds

Guild houses in Tallinn are known for their exquisite interiors (the Gothic hall of the Great Guild of 1410, the hall of the Olaevskaya Guild of 1424). The facades of the three guilds of Tallinn are made by skilled craftsmen and deserve the attention of people, especially since they are not far from each other: the buildings of the Great Guild and Olaf are made in the Gothic style, Knud - in the pseudo-Gothic English Tudor style.

Churches of Tallinn

The Church of the Holy Spirit of the XIV century is unusual in its spatial composition. It is double-nave, hall-type, with a tower on a chimney facade and with a high gable. The originally planned third nave was not built, because then one of the central streets of the city would have been blocked.

Renaissance: 1550-1630

The Renaissance came to Estonia under Swedish rule. Renaissance and mannerist influences were manifested only in small architectural forms and decor, which adorned buildings that were completely Gothic in composition and construction. The only surviving building in this style is the House of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads in Tallinn (1597, rebuilding of the Gothic building). Another - important (weight) - destroyed in 1944.

Early Baroque: 1630s-1730s

The early baroque is represented by few monuments, given the then decline in construction activity due to numerous wars in the region: the most prominent are the town hall in Narva in 1671, the Tallinn Gate in Pärnu at the end of the 17th century.

Late Baroque: 1710s-1775s

As a result of the Northern War, the territory of Estonia became part of the Russian Empire. The most outstanding attraction is the Ekaterinental (Kadriorg) palace and park ensemble, created in 1723 by order of the Russian Emperor Peter I, architect Niccolò Michetti. The style is close to the then St. Petersburg architecture, rather restrained in the use of expressive means, including decor. Another significant baroque example is the governor's residence. Estonian province, built in 1773 on the site of the destroyed eastern wall of Toompea Castle. The building with side risalits, painted pink, still attracts attention with its beauty and nobility. Initially, the palace was built on two floors, the third floor and portico were added in 1935.

Classicism: 1745-1840

Classicist style is represented mainly in the university city of Tartu and in Tallinn. Town Hall in Tartu, built in 1789, still contains echoes of the late Baroque and the overall composition is somewhat reminiscent of the town hall in Narva.

The largest monument of classicism is the complex of the University of Tartu, the main building of which was built in strict and monumental order forms in 1803 according to the project of the German architect I. Krause, who was a professor of economics, technology and civil architecture at this university. The classical ensemble is complemented by other university buildings, among which the anatomical theater is the most significant.

Examples of classicism in Tallinn: the house of Pontus Stenbock, the palace of Kaulbars-Benckendorff on Toompea.

In Tallinn, the belt of bastion fortifications around the Old Town was eliminated, and a park ring was created instead. Country manor houses of order architecture became a characteristic phenomenon. For example, Saku Manor, Riisipere Manor, Kernu Manor, Kirnu Manor, Kolga Manor, Raikküla Manor, Udriku Manor, Aaspere Manor, Hyreda Manor, Pirgu Manor, Vohnia Manor, Uhtna Manor, Massu Manor, Härgla Manor, Räpina Manor, Penijõe Manor, Lihula , Kasti manor , Triigi manor , Putkaste manor , Kurisoo manor , Tori manor , Orina manor , Vyhmuta manor , Caravete manor .

Historicism: 1840-1900

The dominant direction of historicism in Estonian architecture is neo-Gothic, an example of which is the Kaarli Church in Tallinn (1870, architect A. Gippius). The Ungern-Sternberg Palace (1865, architect Groppius), inspired by the Florentine Palazzo Strozzi, also complemented by neo-Gothic chimney towers and made of brick, makes a very vivid impression and remains in memory. The facade of the building of the Guild of St. Canute was built in the English Tudor style (English pseudo-Gothic). An example of the Neo-Renaissance is the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Toomkololi Street.

Modern: 1900-1920

Estonian modern belongs to the so-called northern modern. In Tallinn, it was formed under the influence of St. Petersburg, Finland and Riga. Close to rational modernity, but with motifs of national-romantic stylizations. In this stylization, tenement houses in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, as well as villas of that time, are solved.

The most public buildings include the Tallinn theater "Estonia" (now the National Opera) 1910-1913 (architect A. Lindgren) and the German Theater (now the Estonian Drama Theater) 1910 (St. Petersburg architects A. F. Bubyr and N. V. Vasiliev) ; the Endla Theater in Pärnu in 1911 (architects G. Hellat and E. Wolfeldt); student society building in Tartu, 1902.

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An excerpt characterizing the architecture of Estonia

