Sights on the course

Tall Hermann Tower

This year the start and finish of the Tallinn Marathon are located at the foot of the Tall Hermann Tower.

 

Tall Hermann Tower is the tallest tower of the Toompea Castle. The Castle has always been the seat of power in Estonia. Today it's home to Estonia's Parliament.

 

The castle has been revamped countless times through the centuries, but still retains the basic shape it was given in the 13th and 14th centuries. From its front, visitors can see a pink, Baroque palace dating to the time of Catherine the Great. A look at its opposite side, visible from the base of the hill, gives a much more medieval perspective.

 

The 46-metre Tall Hermann tower is a leading symbol of Estonian statehood: tradition dictates that whichever nation flies its flag over Pikk Hermann also rules Estonia. Each day at sunrise the Estonian flag is raised above the tower to the tune of the national anthem.

 

Patarei Prison

Patarei (‘battery’) is one of the largest completely preserved classical style building ensembles in Estonia and the surrounding area. It was built as a sea fortress by order of Russian emperor Nicholas I in the 19th century, but with changes in military technology, the fortress soon lost its value as a defence structure and was instead used a barracks for soldiers of various army units. In 1919, Patarei was converted into a prison – a purpose for which it was well-suited thanks to its 2-metre thick walls. It was used as such by all the foreign powers who occupied Estonia in the 20h century, including the communist regime of the Soviet Union (in Estonia 1940-1941, 1944-1991) who imprisoned innocent people in the fortress on an ideological pretext.   

 

Seaplane Harbour

On the course you will run along the Seaplane Harbour area. In the Seaplane hangars, built in the beginning of the 19th Century, is located the maritime and military museum. It has impressive interiors and the unique exhibits, including a life-size submarine from the 1930s and several interactive simulators.

 

Outside, you can tour historic ships, including the world’s largest steam-powered icebreaker, Suur Tõll.

 

Stroomi beach

Stroomi rand is a sandy swimming beach in North Tallinn, where the people of Tallinn love to go to enjoy the beautiful weather. There are a lot of playgrounds for children, as well as areas for ball games, an open-air gym and several cafés.

 

Stroomi beach is a popular place for barbecues and picnics as well.

 

Tallinn Zoo and Shopping Mall

The course of Tallinn Marathon takes you past the Tallinn Zoo.

 

Tallinn Zoo has the most exciting collection of animals out of all the Nordic countries! It is home to giant elephants and rhinos, dangerous predators, monkeys, polar bears, and many other exotic species. The Tallinn Zoo also has one of the best exhibits of ibexes and mountain sheep in the world.

 

Across the road are the huge Rocca al Mare Shopping Centre and the concert and event venue Saku Suurhall Arena.

 

 

Õismäe hill and sleeping area

Estonia is a flat country, unless you consider Suur Munamägi (‘Big Egg Hill’, 318 metres) in the southeastern region of the country. Tallinn is also flat, but people sometimes speak about ‘the hills of Tallinn’. Where are they and what are they? 

Almost half of the city’s population of 450,500 (2018) people live in the large city districts that are sometimes called the dormitories and also known as the ‘hills’ (the word ‘mäe’ in their names comes from the Estonian word ‘mägi’, which means ‘mountain’ or ‘hill’). This is why the ‘hills’ are excellent places to visit for those who are interested in the lives of ‘ordinary Tallinners’.

The hills are easy to get to by bus or trolleybus. All participants of Tallinn Marathon can use public transport free of charge from 9th to 11th of September.

 

Väike-Õismäe is currently home to 46,000 (2018) people and the blocks of flats there have all been built around a central point - the circular man-made pond.

 

Õismäe is also called as sleeping area. This is a residential area where most people go to work in the morning and come back in the evening.

 

Open Air Museum

The course of Tallinn Marathon takes you past the Estonian Open Air Museum.

In order to discover it, you need more time. The Open Air Museum was founded in 1957, the 79-hectare space invites you to take a long walk through the forest and meadows on the grounds. Here you can see how society and life was in Estionia during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Inside you’ll find 14 farmhouses as well as a church, schoolhouse, fire station, shop, mills, and fishing sheds along the sea. There’s also a shop to buy handicrafts and an inn where you can taste traditional Estonian dishes.

 

Tallinn’s City Wall

The last kilometer of the Tallinn Marathon course runs along the city wall.

With 1.9 km of its original city wall and 20 defensive towers wall still standing, Tallinn boasts one of Europe’s best preserved medieval fortifications. In fact, a large part of what gives Old Town its fairytale charm is the system of walls and towers that surrounds it.

 

Many of the Town Wall’s towers serve as museums, while a few others provide opportunities for adventure for kids and teen visitors.

Enjoy the course of Tallinn Marathon!