Pikk Street

Pikk Street, in Tallinn

Pikk Street is the longest street of the lower town of Tallinn, historic artery of the merchants and the guilds. The Tallinn audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this medieval street lined with fine buildings, which links the port to the heart of the old town.

The great street of the merchants and the guilds

As its name in Estonian suggests, where Pikk means long, Pikk Street is the longest of the lower town of Tallinn. In the Middle Ages, a good street name often said the essential, and this one was, and remains, a major artery of the historic heart. It linked the port, by which arrived the riches of the trade of the Baltic, to the centre of the town and to the Town Hall Square. This is why it concentrates some of the finest buildings of Tallinn: the houses of the rich merchants, with ornate gables, as well as the seats of the powerful guilds and brotherhoods that structured the economic and social life of the Hanseatic town, like the Great Guild or the brotherhood of the Blackheads. There you also find old residences, embassies and cafés, in an alignment of colourful façades that tell centuries of merchant prosperity. To stroll on Pikk Street is to follow the thread of the history of Tallinn, from its port to its heart. A historic artery and a setting of the merchant heritage, Pikk Street is a fine stop of the discovery of the town.

What to see

Here you wander on the longest street of the lower town of Tallinn, which linked the port to the heart of the town and concentrates some of its finest buildings: houses of rich merchants with ornate gables, seats of the powerful Hanseatic guilds and brotherhoods like the Great Guild and the Blackheads, embassies and cafés, in an alignment of colourful façades. Pikk Street is a historic artery of Tallinn. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

Pikk Street crosses the lower town of Tallinn, linking the surroundings of the port to the heart of the old town, reachable on foot. It is a public street freely accessible; the shops, cafés and buildings have their own hours. You discover it by strolling along its historic façades.

What does the name of Pikk Street mean in Tallinn?

In Estonian, Pikk means long: it is the longest street of the lower town, which linked the port to the heart of the town; a major artery of the Hanseatic town, it concentrates merchant houses, seats of guilds like the Great Guild and the Blackheads, and fine historic façades.

Where is Pikk Street in Tallinn?

In the lower town of Tallinn, in Estonia.