About two years ago, in 1808, returning to St. Petersburg from his trip to the estates, Pierre involuntarily became the head of St. Petersburg Freemasonry. He set up dining and funeral lodges, recruited new members, took care of uniting various lodges and acquiring genuine acts. He gave his money for the construction of temples and replenished, as far as he could, almsgiving, for which most of the members were stingy and sloppy. He almost alone at his own expense supported the house of the poor, arranged by the order in St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, his life went on as before, with the same hobbies and licentiousness. He liked to dine and drink well, and although he considered it immoral and humiliating, he could not refrain from the amusements of bachelor societies in which he participated.
In the wake of his studies and hobbies, Pierre, however, after a year, began to feel how the soil of Freemasonry on which he stood, the more he left from under his feet, the more firmly he tried to become on it. At the same time, he felt that the deeper the soil on which he stood went under his feet, the more involuntarily he was connected with it. When he began Freemasonry, he experienced the feeling of a man trustingly placing his foot on the flat surface of a swamp. Putting his foot down, he fell. In order to fully assure himself of the firmness of the ground on which he stood, he put his other foot on and sank even more, got stuck and already involuntarily walked knee-deep in the swamp.
Iosif Alekseevich was not in Petersburg. (He has recently retired from the affairs of St. Petersburg lodges and lived without a break in Moscow.) All the brothers, members of the lodges, were people familiar to Pierre in life, and it was difficult for him to see in them only brothers in stoneworking, and not Prince B., not Ivan Vasilyevich D., whom he knew in life for the most part as weak and insignificant people. From under the Masonic aprons and signs, he saw on them uniforms and crosses, which they had achieved in life. Often, collecting alms and counting 20-30 rubles written down for the parish, and mostly in debt from ten members, of whom half were as rich as he was, Pierre recalled the Masonic oath that each brother promises to give everything property for a neighbor; and doubts arose in his soul, on which he tried not to dwell.
He divided all the brothers he knew into four categories. In the first category, he ranked the brothers who do not take an active part either in the affairs of lodges or in human affairs, but are exclusively occupied with the sacraments of the science of the order, occupied with questions about the triple name of God, or about the three principles of things, sulfur, mercury and salt, or about the meaning square and all the figures of Solomon's temple. Pierre respected this category of Masonic brothers, to which the old brothers mostly belonged, and Joseph Alekseevich himself, according to Pierre, did not share their interests. His heart did not lie to the mystical side of Freemasonry.
In the second category, Pierre included himself and brothers like himself, who are searching, hesitating, who have not yet found a direct and understandable path in Freemasonry, but hoping to find it.
In the third category, he ranked the brothers (there were the largest number of them), who did not see anything in Freemasonry except for the external form and rituals and valued the strict execution of this external form, not caring about its content and meaning. Such were Vilarsky and even the great master of the main lodge.
To the fourth category, finally, was also ranked a large number of brethren, especially those who have lately joined the brotherhood. These were people, according to Pierre's observations, who did not believe in anything, who did not want anything, and who entered Freemasonry only to get closer to young rich and strong brothers in connections and nobility, of whom there were very many in the lodge.
Pierre began to feel dissatisfied with his activities. Freemasonry, at least the Freemasonry he knew here, sometimes seemed to him to be based on appearance alone. He did not even think of doubting Freemasonry itself, but he suspected that Russian Freemasonry had taken the wrong path and deviated from its source. And therefore, at the end of the year, Pierre went abroad to initiate himself into the highest secrets of the order.

In the summer back in 1809, Pierre returned to St. Petersburg. According to the correspondence of our Freemasons with foreign ones, it was known that Bezuhy had managed to gain the trust of many high-ranking officials abroad, penetrated many secrets, was elevated to the highest degree, and was carrying with him a lot for the common good of stonemasonry in Russia. Petersburg Freemasons all came to him, currying favor with him, and it seemed to everyone that he was hiding something and preparing something.
A solemn meeting of the lodge of the 2nd degree was appointed, in which Pierre promised to inform what he had to convey to the St. Petersburg brothers from the highest leaders of the order. The meeting was full. After the usual rituals, Pierre got up and began his speech.
“Dear brothers,” he began, blushing and stammering, and holding a written speech in his hand. – It is not enough to observe our sacraments in the quiet of the lodge – you need to act… act. We are in stupor, and we need to act. Pierre took his notebook and began to read.
“In order to spread pure truth and bring about the triumph of virtue,” he read, we must cleanse people of prejudices, spread rules that are consistent with the spirit of the times, take upon ourselves the education of youth, unite with inseparable bonds with the most intelligent people, boldly and wisely overcome superstition, unbelief and stupidity, to form from people devoted to us, connected with each other by a unity of purpose and having power and strength.
“To achieve this goal, virtue must be given a preponderance over vice, one must strive so that an honest person gains an eternal reward for his virtues in this world. But in these great intentions we are hindered by quite a lot - the current political institutions. What to do in such a state of affairs? Shall we favor revolutions, overthrow everything, expel force by force?... No, we are very far from that. Every violent reform is reprehensible, because it will do nothing to correct evil as long as people remain as they are, and because wisdom has no need for violence.
“The entire plan of the order should be based on educating people who are firm, virtuous and bound by the unity of conviction, a conviction consisting in pursuing vice and stupidity everywhere and with all your might and patronizing talents and virtue: to extract worthy people from the dust, joining them to our brotherhood. Then only our order will have the power to insensitively bind the hands of the patrons of disorder and control them so that they do not notice it. In a word, it is necessary to establish a universal dominating form of government, which would extend over the whole world without destroying civil bonds, and under which all other governments could continue in their usual order and do everything except that only that hinders the great goal of our order, then is the delivery of virtue triumph over vice. Christianity itself presupposed this goal. It taught people to be wise and kind, and for their own benefit to follow the example and instructions of the best and wisest people.
“Then, when everything was immersed in darkness, of course, one sermon was enough: the news of the truth gave it special power, but now much stronger means are needed for us. Now it is necessary that a person, guided by his feelings, find sensual charms in virtue. It is impossible to eradicate passions; we must only try to direct them to a noble goal, and therefore it is necessary that everyone should be able to satisfy his passions within the limits of virtue, and that our order should provide means for this.
“As soon as we have a certain number of worthy people in each state, each of them again forms two others, and they all closely unite with each other - then everything will be possible for the order, which has already secretly managed to do a lot for the good of mankind.”
This speech made not only a strong impression, but also excitement in the box. The majority of the brothers, who saw in this speech the dangerous plans of the Illuminati, accepted his speech with coldness that surprised Pierre. The great master began to object to Pierre. Pierre began to develop his thoughts with great and great fervor. There hasn't been such a stormy meeting for a long time. Parties were formed: some accused Pierre, condemning him for the Illuminati; others supported him. For the first time at this meeting, Pierre was struck by the infinite diversity of human minds, which makes it so that no truth is equally presented to two people. Even those of the members who seemed to be on his side understood him in their own way, with restrictions, changes that he could not agree to, since Pierre's main need was precisely to convey his thought to another exactly as he himself understood her.
At the end of the meeting, the great master, with hostility and irony, made a remark to Bezukhoi about his ardor and that not only love for virtue, but also the enthusiasm for the struggle led him in the dispute. Pierre did not answer him and briefly asked if his proposal would be accepted. He was told that no, and Pierre, without waiting for the usual formalities, left the box and went home.

