Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Tallinn

Location

Harju

Country

Estonia

Year of Research

1997

Culture

The sources of Tallinn date back to the 13th century, when a castle was built there by the crusading knights of the Teutonic Order. It is the capital of Estonia
It developed as a main centre of the Hanseatic League, and its wealth is demonstrated by the opulence of the public buildings (the churches in particular) and the domestic architecture of the merchants' houses, which have survived to a remarkable degree despite the ravages of fire and war in the intervening centuries.
The group decided to engrave this property on the basis of criteria (ii) and (iv), considering that Tallinn is an exceptional and exceptionally complete and well preserved example of a medieval northern European trading city that retains the salient features of this unique form of economic and social community to an outstanding degree.