Pierre again found that longing that he was so afraid of. For three days after delivering his speech in the box, he lay at home on the sofa, receiving no one and not leaving anywhere.
At this time, he received a letter from his wife, who begged him for a date, wrote about her sadness for him and about her desire to devote her whole life to him.
At the end of the letter, she informed him that one of these days she would come to St. Petersburg from abroad.
Following the letter, one of the Masonic brothers, less respected by him, burst into Pierre’s solitude and, turning the conversation on Pierre’s marital relations, in the form of fraternal advice, expressed to him the idea that his strictness towards his wife was unfair, and that Pierre deviates from the first rules of the Mason. not forgiving the penitent.
At the same time, his mother-in-law, the wife of Prince Vasily, sent for him, begging him to visit her at least for a few minutes to negotiate a very important matter. Pierre saw that there was a conspiracy against him, that they wanted to unite him with his wife, and this was not even unpleasant for him in the state in which he was. He did not care: Pierre did not consider anything in life a matter of great importance, and under the influence of the anguish that now took possession of him, he did not value either his freedom or his persistence in punishing his wife.
"No one is right, no one is to blame, so she is not to blame either," he thought. - If Pierre did not immediately express his consent to union with his wife, it was only because in the state of anguish in which he was, he was not able to do anything. If his wife came to him, he would not drive her away now. Was it not all the same, in comparison with what occupied Pierre, to live or not to live with his wife?
Without answering anything to his wife or mother-in-law, Pierre once got ready for the road late in the evening and left for Moscow to see Iosif Alekseevich. Here is what Pierre wrote in his diary.
Moscow, November 17th.
I have just arrived from a benefactor, and I hasten to write down everything that I experienced at the same time. Iosif Alekseevich lives in poverty and suffers for the third year from a painful bladder disease. No one ever heard from him a groan, or a word of grumbling. From morning until late at night, with the exception of the hours in which he eats the simplest food, he works on science. He received me graciously and sat me down on the bed on which he was lying; I made him the sign of the knights of the East and Jerusalem, he answered me the same, and with a meek smile asked me about what I had learned and acquired in the Prussian and Scottish lodges. I told him everything as well as I could, conveying the grounds that I offered in our St. Petersburg box and reported on the bad reception that had been given to me, and about the break that had occurred between me and the brothers. Iosif Alekseevich, after a considerable pause and thought, presented to me his view of all this, which instantly illuminated for me everything that had passed and the whole future path that lay before me. He surprised me by asking me if I remember what the threefold purpose of the order is: 1) to keep and know the sacrament; 2) in the purification and correction of oneself for the perception of it, and 3) in the correction of the human race through the desire for such purification. What is the main and first goal of these three? Certainly own correction and purification. Only towards this goal can we always strive, regardless of all circumstances. But at the same time, this is the goal that requires the most labor from us, and therefore, deluded by pride, we, missing this goal, either take on the sacrament that we are unworthy to receive because of our impurity, or take on the correction of the human race, when we ourselves are an example of abomination and depravity. Illuminism is not a pure doctrine precisely because it is carried away by social activities and is full of pride. On this basis, Iosif Alekseevich condemned my speech and all my activities. I agreed with him in the depths of my soul. On the occasion of our conversation about my family affairs, he said to me: - The main duty of a true Mason, as I told you, is to perfect himself. But often we think that by removing all the difficulties of our life from ourselves, we will more quickly achieve this goal; on the contrary, my lord, he told me, only in the midst of secular unrest can we achieve three main goals: 1) self-knowledge, for a person can know himself only through comparison, 2) improvement, only by struggle is it achieved, and 3) achieve the main virtue - love for death. Only the vicissitudes of life can show us the futility of it and can contribute to our innate love for death or rebirth into a new life. These words are all the more remarkable because Iosif Alekseevich, despite his severe physical suffering, is never burdened by life, but loves death, for which, despite all the purity and loftiness of his inner man, he still does not feel sufficiently prepared. Then the benefactor fully explained to me the meaning of the great square of the universe and pointed out that the triple and the seventh number are the foundation of everything. He advised me not to distance myself from communication with the St. Petersburg brothers and, occupying only positions of the 2nd degree in the lodge, to try, distracting the brothers from the hobbies of pride, to turn them to the true path of self-knowledge and improvement. In addition, for himself personally, he advised me first of all to take care of myself, and for this purpose he gave me a notebook, the same one in which I write and will continue to enter all my actions.
Petersburg, November 23rd.
“I live with my wife again. My mother-in-law came to me in tears and said that Helen was here and that she begged me to listen to her, that she was innocent, that she was unhappy at my abandonment, and much more. I knew that if I only allowed myself to see her, I would no longer be able to refuse her desire. In my doubt, I did not know whose help and advice to resort to. If the benefactor were here, he would tell me. I retired to my room, reread the letters of Joseph Alekseevich, remembered my conversations with him, and from everything I deduced that I should not refuse the one who asks and should give a helping hand to anyone, especially a person so connected with me, and should bear my cross. But if I forgave her for the sake of virtue, then let my union with her have one spiritual goal. So I decided and so I wrote to Joseph Alekseevich. I told my wife that I ask her to forget everything old, I ask her to forgive me what I could be guilty of before her, and that I have nothing to forgive her. I was glad to tell her this. Let her not know how hard it was for me to see her again. Settled in a large house in the upper chambers and experiencing a happy feeling of renewal.

As always, even then, high society, uniting together at court and at big balls, was divided into several circles, each with its own shade. Among them, the most extensive was the French circle, the Napoleonic Union - Count Rumyantsev and Caulaincourt "a. In this circle, Helen occupied one of the most prominent places as soon as she and her husband settled in St. Petersburg. She visited the gentlemen of the French embassy and a large number of people, known for their intelligence and courtesy, who belonged to this direction.
Helen was in Erfurt during the famous meeting of the emperors, and from there she brought these connections with all the Napoleonic sights of Europe. In Erfurt, she had a brilliant success. Napoleon himself, noticing her in the theater, said about her: "C" est un superbe animal. "[This is a beautiful animal.] Her success as a beautiful and elegant woman did not surprise Pierre, because over the years she became even more beautiful than before But what surprised him was that in these two years his wife managed to acquire a reputation for herself
"d" une femme charmante, aussi spirituelle, que belle. "[A charming woman, as smart as beautiful.] The famous Prince de Ligne [Prince de Ligne] wrote letters to her on eight pages. Bilibin saved his mots [words], to say them for the first time in the presence of Countess Bezukhova.To be received in the salon of Countess Bezukhova was considered a diploma of the mind; young people read books before Helen's evening, so that there was something to talk about in her salon, and the secretaries of the embassy, ​​and even envoys, confided diplomatic secrets to her, so that Helene was a force in some way. Pierre, who knew that she was very stupid, with a strange feeling of bewilderment and fear, sometimes attended her evenings and dinners, where politics, poetry and philosophy were discussed. At these evenings he experienced a similar feeling that which the conjurer must experience, expecting each time that his deceit is about to be revealed. "une femme charmante et spirituelle so unshakably established itself behind Elena Vasilievna Bezukhova that she could say the greatest vulgarities and stupidities, and yet everyone admired her every word and looked for a deep meaning in it, which she herself did not suspect.

Tallinn is popular among travelers, but very few of them often know how it differs from others European capitals. Someone will say that it looks like Helsinki, to someone it reminds of 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 trendy quarter of Rotermann, and then - the ancient 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 areas in Europe.

In the Kadriorg district, a baroque palace is adjacent to the modern art museum Kumu. And next to it is a picturesque quarter in which the atmosphere of a provincial provincial town of the 19th century has been preserved to this day.

In the center of Tallinn, the strict and solid representative architecture of the First Republic is adjacent to the Soviet one.

Gothic

There was a fortified settlement on the hill of Toompea already from the 11th century, and around the modern Town Hall Square there was a settlement and a market surrounded by a fence. Nearby there were two trading yards: Scandinavian and Russian.

With the arrival of the crusaders in 1219, a castle and the Dome Cathedral were built on the hill of Toompea. The first fortress wall around the Upper City began to be built 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 14th century. At this time, a city was formed that consisted of two independent parts - Toompea (Domberga - Upper Town), the capital of the Duchy of Estonia, and the Lower Town, the Hanseatic Revel.

The most significant period in the development of Tallinn's architecture was the 13th-16th centuries. Tallinn Gothic was formed under the influence of 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. The originality of this style was given by limestone, a local building material.

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, as well as three towers, including one of the symbols of Estonia, Long Hermann, escaped reconstruction.

In the 15th century (late Gothic period), the Town Hall, guild buildings, monastic buildings and residential buildings appeared in the city. These are elongated facades with high gables. Among the various buildings in terms of plan, houses with two rooms prevailed - diele and dornse. Diele - a spacious, two-story building with a hearth at the back wall served mainly as a trading office, workshop. Behind it was the dornse, a living space with calorific heating. The upper floors, basements and attics were used as warehouses.

Such residential buildings in their original form have been preserved on Pikk Street (Three Sisters group, Pikk 71), on Lai Street ("Three Brothers", Lai 38, 40, 42) and in the Old Market ("Father and Son", Kuninga 1).

The Old Town of Tallinn has been included in the list of historical and cultural heritage UNESCO as well preserved medieval city. It is unique not only for the region Baltic Sea but for the whole of Europe.

Examples of Gothic architecture in Tallinn:

1. City Hall (XV century), Raekoja 1.

2. Dome Cathedral (XV century), Toom-Kooli 6.

3. Church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) (1420), Niguliste 3.

4. Church of St. Olaf (Oleviste) (XV century), Pikk 65 / Lai 50.

5. Church of the Holy Spirit (XV century), Pühavaimu 2.

6. Building of the Great Guild (1417), Pikk 17.

7. Guild building of St. Olaf (1422), Pikk 24.

8. The complex of buildings of the Dominican monastery of St. Catherine (XIV-XV century), Vene 12/14.

9. Building of the New Almshouse (XVI century), Rüütli 7/9.

10. Horse mill (XIV-XVIII centuries), Lai 47.

11. Ruins of St. Brigid's Monastery (1417), Merivälja tee 18.

renaissance

Only a few buildings from the Renaissance era have survived to this day. For example, the house of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads (1597) Pikk 26. The Renaissance found its most striking expression in Tallinn in the decor, especially in 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 restrained style is characterized by rationality and simplicity.

In the 18th century, the baroque can be traced mainly in the reconstruction: 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.

The pearl of the Baroque in Tallinn is the "Old Palace", or Rosen House (1670s, Pikk 28). The most monumental building of this epoch in Tallinn is the Kadriorg (Ekaterinenthal) Palace of the architect Nicollo Mikcheti in the Italian Baroque style (1718, A. Weizenbergi 37). Another example is the building of the residence of the Estonian governor and provincial government in the transitional rococo style with elements of early classicism (1773, architect Johan Schulz, Lossi plats 1). The Stenbock 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 narthex 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 XVIII - early XIX centuries) in Upper city was erected, and many buildings were rebuilt in the Lower City. During the restructuring, many medieval facades acquired a fashionable look in the style of classicism. From the side of the courtyard, Gothic was often preserved.

Vivid examples of classicism in Tallinn: Government House (circa 1790, Rahukohtu 3), Rosen House (1830, Lai 5), Benkendorf House (1814, Kohtu 8), the first domed building - St. Nicholas Church (1827, Vene 24).

historicism

By the middle of the 19th century, a fashion for historical styles and eclecticism arose. The first examples of such architecture in Tallinn were the building of the Guild of St. Knut (1864, Pikk 20), built in the Tudor Gothic style on the street. Pikk, and the building of the Knights' Assembly (1848, Kiriku plats 1). Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1900, Lossi plats 10) is an example of pseudo-Russian style. The Reichmann House (1909, Pikk 21/23) is an interesting example of neo-Mannerist style.

From the second half of the century historical Center Tallinn is changing dynamically. By the end of the century, the area between Viru Square and the Tõnismägi district was actively built up: thus, the Old Town and the new center were growing together.

Due to the originality 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 the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Especially the "northern modern", formed under the influence of Finnish architecture.

During this period, well-known Finnish architects, the famous A. Lindgren, G. Gezelius and E. Saarinen, worked in Tallinn. The latter in 1913 drew up the first general plan of the city, which provided for the relocation shopping center outside the Old City.

Examples of northern modern architecture:

1. Estonian National Opera (1913) Estonia pst 4.

2. The building of the Estonian Drama Theater (1910) Pärnu mnt.5.

3. House of Saarinen (1912) Pärnu mnt 10.

4. Workhouse of the Luther Factory (1905) Vana-Lõuna 37.

The second branch of Art Nouveau in Tallinn was the eclectic-decorative or so-called “Riga Art Nouveau”. It is more magnificent, it is distinguished by the widest use of masks and ornaments. Buildings by 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 moving beyond the historical core. A new Tallinn is being formed - the capital of the Republic of Estonia.

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 its rectangular shapes and colors: brown or gray, anthracite plaster popular at that time. In the late 1930s, facade decoration with dolomite panels or chipped limestone was widespread.

It was functionalism that in the 20th century shaped the style of the current look of the center of Tallinn, which can be called truly national.

You can get acquainted with the architecture of the first Estonian Republic in the areas of Tõnismägi and the Pärnus highway, as well as Raua street and the Police Park.

Iconic objects of functionalism style:

1. House of Arts (1934) Vabaduse väljak 6.

2. Tallinn City Council building (1935) Vabaduse väljak 7.

3. Tallinn "Chilihouse" (1936) Roosikrantsi 23/Pärnu mnt 36.

4. Parliament building (Riigikogu) (1922) Lossi plats 1a.

5. Building of the fire brigade (1939) Raua 2.

6. Chapel of the Metsakalmistu cemetery (1937) Kloostrimetsa tee 36.

7. Liiva cemetery chapel (1935) Kalmistu tee 34a.

This era brought two original styles to the architecture of Tallinn: “Stalinist classicism” of the 40s-50s of the XX century and Soviet modernism of the 50s-80s. A distinctive feature of the Soviet architecture of Tallinn in comparison with other Soviet republics is its kind of “bourgeoisness”, which is why Tallinn was a popular film site where “Western life” was filmed.

Architecture 1945–1961

After the war, architects who did not emigrate and stayed in Estonia built in a style similar to the architecture of the pre-war period. In this style, one can notice the influence of Germany - high tiled roofs, gray or brown plaster, familiar to 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 1950s, international "Stalinist classicism" had prevailed.

In the 1950s architects were sent to work or practice in Tallinn, mainly from Leningrad. They brought “Soviet” models into the city's appearance, ideologically sustained and better expressing Stalin's ideas in architecture, but representing typical copies.

1. "House with a tower" (1954). Tartu mnt. 24.

2. House of Navy Officers (1954). mere pst. 5.

Of particular interest is the private construction of the 50s-60s in the areas of Maryamäe, Pirita, Nõmme, which is completely different from what was built in other republics of the Soviet Union.

Architecture 1960s–1980s

In the 60s, at the very beginning of the Khrushchev thaw, a period of stylistic experiments was outlined in the architecture of Tallinn. 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 penetrate into Estonia. The peculiarity of modernism lies precisely in its internationality.

Modern Estonian architecture

Having passed the era of block construction, typical of the 70s of the XX century, and the Soviet modernism of the 90s, Estonian architecture, which was considered advanced even in the times of the USSR, made a qualitative step forward by the end of the 1990s.

New projects of recent times have become significant events that define the face of the city. lovers modern architecture There is a lot to see in Tallinn. Contemporary Estonian architecture reflects trends close to the Nordic region. Character traits 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 focus of the historic quarter.

Against the backdrop of modern buildings in Tallinn, several sacred structures stand out: the new monastery of St. Bridget (2001, Merivälja tee 18) blends harmoniously 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 fairly modest building.

Along with new projects, the reconstruction of old buildings is being carried out very actively. The architecture of many of them is trying to preserve 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, the quarter begins to play one of the central roles in the urban ensemble.

In the building of the former power plant, the Energia Educational Center and the Culture Cauldron Creative Center (Põhja puiestee 27a) were opened.

One of the last objects Maritime Museum, located in the building of the former hangars for seaplanes (1917). The structure itself is a beautiful and rare example of reinforced concrete shell-type structures in Estonia and in the world (Vesilennuki 6).

And the Kingdom of Denmark conquered the territory of present-day Estonia, divided it and introduced Christianity of the Western rite. Estonia does not have Romanesque architecture, and Gothic was formed under the influence of the Gothic of the Rhine school, the Cistercian architecture of Prussia and Scandinavian architecture (Gotland).

  • 1 Periodization
    • 1.1 Early Gothic: 13th - early 15th century
      • 1.1.1 Castles
      • 1.1.2 Churches
    • 1.2 Late Gothic: 15th to mid-16th centuries
      • 1.2.1 Toompea Castle
      • 1.2.2 Fortress walls
      • 1.2.3 Residential buildings
      • 1.2.4 Town Hall
      • 1.2.5 Guilds
      • 1.2.6 Churches of Tallinn
    • 1.3 Renaissance: 1550-1630
    • 1.4 Early Baroque: 1630s-1730s
    • 1.5 Late Baroque: 1710s-1775s
    • 1.6 Classicism: 1745-1840
    • 1.7 Historicism: 1840-1900
    • 1.8 Modern: 1900-1920

periodization

Early Gothic: XIII - early XV century

Locks

Episcopal castle-convention in Kuressaare Church in Ambla

Early Gothic in Estonia is represented by four types of castles:

  • irregular (polygonal);
  • donjon castle;
  • regular castles of two types: Castel and convent.

Order castles were built according to these types. A classic example of the second type is the 1265 Paide donjon castle.

Castles in Viljandi XIII-XIV centuries and the episcopal castle of Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, which was built between 1343 and the beginning of the 15th century, are classic examples of the convention. Of these castles, the episcopal castle of Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa is the best preserved, the layout of which includes the square corner towers of Stourvolt and Long Herman, as well as a chapel with a refectory located along the perimeter of the courtyard, the bishop's chambers, the chapter hall and the dormitory.

Of this type is the castle-monastery of the Cistercian Order in Padise, which was built from the second half of the 14th century until 1448 and has a less regular structure than other convents.

Herman's castle in Narva in the 13th-15th centuries originally belonged to the Kastel type, and later, at the beginning of the 15th century, was rebuilt into a convent.

In total, from the beginning of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th centuries, 46 stone castles were built on the territory of Estonia, of which 17 were orders, 12 were episcopal and 17 belonged to local feudal lords.

Churches

The Gothic provincial churches at Ambla at the end of the thirteenth century and at Coeru (1290) belong to the same architectural type. They are three-nave, hall, with a rectangular presbytery and a small tower along the axis of the western facade.

Examples of large Gothic churches are two brick basilicas in Tartu: the city's Dome Cathedral (XIII-XV centuries, preserved in ruins) and St. John's Church built in 1330. The latter has a high tower on the main façade; The wimpergies of the portal are decorated with the famous sculptural composition The Last Judgment.

Keep castle in Paide
Herman's castle in Narva
Ruins of the Dome Cathedral in Tartu
St. John's Church
Monastery of Padise

Late Gothic: 15th - mid-16th centuries

Toompea Castle

The historical context for the development of architecture is determined by the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, in which the Teutonic Order, of which the Livonian Order was a part, was defeated, as well as the strengthening of the role of the Hanseatic trade union in this territory (Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu were Hanseatic cities).

Toompea Castle

The city of Tallinn has belonged to the Livonian Order since 1347. Since the 15th century, the orderly castle of Toompea on Vyshgorod has become the main dominant architectural complex of the city. It was a rebuilt ancient Danish castle, which was later rebuilt several times. its structure is based on the convention type, and its highest cylindrical tower is called the Long German.

Fortress walls

Part of the fortress wall and gate

The fortress walls and towers of Tallinn have been known since 1248, but the oldest walls and towers that have survived to this day date back to the 14th century. Construction continued in the 15th century, the reconstruction of the fortifications was completed in the 1520s. They are still very well preserved: at the end of the 16th century, 26 towers were erected, of which 18 survived. The walls had a height of up to 8 meters and a thickness of 2.85 meters. A lancet arcade ran along the bottom of the inner part of the wall. during the XV-XVI centuries, as artillery developed, the towers were built on, cannon loopholes were arranged in them. The highest is the Kiek-in-de-Kök tower (38 m), the most massive is the four-story Fat Margaret in the Sea Gate complex. The city of Tartu had similar stone fortifications, but they were demolished in the 18th century.

Residential buildings

The medieval building of the Olde Hansa restaurant

Tallinn residential buildings of the 15th - early 16th centuries belong to the gable type, when a narrow facade topped with a gable roof covered with a gable roof goes out onto the street (bishop's house, the house of the Great Guild, the Three Sisters houses of the first half of the 15th century, the house on Lai Street, 25 , other houses of the old city).

town hall

Tallinn Town Hall

A landmark of civil architecture is the Town Hall in Tallinn built in 1404 with a lancet arcade of the first tier on the longitudinal facade and a tall thin octahedral tower along the axis of the chimney facade topped with a triangular gable. It is the only surviving Gothic town hall in Northern Europe.

Guilds

Guild houses in Tallinn are known for their exquisite interiors (the Gothic hall of the Great Guild of 1410, the hall of the Olaevskaya Guild of 1424). The facades of the three guilds of Tallinn are made by skilled craftsmen and deserve the attention of people, especially since they are not far from each other: the buildings of the Great Guild and Olaf are made in the Gothic style, Knud - in the pseudo-Gothic English Tudor style.

Churches of Tallinn

St. Nicholas Church was built in 1827 in the classicist style, which is unusual for an Orthodox church, according to a slightly modified project by the St. Petersburg architect of Italian origin Luigi Rusca.

The Church of the Holy Spirit of the XIV century is unusual in its spatial composition. It is double-nave, hall-type, with a tower on a pier facade and with a high gable. The originally planned third nave was not built, because then one of the central streets of the city would have been blocked.

Cistercian monastery. Originally there was a chapel of St. Vyacheslav (Vitslav), which was built in memory of the battle of 1219 and was first used as a monastery church. After 1310 the monastery was included in the city defense system. The main monastery buildings were built no later than 1300. Of the buildings that have come down to our time, the oldest are the two-nave rooms of the eastern and northern wings, where the cross vaults rest on round pillars (the only ones in Tallinn). decoration of capitals, along with a stylized floral ornament, there is a naturalistic one. Apparently, these capitals are of Gotlandic origin. last third of the 14th century. the chapel was expanded and rebuilt into a two-nave, four-travey (St. Michael's Church) without an independent choir. Outside, along its facade from the side of the courtyard, a cross passage, partly two-story, passed through the buttresses. The bay window that connected the cross passage with the balcony for nuns has been preserved. In the interior of the church, 12-sided pillars support the cross vaults.

The church of St. Michael was built in three styles. At the beginning of the 13th century, it was a small chapel that belonged to the order of the Cistercian nuns. Over time, the monastery of St. Archangel Michael, and the chapel was rebuilt into a spacious two-aisled church. The construction of the temple was completed by the XIV century. 16th century with the advent of the Reformation in Estonia, the temple became Lutheran, and during the Northern War (1700-1721) a garrison Swedish church was located here. 1710 Revel was taken by the troops of Peter I, and in 1716 the temple was re-consecrated into the Orthodox Cathedral of the Russian garrison in Revel (Church of the Transfiguration). These historical events are reflected in the appearance of the church: it is an eclectic collection of styles: a tower with a baroque spire (1776), round windows and a dome with a drum (1828-1832, architect I. D. Bantelmann). The baroque iconostasis of I. P. Zarudny is of interest in the interior. The largest work on the outer walls of the church was carried out in 1827-30, when the church received a classicist look.

Church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) was built in 1406-93. This is a three-aisled basilica with an ambulatory and a tower on the western façade.

Church of St. Olaf (Oleviste) of the same time, 1400-50s. It is a three-nave basilica, has a middle nave 31 meters high and a tower with a spire 123.7 meters high. The church was the tallest in the world from 1549 to 1625 at 158.4 m, but a fire in 1820 broke the record.

Dome Cathedral, reconstruction of 1465 - a short three-nave basilica with a polygonal apse and a massive western tower, on Toompea. Inside western wall a small spiral staircase leads to a small royal chapel and up to a large royal balcony overlooking the inside of the church.

The Dominican monastery in Tallinn at the beginning of the 15th century is a large Gothic complex with a three-nave hall church and a cloister on Vene Street; buildings have been partially preserved: the chapter house, the prior's house, the barn, the crypt have been preserved, the Gothic portals are of particular value. The refectory was converted in the 18th century into the Church of Peter and Paul.

The Church of Peter and Paul on Vene Street has the shape of a basilica and was built in a classical style with two neo-Gothic towers. The interior space is divided into three naves.

Monastery of St. Birgitta, 1417-36 - a three-nave hall church in Pirita, now destroyed, which had a high and massive gabled roof (it has been in ruins since 1577).

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Orthodox five-domed three-altar cathedral on Toompea, designed for 1500 people, built on the model of Moscow churches of the 17th century.

The Swedish Church of St. Michael (Tallinn) - the building on Ryutli Street, occupied by the church, was built as a New Almshouse, and does not have a traditional orientation to the cardinal points, as well as a dedicated altar part. After World War II, there was a sports school here. In 2002, the renovated and reconstructed building was consecrated again.

Church of St. John - the wooden church of the almshouse of St. John. For the first time, the leper colony of St. John, located near the city, that is, the Yaanovskaya almshouse, was mentioned in 1237. An almshouse in the Middle Ages was called a shelter for the sick, the crippled and the elderly. Almshouses were built by churches, monasteries or communities. In the Middle Ages, there were at least four almshouses in Tallinn: the Holy Spirit, the almshouse at the gate on Nunne, the Jaanovska almshouse and the so-called New almshouse on Ryütli Street.

The Dome Cathedral

Renaissance: 1550-1630

Facade of the House of the Blackheads

The Renaissance came to Estonia under Swedish rule. Renaissance and mannerist influences were manifested only in small architectural forms and decor, which adorned buildings that were completely Gothic in composition and construction. The only surviving building in this style is the House of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads in Tallinn (1597, rebuilding of the Gothic building). Another - important (weight) - destroyed in 1944.

Early Baroque: 1630s-1730s

Narva Town Hall

The early baroque is represented by few monuments, given the then decline in construction activity due to numerous wars in the region: the most prominent are the town hall in Narva in 1671, the Tallinn Gate in Pärnu at the end of the 17th century.

Late Baroque: 1710s-1775s

As a result of the Northern War, the territory of Estonia became part of the Russian Empire. The most outstanding attraction is the Ekaterinental (Kadriorg) palace and park ensemble, created in 1723 by order of the Russian Emperor Peter I, architect Niccolò Michetti. The style is close to the then St. Petersburg architecture, rather restrained in the use of expressive means, including decor. Another significant baroque example is the residence of the governor of the Estland province, built in 1773 on the site of the destroyed eastern wall of the Toompea castle. The building with side risalits, painted pink, still attracts attention with its beauty and nobility. Initially, the palace was built on two floors, the third floor and portico were added in 1935.

Baroque architecture was also represented in the Estonian manor architecture, for example, in 1797 the Vääna manor building was built by an unknown Italian architect.

Palmse Manor's main building is also an excellent example of Estonian Baroque manor architecture.

Vääna Manor

Classicism: 1745-1840

Classicist style is represented mainly in the university city of Tartu and in Tallinn. The town hall in Tartu, built in 1789, still contains echoes of the late baroque and the overall composition is somewhat reminiscent of the town hall in Narva.

The largest monument of classicism is the complex of the University of Tartu, the main building of which was built in strict and monumental order forms in 1803 according to the project of the German architect I. Krause, who was a professor of economics, technology and civil architecture at this university. The classical ensemble is complemented by other university buildings, among which the anatomical theater is the most significant.

Examples of classicism in Tallinn: the house of Pontus Stenbock, the palace of Kaulbars-Benckendorff on Toompea.

In Tallinn, the belt of bastion fortifications around the Old Town was eliminated, and a park ring was created instead. Country manor houses of order architecture became a characteristic phenomenon. For example, Saku Manor, Riisipere Manor, Kernu Manor, Kirnu Manor, Kolga Manor, Raikküla Manor, Udriku Manor, Aaspere Manor, Hõreda Manor, Pirgu Manor, Vohnia Manor, Uhtna Manor, Massu Manor, Härgla Manor, Räpina Manor, Penijõe Manor, Lihula, Kasti manor, Triigi manor, Putkaste manor, Kurisoo manor, Tori manor, Orina manor, Vyhmuta manor, Caravete manor.

University of Tartu
Aaspere Manor
Kirna Manor

Historicism: 1840-1900

Kaarli Church Kaarli Church

The dominant direction of historicism in Estonian architecture is neo-Gothic, an example of which is the Kaarli Church in Tallinn (1870, architect A. Gippius). The Ungern-Sternberg Palace (1865, architect Groppius), inspired by the Florentine Palazzo Strozzi, also complemented by neo-Gothic chimney towers and made of brick, makes a very vivid impression and remains in memory. The facade of the building of the Guild of St. Canute was built in the English Tudor style (English pseudo-Gothic). An example of the Neo-Renaissance is the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Toomkololi Street.

Modern: 1900-1920

Estonian modern belongs to the so-called northern modern. Tallinn was formed under the influence of St. Petersburg, Finland and Riga. Close to rational modernity, but with motifs of national-romantic stylizations. this stylization was used for tenement houses in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, as well as villas of that time.

The most public buildings include the Tallinn theater "Estonia" (now the National Opera) 1910-1913 (architect A. Lindgren) and the German Theater (now the Estonian Drama Theater) 1910 (St. Petersburg architects A. F. Bubyr and N. V. Vasiliev) ; the Endla Theater in Pärnu in 1911 (architects G. Hellat and E. Wolfeldt); student society building in Tartu, 1902.

St. Paul's Church in Tartu was designed and built in 1915-17 by the famous Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (father of the even more famous American architect of the mid-twentieth century, Eero Saarinen). Saarinen Sr. designed a lot for Tallinn, in particular, in 1913 he won a competition to create a master plan for the city.

Art Nouveau architecture became the basis for the development of Estonian architecture during the 1920s and 40s and today largely forms the identity largest cities Estonia.

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